Page 13 - Widthwise Magazine

Q21. How do you feel about your business’s prospects? Concerned but less so than in 2019
58.33%
5.07%
Q24. What are your biggest concerns for the business in 2020 and beyond? (please select all that apply)
Widthwise 2020
Confident of growth More anxious than in 2019
35.96%
Price of supplies Impact of Brexit State of the UK economy Pricing of printed products New UK entrants to wide-format market Labour costs State of the global economy Foreign competition Impact of Trump presidency in the US
60.96% 37.72%
18.42% 16.23%
12.72% 8.33%
7.02% 1.32%
0%
Key insights
The divide between success and failure in the wide-format sector is likely to be more acute than ever in the next two years.
The mainstream markets for wide- format print all face disruption.
PSPs are showing a much greater interest in ecommerce.
Mergers and acquisitions may provide significant opportunities for some companies.
Brexit has not gone away. Luckily, many printers seem to be focused on opportunities outside the UK.
to benefit printers or its customers.
It was Jonathan Swift, the satirical genius
who wrote Gulliver’s Travels, who ob- served, way back in 1738, that “Tis a folly to cry for spilt milk”. Even so, it is hard not to look back, with a twinge of regret, on the pre-pandemic results for the 2020 Width- wise survey, which showed a sector that, given the many uncertainties surrounding Brexit (you remember that don’t you?),
was remarkably sanguine about its future,
confident of growth and entrepreneurially adventurous. That confidence may well return, albeit not until 2022 or 2023.
The good news is that building overseas trade is probably higher up the industry agenda than it has ever been before. With so much of the detail about the UK’s exit from the European Union yet to be nego- tiated - if it ever is - and the pan-European pressure on prices exporting wide-format print will not be easy. Apart from the fine
print in the trade deals, there are other challenges - turnaround times, logistics, quality of service - but it is encouraging that wide-format print, which has hitherto probably been too insular for its own good, is now taking a broader view of the world.
To be honest, the next two years look like a white-knuckle ride for many wide-format print companies in the UK. Yet those that can hang on without screaming could start reaping the rewards by the first half of 2022.
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