Brexit: an opportunity for innovation

It is beyond doubt that Brexit will affect us; the gravity of the changes can't be known immediately but the message is clear, change is sought by the majority. Despite many pundits telling us that, on the whole, Britain reverts to the status quo, history and the will of the British people hardly bear this out.

Over the last few decades heavy manufacturing as an industry has declined and the country has focused on services and the financial sector to balance the books. However, the unsung heroes in the success of UK plc has been the specialist businesses that focus on innovation and new products. It is no secret that Britain leads the way in Formula One innovation, for example. So, as a nation of innovators, Brexit then should not be a complete surprise when the consideration is that of being the first country to leave the EU. Drill down the word ‘innovation’ and it is easy to arrive at the term entrepreneur. Luckily, we see both things are alive and well in the print industry today and that’s unlikely to change.

I can absolutely vouch for the leaders of the print businesses that I meet in connection with my role at Perfect Colours for their dedication to innovation. Our role is to try and make their dreams a production reality through our experience as a value added reseller. The current situation requires a few lines of approach; calm in the first instance because, as someone said to me only yesterday, what has actually changed? I had to agree and in terms of business activities, there is no real change to the position that we were in prior to Thursday’s vote. In the short term it makes sense to carry on as normally as possible while in the long term to diversify and innovate, creating a broad spread of services and products and thereby spreading the risk of a possible downturn.

It is an odd thing but markets around the world are changed overall by confidence more than any other factor. Shifts in confidence are normally based on events and Brexit is no exception. The current tumble in the value of the pound is because traders just do not know what is going happen and their reaction seems overall to be negative. However, just like many situations with unknown outcomes, there can be great opportunities as companies clamber to stand out from the crowd and market their businesses. To do this they will need print in all sorts of shapes and sizes and large quantities of it. To capitalise on these opportunities print businesses will need to be flexible and diverse. 

From what I have seen over the last few years many print companies are well placed to pick up on the great opportunity that lies before us and have proven that they can do so time after time. For those who like to some advice on diversification opportunities, please call our expert sales team here at Perfect Colours to discuss how we can help.

Otherwise, in the meantime, it’s business as usual in the world of print. It’s worth taking this chance to remind you that all our supply arrangements with the world-class technology manufacturers we work with are still in place, so there will be nothing stopping you from exploring the options above – and making the most of this opportunity for innovation.