Western-Europe Photo-Merchandise Market on Track to Hit EUR470 Million in 2011
Consumer demand for photo-merchandise across Western-Europe has fuelled a growth in the market with sales on track to hit nearly EUR470m by the end of 2011, according to a new report from Futuresource Consulting.

BEDFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND, October 08, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Western European photo-merchandise market, which includes personalised calendars, wall decor, greetings cards and single image gifts, continues to make gains with consumers and is on track to grow by 11% this year to hit sales of close to EUR470m, according to a new report from Futuresource Consulting.

"Within Western Europe, Germany dominates most photo-merchandise segments. Accounting for EUR127 million of market value in 2010, it's the largest in the region" says Joanna Wright, Senior Market Analyst at Futuresource. "Photo-cards are the exception, where the UK continues to lead the charge. The UK follows Germany as the second largest photo-merchandise market overall, witnessing 35% growth and reaching nearly EUR70 million in 2010."

Market growth has varied significantly across all segments and countries, with wall decor - in particular canvas print and photo-cards - pushing through with growth of 80% and 50% respectively in some European countries.

"This growth has been fuelled by increased services offered to consumers and a number of highly effective marketing activities, including promotional offers and prominent TV campaigns," says Wright. "In 2010 the canvas print market grew 44% in Western Europe, reaching EUR85 million.

"While demand for some segments remains constant throughout the year, specific market segments like calendars and photo-cards remain purely seasonal products, with more than 90% of calendar sales and nearly 60% of photo-card sales experienced in the lead up to Christmas."

Competitively, the photo-merchandise market remains highly fragmented with a mixture of traditional photo brands, commercial print houses and photo-merchandise specialists. In terms of the position of photo-merchandise producers in Western Europe, CeWe Color led each segment in 2010, except posters where Fujifilm was the most dominant player.

Online was the leading sales channel in 2010, accounting for more than 86% of sales in Western Europe. However, across Western Europe this figure varies significantly by both country and product. Moving forward we can expect to see new roll-outs of in-store merchandise equipment in some of the leading retailers in the UK & Germany which could help drive growth for in-store channels this year and into 2012.

The outlook for the photo-merchandise market is positive, with value expected to rise at a steady rate through to 2014. There are many opportunities for key players to contribute to future market growth, and to do this they must focus on the innovation of new products, fresh content designs and strong and targeted marketing activity.

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Andy Watson
Futuresource Consulting
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