Market Researches

The Synovate Research Group conducted a research for Pro8 into the turnover and market position of distributors in the major European countries. The survey took place in 2007. Synovate surveyed a total of more than 500 distributors (around 100 per country).





Some results of the 2007 survey:
• The research showed a fair amount of diversity in turnover development among the countries studied. Certain countries such as Germany and the Netherlands showed a growth in turnover in 2007; in other countries, (Spain, Italy, France), distributors reported a considerable stagnation of sales, although even in these countries some distributors saw a rise in their own turnover figures.

• Another interesting conclusion was that although distributors operate in a business-to-business market, they still have a large clientele consisting of hundreds (sometimes even thousands) of customers. This requires efficient marketing methods since it is practically impossible for the management of an average distributing company to pay personal visits to all its buyers every year.

• Also notable was the finding that efforts devoted to going after new business differed considerably among the various countries. In the Netherlands, for example, 17 p.c. of the clientele was new in 2007. In Italy, this percentage was much lower at 11 p.c..

• The Synovate survey went into detail about market development by product category. Sales for certain products, such as electronics and USB sticks, are clearly rocketing whilst other products such as calendars and office supplies are experiencing rough times. In general, these trends in products are occurring worldwide although certain variations show up between the countries. The growth in electronics in Germany and Italy, for example, is much slower than in other countries. And the slacking off in calendar and office supply sales in Spain and Italy is occurring more slowly than in the other countries surveyed. At the same time, the research showed that many distributors are managing to spread their interests adequately over several product groups in which they trade, and this is reducing their risks. Nevertheless, the survey showed differences here between distributors and between countries.

• Obviously, the research also addressed the purchasing and production of promotional gifts in China. Much has been said about this topic recently, and it appears that most distributors, too, have responded to this issue but without discontinuing production in China.