As per the 2005 statistics, the corporate gift market was estimated to be worth £1.05 billion which was virtually static till 2006. With the aim to secure both new & existing customers apart from rewarding the existing customers, increasing distribution list, motivating staff & increasing brand & company awareness, the corporate gifts industry is growing tremendously. With it fast becoming a cut throat competition, lot of companies are making their debut in the market with a whole new range of luring corporate gifts. Be it products imprinted with a logo or slogan for company promoting itself or its service, or to acknowledge an achievement or event, items for all these are easily found. Therefore, in such a competitive & over supplied market, sourcing companies are constantly looking for originality & novelties to attract the corporate customers.
The popular form of corporate gifts as mugs & desktop accessories still remain popular choices & they have the advantage of being used & seen frequently. Other valuable & enduring gifts as fine wines & crystal are more a gesture of appreciation than a promotional ploy.
Companies go for corporate gifting system which could help in extending their image of recognizing their employees' & clients' good work. Infact, the company policy on both giving & receiving corporate giftware, other than cheap gimmicks, should be checked as well & proper care should be taken to ensure that the gifting ceremony is not construed as bribery, too personal in nature or too ostentatious but rather should be mindful of etiquette.
However, in recent years, the corporate gifting segment hasn't made much progress in the trading business as those luxury goods companies like Waterford Wedgwood PLC and Portmeirion PLC which are highly dependent on the US consumer market. The major reason behind this remains the tough competition faced from the overseas market which is capable of producing high quality giftware on much lower overheads. Furthermore, the UK has a trade deficit in most categories of giftware products, with the exception of jewelery.
There has been a low phase in the retail market's growth as well which is having a knock-on effect on the corporate giftware operations of traditional retailers such as Debenhams, Marks & Spencer, Next, Boots, House of Fraser & John Lewis. However, these high street retailers have successfully taken over the challenges as presented by the online-only retailers. It is proven by the National Statistics figures which clearly states how online sales exceeded 100bn for the first time in 2005, a massive 56% increase on the previous year. Online media even provides its clients with the opportunity to take part in the online tendering, whereby prospective buyers can submit requests for proposals to meet their corporate & promotional giftware requirements & as well select appropriate options from suppliers' offers.
All this has made an already oversupplied market all the more competitive with an increase in value sales of corporate & promotional giftware of any significance is not anticipated in the short and medium term.
