Print firm upbeat in the face of strong competition

STRUGGLING print and website design firm Grafenia, which issued a profits warning in February, says trading conditions remain competitive amid continued aggressive pricing and promotions from its rivals.

The company, based at Trafford Park in Manchester, has forecast its final results for the year ended March 31 to be in line with the board’s revised expectations.

However, the company says it has made further progress on its new initiatives and subscription models.

It set a target of achieving annualised monthly revenue of £3m for Marqetspace, its trade service for print resellers and in March Grafenia exceeded the target.

Brambl, its web design tool for graphic professionals, has continued to attract partners and we now have over 130 subscribers.

Nettl, its network of neighbourhood ecommerce and web studios, now has more than 50 locations which are either open or where contracts have been signed to open new studios.

“With a strong pipeline of potential partners from our printing.com network together with Brambl and Marqetspace clients, we continue to believe that we have the opportunity to grow Nettl into the UK’s largest network of studios in this sector,” the statement said.