Business News
Univers Reklama Offers 21st Century Solutions to Albanian Market Challenge
Friday 29. October 2010 - Introduce state-of-the-art digital large format services to an emerging market
Leverage experience and technical advantage through service and market education
Develop business by making the most of HP products and services
Solution
Full support of local HP partner, Redis Printing
HP Scitex XP5300 Printer
HP Designjet L65500 Printer (now known as HP Scitex LX600 Printer)
HP Scitex XL1200 Printer
HP Financial Services
Result
Ability to offer a complete solution across many market sectors
70+ percent of exterior market share in Albania
Market leader in vehicle graphics
Most comprehensive large format printing capabilities in the country
The story of Univers Reklama is of how a print service provider (Univers Reklama), a distributor (Redis Printing) and a supplier (HP) recognised and seized the opportunity to transform the sign and display market of an entire country.
Most of the 1990s were a time of turbulent political, social and economic change in Albania, but after 1997, enough stability existed for Redi Sejamini to establish Redis Printing, a dealership focusing on the sale and technical support of equipment, software and consumables for industrial digital printing and sign-making. In 2001, Univers Reklama(1) was established, becoming one of the first printing companies in this emerging market following the social changes of the 1990s.
“Our relationship with HP goes back to the beginning of the company,” Mirel Salija, co-owner and administrator, Univers Reklama, explained. “HP was the first major supplier to enter the Albanian market, and today it is still the main supplier, offering the broadest portfolio in Albania.”
Univers Reklama’s range of the latest HP printers gives our company the ability to meet nearly all requests for indoor and outdoor graphics and signage with solvent, UV-curable and latex inks capabilities, ranging from simple signs and banners, to exhibition graphics, POP/POS displays, billboards and vehicle wraps.
“We offer a complete solution for all our customers, large or small,” continued Salija. “It’s difficult to identify one area that we specialise in because we are involved in many.”
Being a versatile sign and display PSP leading an emerging market, it is not surprising to find Univers Reklama involved in many market segments. Currently it dominates billboard production in Albania with 80 percent of the market. It has nearly 100 percent of the rigid applications market and is the market leader for vehicle wraps. It is the company’s goal to achieve 80 percent of the country’s exterior market by 2011.
Such market dominance isn’t something that Univers Reklama takes for granted. The company knows that one day there will be competition which is why it continues to invest and diversify. Two associated businesses, Univers Promotions (promotional articles) and Univers Arredo (furnishings and décor) were formed in 2005 and complement the activities of Univers Reklama.
“Even though we have this strong market position, we continue to invest and offer new solutions,” said Salija. “For example, we are the only printer in Albania offering vehicle wraps printed with HP Latex Inks -we also offer the choice of UV-curable inks to vehicle wrap customers.”
While Univers Reklama has the only HP Designjet L65500 Printer(2) in Albania, its environmental benefits are only part of the reason for investing in it.
“Environmental issues are not yet high on the list of demands of local companies,” Salija continued. “‘Green credentials’ are not yet seen as important. The government is still in the process of developing an environmental strategy, and there is not yet the infrastructure to support environmental initiatives like recycling.
“However, we have been active in educating customers and interest is growing in graphics that can be used for indoor applications,” Salija said. “We held an open house and as a result had requests for samples from several sources: a major mobile telephone company, banks and a private hospital are all interested in the potential of graphics for their campaigns and interior decoration printed with HP Latex Inks.”
Unique conditions
The Albanian market is an interesting one that presents challenges and opportunities that are different from those in other Eastern European countries. It has a population of 3.7 million, nearly half living in urban areas, and a high literacy rate. However, it was one of the last of the former communist countries to achieve economic stability and this has caused some curious anomalies. For example, there are more than three million mobile phones in the country, but fewer than 320,000 land lines, and not surprisingly, only about 475,000 internet users.(3)
The result is that relatively new companies like Univers Reklama, were able to leap-frog over existing print service providers and establish a wholly digital service without progressing from manual conventional operations first and investing in automation and then digital.
“We are learning fast from the rest of Europe and each year are growing more like Europe and less like the old days of communism,” said Salija. “However, we need to make sure that our growth has structure, otherwise we’ll collapse eventually. This is one reason we enjoy our partnership with Redis Printing and HP. We have learned many things from the constant support we receive.”
Using the power of digital
Univers Reklama deployed a wide range of its HP printers in a recent campaign for an Albania beer supplier.
“It was a full campaign across the market that required a wide range of products and drew on our capabilities,” Salija explained. “We printed small signage and bar mirrors on our HP Scitex FB950 Printer; vehicle wraps, flags and chair covers on our HP Designjet L65500 Printer, and billboards on our HP Scitex XL1200 Printer. We printed hundreds of square metres on a range of substrates.”
To ensure its place in the market, Univers Reklama continues working in partnership with its suppliers as well as with customers and potential customers to be able to deliver the best service in the country. Its investment and learning continues, too. The company recently signed for an HP Scitex XP5300 Printer to add capacity for billboard printing and to replace a solvent printer with one using UV-curable ink. It is also testing a range of HP wide format media and learning more about the benefits of recycling.
(1) The name means “universal advertisements”
(2) Now known as the HP Scitex LX600 Printer
(3) The World Fact Book, Central Intelligence Agency, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/