Rocky Road
Don’t dismiss the distributors as they navigate through some twists and turns this year
November 2009 By Elise Hacking CarrAs reported in the October issue of Print Professional, total annual sales figures for the top 100 manufacturers took a small leap from those listed in 2008. Would the industry's leading distributors see the same fate? Not quite.
Total annual sales figures for the top 100 distributors took a slight dip from last year's finish of $3.5 billion. However, this year's participants still put forth an admirable showing of $3.4 billion total combined sales. And as a reminder, $3.4 billion is still an improvement from 2007 figures of $3.2 billion. So while everyone may have had high hopes of conquering adversity, in the form of a daunting economy, it doesn't seem too unlikely that a steadily increasing course will resume next year.
Individual product sectors, on the other hand, saw a decline practically across the board. It is important to note, a significant amount of distributors opted not to release sales figures for these product sectors, which, of course, skews results.
Business forms still dominated as a whole with $558.5 million in sales (2008: $652 million), proving they aren't leaving the scene any time soon. Labels and tags sales averaged at $185.9 million (2008: $241 million); commercial print sales resulted in $368.2 million (2008: $378 million); digital print sales fell to $185.9 million (2008: $201 million); direct mail sales came in at $152.5 million (2008: $177 million); plastic products/cards comprised $15.1 million of sales (2008: $25 million); RFID sales—which did not include barcodes this year—were $114.8 million (2008: $126 million); and finally, the "other" category landed in at $250.2 million (2008: $329 million).
Common responses for the "other" category included office supplies (filing products, in particular), barcode equipment, pressure-seal equipment, design services, fulfillment, paper, packaging, bank supplies and statement processing.
Other product categories took a more noticeable hit. For instance, envelopes/folders/stationery sales dropped to $183.5 million (2008: $312 million) and e-commerce sales fell to $119.8 million (2008: $507 million). A reason for the latter category's hit is puzzling, considering e-commerce is the anticipated wave of the future. However, there is an explanation for the former category. As indicated in the "other" category, filing products were a popular entry in this sector. But, some may argue these items belong with folders. The motivation to mark one product under a specific category remains at the distributor's discretion.
On a more positive note, promotional products surpassed last year's sales figures. Numbers climbed to new heights with results reaching $343.2 million (2008: $340 million).
Unfortunately, this is not over. Another year means new problems and, hopefully, new victories. As the industry closes the door on 2009, suppliers and distributors await a new chance to reclaim what slipped through their hands during the rocky economy.
