Signage industry finally has its first scientific report. The Signage Products Industry Report, which sheds light on both the current structure of the industry and its expectations, is led by the Istanbul Academy of Thought (İDA) which is established by Istanbul Chamber of Commerce and it has been prepared with the support of Istanbul Chamber of Commerce’s (ITO) Information, Communication and Media Professional Committee and the Sign Association of Turkey (ARED). According to the report, a total of 11 thousand 712 companies operate in the industry, 124.191 people are provided employment and an annual turnover of 9.1 billion Turkish Lira is obtained.
The Signage Products Report was presented to the public on 8 September 2019 at a ceremony held at the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce. In addition to ITO management, ARED officials and signage industry professionals attended the ceremony. İTO Vice President İsrafil Kuralay, who made the presentation of the report, stated that the signage products industry has grown and continued his speech as follows; “There are 124 thousand 191 people in the sector, 100 thousand 663 of which are in Istanbul. With 6.8 billion Turkish Liras from Istanbul, 1 billion Turkish Liras from Izmir, a total turnover of 9.1 billion Turkish Liras is realized.”
Signage products industry exports exceed industry imports
İsrafil Kuralay pointed out that signage products cover a wide range of activities/applications including both indoor and outdoor areas, and said that the exports of the industry exceeds its imports. Kuralay expressed that the industry has grown; “The products defined under the Customs Tariff Statistics Position (GTIP) including signs, address plates, numbers, letters and other symbols has been exported for 14.5 million dollars, while being imported for 8.5 million dollars. While illuminated signs and illuminated nameplates, exports were 31.5 million
Main problems of the signage products industry
In his speech İsrafil Kuralay also mentioned the main problems of the signage products industry. Kuralay pointed out the low threshold of entry to the industry, the increase in input costs due to exchange rates and the shortage of qualified human resources as the main problems, and continued his words as follows;
“In our research, we found that the lack of regulations regarding the long-term use of outdoor applications produced in the industry is another important problem. Periodic maintenance of materials used in outdoor applications must be made mandatory. Determining the auditing standards is of great importance, especially in order to prevent the dangers that may occur in public areas.”
ARED is the sole representative of the industry
Speaking at the event ARED President Ahmet Özdemirel voiced that they are the only organization that represents the signage products industry in Turkey and in the international arena. Özdemirel said that the report prepared under the leadership of İDA provides them with the opportunity to adapt the fields of activity of the industry to the conditions of today.
“With this report, I care about defining our sector. While the history of the transition from signage to professional advertising products industry is being written, our industry was expressed in figures and a large gap was filled. We believe that this scientific resource will pave the way for the signage industry”, he commented.
The report establishes a panorama of the signage industry
The newly announced Turkish Signage Products Industry Report has been prepared by Prof. Dr. İbrahim Kırcova, Professor Dr. Nurhan Babur Tosun, RA Damla Karsu Cesur and RA Şirin Gizem Köse. Consisting of two parts, the first part of the report is titled ‘An overview of the signage industry in Turkey’ while the second part bears the title of ‘A research on companies operating in the signage industry’.
According to the report, As of June 2019, the industry have a total of 11 thousand 712 companies operating under 3 different NACE (Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community) code throughout Turkey. 9 thousand 319 of these companies are in Istanbul, followed by Izmir, Ankara, Antalya and Kocaeli. In addition, the top 10 cities in the ranking make up more than 95 percent of the industry’s added value. Istanbul alone generated 6.8 billion dollars in turnover.
Referring to the global trade figures in the context of export/import balance; Turkey is situated as 33rd in imports while 22nd in exports for signage industry. The largest importers of the global market are the USA, China and Germany; while China, Germany and Hong Kong are the main exporters. First three countries for most of the Turkish imports are Germany, China and Italy; and the countries we more export were ranked as Germany, Senegal, and Bulgaria.
Majority of the industry does not plan to use credit for investing
The second part of the report ranks the results of surveys covering 33 cities of Turkey; and the participation of 354 companies from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. While 30% of the participating companies identified themselves as signage manufacturers; 30% stated that they were digital printing manufacturers; and 10% said they were textile printing manufacturers. The remaining participants noted themselves as materials sellers, machinery sellers and others. While 60% of the companies participating in the survey expect to use credit for new investment in the next 12 months; 40% do not have such an expectation.
While 58% of the participants were tenants in the workplaces; the ownership of the workplaces was mostly observed in the companies with smaller spaces. The majority of participants operate in workplaces between 100 – 500 square meters. Companies that express their views in the survey said it was difficult to operate in locations in the city; due to increased and diversified manufacturing activities. The results of the survey show that companies mostly take orders directly from the demanding company.
Direct orders from the customer, no high budget for marketing
It was observed that 81% and 100% of the surveyed firms received their orders directly from the demanding company; and 61% and 80% received direct orders. The rate of orders from the intermediary advertising agency was quite low such as between 0 and 20%.
Looking at the marketing expenses of the firms in the industry; it is not known how much of the turnover of 25.4% of these companies use for marketing. The percentage of participants stating that they did not make any marketing expenses was approximately 6%. On the other hand, the majority of companies allocate 1 to 13% of their turnover for marketing.
A close look at the marketing activities of the companies revealed that 24% of the companies prefer direct marketing. Social media usage in the industry remained around 15%; while the rate of advertising on the internet was recorded as 14%.
The report also shows that 60% of the companies operating in the industry are not members of a non-governmental organization. ARED is the only non-governmental organization representing the companies operating in the industry.