Top Shops 2015: Time to Change? A new breed of visual communication companies are ready to emerge. Are you one of them? by Denise M. Gustavson According to a recent report from The New York Times (January 30, 2015) new data showed the American economy grew at a 2.6 percent 2.6% rate in the final quarter of 2014. While that represents a decrease from Hackworth/The Graphic Shop added airplane wraps as a specialty service last year. It takes extra time and effort from the design and install teams because planes can go over 200 mph, so they had to make sure the graphics were laid out properly to adhere perfectly in fit, seams, and edges. the five percent growth rate recorded in the third quarter and was below what economists had been expecting, most economists viewed the report in a positive light. Consumer spending is also on the rise. In late 2014 consumer spending rose by 4.3 percent, which The New York Times reported as the fastest 4.3% rate of growth since early 2006. This, they reported, was due to a combination of plunging energy prices and a healthier job market. But what does this mean for the sign and visual communications market? It means that growth is on the rise and the numbers are bearing it out. In 2014, the Top Shops “knocked it out of the park” in terms of revenue. The total this year was $631,767,256, up 25.13 percent from last year’s numbers. Interestingly, if we were to go back to the very beginning of this report—ten years ago—and examined the top 10 shops and 188% compared them to this year’s top 10, we would see an astounding 188 percent increase in revenue. “The sign and graphics industry is catching the general economic uptick,” said Kirk Green, CEO, Ferrari Color. “2014 was a very healthy year for our company with Six Art Recycling Trucks, working City of Houston recycling trucks, were transformed into mobile artworks by local artists and Thomas Printworks. growth in most segments,” said Baldev Duggal, owner, Duggal Visual Solutions. “The thinning out of the industry over the last few years has left the industry with fewer but more viable players for today’s market.” “This year the sign and graphics industry has seen a dramatic upswing in new business, increased market share and volume with existing OEM’s,” said Dolf Kahle, CEO, Visual Marking Systems. “At VMS we acknowledge this as a signal that the trucking, OEM, and consumables markets will increase its buying as demand in a bull market continues to drive new buying behavior in 2015.” But while the market is seeing growth—and a lot of it, according to the Top Shops—consolidation is impacting many, which isn’t a surprise. Much of this consolida- 12 Wide-Format Imaging | April 2015 MyPRINTResource.com
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