Product category:
BPMA membership news
News Release from: BPMA | Subject: promotional merchandise industry
Edited by the Marketingservicestalk Editorial
Team on 01 July 2008
Promotional merchandise business booming
BPMA-supported research from Sourcing City has shown that the promotional merchandise industry is enjoying a boom period despite the continuing economic gloom that the UK is facing.
Providing the first such data from the promotional merchandise industry, the research showed that the industry was in a universally robust state experiencing substantial growth The first piece of research analysed the UK and Ireland promotional merchandise marketplace and found that the market size grew by 4 per cent between 2006 and 2007, from GBP826 million in 2006 to GBP859 million in 2007
This article was originally published on Marketingservicestalk on 23 Apr 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
BPMA launches promotional merchandise academy
The British Promotional Merchandising Association (BPMA) has formally launched the BPMA Academy, the first official qualification for the promotional merchandise industry.
BPMA launches website to boost service
The BPMA has set up a website that aims to be the official sourcing portal for the promotional merchandise industry
There are 1,592 UK and Ireland distributor companies and 1,330 UK suppliers, and the market contains 112 distributors with a turnover in excess of GBP1 million.
These companies collectively account for sales of GBP282m.
Of all the companies analysed, 1,222 are members of PROMOTA and/or the BPMA.
Further reading
Seeking promotional marketing entrepreneurs
The UK's GBP20billion promotional marketing industry has officially launched the search for the most dynamic entrepreneur to be the 2008's Entrepreneur of the Industry.
BPMA brings together UK marketing bodies
The British Promotional Merchandise Association will facilitate and contribute to a series of key marketing seminars in collaboration with other leading marketing services associations.
Promotions industry can help plastic bag ban
Ban the free plastic bag and let the promotions industry step in to help, argues Gordon Glenister, Director General of the British Promotional Merchandise Association.
The research only analysed sales through promotional merchandise distributors and does not include merchandise sales by printers, stationery companies or sales promotion agencies.
Sales in the premiums and incentives and motivation markets, and direct supplier sales are also excluded.
The survey also carried out in-depth analysis into the most popular promotional merchandise products and groups and their themed used with the industry.
The data was based on over one million click-through enquiries by customers of Sourcing City.
The survey data also revealed that in financial terms bags and folders represented the largest proportion of the promotional merchandise market comprising of GBP196.5m with the estimated value of the pen sector coming a close second in value at almost GBP150m.
When the data was split by themed use, desk gifts took the majority of market share in both value and click-through enquiries.
Perhaps surprisingly, travel-related items were second in the market before exhibition and pocket gifts.
Another high-flier was environmentally friendly products, which came in at number four.
David Long of Sourcing City said: "One of the most popular products in the last few months that we have seen has been the ecobutton, an illuminating USB device that acts as a strong visual reminder and a prompt for the user to press the ecobutton at every opportunity whenever the computer is going to be left idle, which goes along with the general industry trend for green products".
Long went on to analysis the data saying: "While the market is still showing upward trends, the future is not so clear given the current global credit crunch and the number of liquidations we have seen.
"The market is however seeing the emergence of new players, such as printers and stationery companies, which are moving towards promotional merchandising as they seek to diversify from markets with decimated margins.
"Should any market crisis arise, survival of the fittest will be the order of the day.
"Companies need to keep close to their customers and ensure that their service is as efficient and creative as it can be".
Gordon Glenister, BPMA Director General, commented: "The research carried out by Sourcing City is of great interest and benefit to our industry and will help us in our strategic planning and decision making for the future.
"Sourcing City in the coming months will be providing more analysis of this data via the BPMA website research area.
"It is hoped this analysis will provide us with greater insight into the strength of our industry".
• BPMA: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Marketingservicestalk email newsletter
• Marketingservicestalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
