Executive Summary
This report looks at the UK printing industry. This industry supplies every
part of the economy from publishing, public relations and advertising to food
and drinks packaging, and engineering and electronics. The products printed
range from brochures and magazines to cartons, boxes, stationery and address
books.
Following the revision of statistics from the British Printing Industries
Federation (BPIF), Key Note estimates that the value of the UK market was
£11bn in 1997. The major sectors in the market are: books, brochures,
leaflets, advertising literature, packaging and magazines.
There have been two key trends in the UK market in 1997 -- fierce price
competition driven by increasing overcapacity in the industry and a rising
sterling exchange rate. Both these trends have been undermining profitability.
The latest research from PrintWeek magazine shows that for 1996 average
profit margins fell very dramatically from 7.1% to 4.1%, and the quarterly
surveys published by the BPIF in 1997 have shown that prices have remained
under very great pressure.
The BPIF estimates that in 1997 there were around 12,000 companies in the
printing and packaging industry, and that they employ around 170,000. It is
quite a fragmented industry. The top three companies remain Rexam, St Ives and
The British Printing Company Ltd (BPC). A significant feature of 1997 has been
the large number of acquisitions and also management buyouts (MBOs). A number
of companies such as Rexam are intent on focusing on fewer businesses and
increasing their market share in those businesses, while divesting themselves
of non-core activities, which in many cases leads to a management buyout.
Several reports and surveys on the industry in 1997 indicate that the industry
needs to take a good look at itself. Its record on training, research and
development (R&D) and its ability to implement new equipment and new
technology easily are all being questioned. Key Note estimates that the market
will grow by around 4% to 5% a year up until the year 2002, but very few market
sectors will show any growth in profits.
Fourth Edition 1997
Edited by Richard Caines
ISBN 1-85765-766-7
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