BAPC Chairman’s New Year message

Last year was certainly a memorable year but unfortunately for the graphic arts industry it was not one covered in glory and success. The economic climate has had a major impact on the sector and the cultural change within general business has contributed to a downturn. BAPC Chairman Sidney Bobb explains why and looks forward to what 2012 might bring. The main thrust over the last year has been on saving money and cutting back on expenditure and this has had an impact on advertising, marketing and sales spend, all of which affects our industry. We have seen businesses close down, firms contracting in size and the impact of the loss of government business which has, in the main, gone to a print management company. This in itself affects large and small firms operating in our sector. It seems strange that at a time when business is slow, companies abandon their entrepreneurial spirit by simply consolidating and not increasing their efforts to attract new business. There are basically two ways to ensure survival. The easiest is obviously to cut costs but that, if history is anything to go by, is a short term strategy as there comes a point when having reduced ...