David Long from Sourcing City warned that although the market is still showing upward trends, the future is not certain given the current global credit crunch.

He said: "While the market is still showing upward trends, the future is not so clear given the current global credit crunch and the number of liquidations we have seen. The market is, however, seeing the emergence of new players, such as printers and stationery companies, which are moving towards promotional merchandising as they seek to diversify from markets with decimated margins. Should any market crisis arise, survival of the fittest will be the order of the day. Companies need to keep close to their customers and ensure that their service is as efficient and creative as it can be."

The comments come as new BPMA supported research from Sourcing City revealed that the promotional merchandise industry is enjoying a current boom period despite the continuing economic gloom that the UK is facing.

The first such data from the promotional merchandise industry, the research shows that the industry is in a universally robust state, experiencing substantial growth.

It analysed the promotional merchandise marketplace in the UK and Ireland and found that the market size grew by 4% between 2006 and 2007, from £826M in 2006 to £859M in 2007.

There are 1,592 UK and Ireland distributor companies and 1,330 UK suppliers, and the market contains 112 distributors with a turnover in excess of £1M. These companies collectively account for sales of £282M. Of all the companies analysed, 1,222 are members of PROMOTA and/or the BPMA.

The research only analysed sales through promotional merchandise distributors and does not include merchandise sales by printers, stationery companies or sales promotion agencies. Sales in the premiums and incentives and motivation markets, and direct suppler sales are also excluded.

The survey also carried out in depth analysis into the most popular promotional merchandise products and groups and their themed used with the industry. The data was based on over one million click-through enquiries by customers of Sourcing City.

The survey also revealed that in financial terms bags and folders represented the largest proportion of the promotional merchandise market with a value of £196M while the pen sector came in a close second at £150M.

BPMA director general Gordon Glenister said: "The research carried out by Sourcing City will help us in our strategic planning and decision making for the future. Sourcing City in the coming months will be providing more analysis of this data via the BPMA website research area. It is hoped this analysis will provide us with greater insight into the strength of our industry."

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