If sheet plants, contract packers, design agencies and print management companies were to make one New Year’s resolution to boost their businesses, it should be to effectively plan the production of point of sale (POS) materials to maximise market potential in 2016 and beyond. That’s according to Swanline Print Ltd, the specialist 100% trade only services provider to the corrugated packaging and point of sale markets.

Thanks to significant investment in both digital and traditional technology and, more recently, materials manufacturing, Swanline is at the forefront of confidential print and conversion services in markets that offer great potential as a result of consumer and market driven changes. The company is finely attuned to the varying and extensive demands of what can be a very seasonal sector, but which also offers considerable potential for new business – with the right planning.

Rob Wood, Business Development Director at Swanline, explained: “The Swanline team knows all about the challenges faced when demand for POS peaks at various times during the year, and we have the capacity and technology to help customers meet these challenges. The company already partners many of the blue-chip suppliers to some of the biggest brands in the UK, often as a ‘silent’ collaborator, so we are no strangers to last-minute demands and challenges.

“Although many large seasonal POS campaigns are briefed months in advance, others can be much more last-minute – especially for events or competition-related material. There will always be some suppliers who simply can’t cope with a rush job or unusually large order, but that’s one of the reasons why Swanline exists. That said, we predict a number of growth areas that, if our partners were able to plan ahead, could bring notable improvements to their bottom line.”

Amongst many others, two contrasting sectors in which Swanline’s POS skills have been proven on numerous occasions are cosmetics, and Dutch bulbs. Cosmetics promotion is of course a year-round industry but certain sub-branches, such as perfumery, are particularly profitable every year in the months leading up to Christmas.

The UK cosmetics market was worth £8.4billion (retail sales price) in 2013, one of the top five markets in the EU. Across the EU in the same period cosmetics were worth a staggering EUR72billion, a third of the global cosmetics market and in total more than the US and Japanese markets combined.1 The sector, which is heavily reliant upon marketing including POS, is therefore a key potential target for suppliers keen to branch out or expand their operations.

Rob Wood added: “Cosmetics is a constantly evolving market with nearly a quarter of products improved or redeveloped every year. Perfume is one of the oldest lifestyle enhancers, with bottles dating back to 7000BC found in the Mediterranean, and of course hundreds of new or updated variants launched annually – often around the Christmas period. It’s a potential goldmine just waiting to be tapped by packaging and POS suppliers.”

A similar goldmine is the burgeoning horticultural sector in the UK and Europe. UK consumers spend around £5billion a year on products and plants for their gardens – that’s more than is spent on chocolate!2 The Netherlands has an exceptionally large share of the world trade in horticultural products, with the country’s bulbs accounting for a staggering 80 per cent of floricultural items sold worldwide, contributing to a total annual export value of approximately £16.2billion.3 

The Netherlands exports around 630million tulip bulbs into Europe every year, many of which end up in UK garden centres, DIY stores and supermarkets – and which would simply rot if effective POS did not help to underpin their sales. By their very nature, however, Dutch bulbs are most visible in retail outlets during the autumn.

So, what if a POS supplier can envisage taking advantage of these growth markets, but is concerned about meeting increased demand at a time when its resources might already be stretched? That’s where a partner like Swanline could be exactly what’s needed. 

Rob Wood concluded: “Outsourcing POS could make the difference between sink or swim at times of peak demand. Choosing the right supply partner and creating a great relationship with them will help any printer or packaging specialist to achieve much more for their customers. Look for evidence of financial stability and quality control systems, not to mention on-time delivery records and data security. A compatible partner will offer a high level of personal account handling and initiatives such as a factory visit in order to verify its credibility and cement a mutually beneficial relationship going forward.”