SGIA Surveys Graphics and Sign Community

SGIA (www.sgia.org) has released its 2015 Industry Survey for the graphics and sign community. The group of 193 survey participants, composed mostly of companies who classified their work as “entirely digital” (41.5 percent) or “mostly digital” (34 percent), covered a wide range of business sizes, from shops that bring in less than $250,000 annually to those who reported over $35 million in yearly revenue. The median annual revenue was $1,234,636.

The number of equipment purchases reported for 2014, in addition to positive sales figures, point to an optimistic outlook for the industry. Seventy-one percent of companies said they had made a significant purchase of production equipment in 2014, with 55 percent of that number reporting purchases of more than $50,000. Seventy-two percent plan to make a significant purchase and 55 percent plan a purchase of more than $50,000. The median sales growth among survey respondents was 16 percent; nearly three-fourths of companies said both their sales and production levels had increased over 2014.

The survey also addressed changing markets. Participants pointed toward food services and interior decorators as the fastest growing markets, with demand from government and government contractors declining. Product areas with the most growth were wall graphics, environmental graphics, and building wraps. Billboards were reported as the fastest-declining product.

The most common sales and management strategies included increasing internet presence, improving customer service, and hiring additional sales staff.

Catch a sneak peek of SGIA's graphics installation and garment decoration reports.