Khairy Mohamed Farran, general manager and executive partner of ‘Smart Progress’ printing and advertising in Kuwait said that there has been growth in the market despite the absence of vision and increasing competition.
According to Khairy the market has ‘broken the barrier of fear’. He explained, “There is some noticeable mobility in the printing sector compared to last year, and this can be interpreted as ‘breaking the barrier of fear’. We are seeing a gradual return in demand for printing calendars and organizers, which had earlier shrunk due to global crisis. There is also an increase in demand for printing promotional materials such as posters, banners and signs.”
Speaking of the intense competition that has surfaced in the advertising market, Khairy said, “Competition has caused to change the mindset of the clients, who are now focused on price instead of quality and expertise. This has affected the market a lot and has led to a situation where quality of a product is not an issue anymore.”
He adds, “Multiple players has created confusion in the market, which led many to adopt financial and economic practices that do not fit the market ethics, especially from those who do not have adequate experience or knowledge about the advertising sector.”
Talking about the rise of Chinese manufacturers, he said, “As Chinese printing machines entered the market, many opted for them viewing its cheap price. But aspects like quality, availability of spare parts and life span are to be considered before opting to buy such machines or else it would be a waste of investment.”
He added, “There must be a strict control applied over the Chinese companies, who are deliberately trying to flood the market with cheap printing machines. They don’t bear responsibility for the products sold and are rather interested in increasing their sales revenue.”
Khairy said that equipment manufacturers who are well known in the market should educate customers about the damage of printing in cheap machines. “Customers should be made aware of the difference between cheap and reliable printers and that includes building awareness on quality inks and consumables too.”
“It is not fair when companies who have invested in large and expensive machines costing hundreds and thousands of dollars to provide high printing quality, finds out that they are competing against another company that has invested in a cheap quality machine. This practice is unacceptable and detrimental to the growth of the sector,” concluded Khairy.
