Winning Ways

Lesley Simpson

“Good business practice is no longer about making money immediately,” according to Cestrian MD Phill Reynolds in a debate on the state of the wide-format sector at the recent annual Widthwise Round Table. It was a sentiment echoed by the other five PSP bosses that had come together to discuss this year’s Widthwise theme: ‘Are we set for growth?

Apart from the resounding ‘Yes’ in answer to that question, one of the clearest messages from the panel was that there’s been a significant shift in mindset when it comes to business growth. It’s no longer about short-term wins, but strategically planning for longer term gains. The debate report on pX delves deeper into what is meant by that, and how the various individuals are interpreting that meaning within their own businesses.

It also highlights what the data from the 2014 Widthwise Survey indicated back in the spring: that there’s currently such demand for digitally printed wide-format output from ‘traditional’ markets (i.e. retail, events, exhibitions etc.) that there’s actually little impetus for PSPs to go through the rigours of researching ways of exploiting new niche markets – however lucrative they might promise to be. They don’t have to it appears. There’s enough decent margin being made by tweaking the existing product/service office offering to the established customer base! Great – but if we’re talking about taking the longer view, let’s not get too complacent and fail to build the wider (no pun intended) applications/customer base that we might one day wish we had.

But hey, enough of the warning and more applauding. Turn to p X to see which products we’ve decided deserve this year’s Angel Awards. They are testament to the continuing innovation within a vital print sector.

Enjoy the Christmas downtime!