Hot Markets for 2007 — Prepare for Growth

Beverages ($341B, +4 percent; with $8.8B to print, +1 percent) will fizz and pop to Number 8 as soft drinks and wines/spirits ($2.5B to print, +13 percent) bubble. Laminated wine box/bladder packages, with over five times more printing value, will uncork bottle and label producers at an annual substitution rate of 20 percent. Waters and juices ($1.7B to print, +7 percent) is the next growth category as Pepsico (+15 percent) buys vitamin-fortified Naked Juice to compete with Coke’s Odwalla, and as Nestle markets negative-calorie drinks.

Sell packaging, POP, FSI and outdoor. Coffees, dairy ($2.0B to print, -20 percent) are at saturation and will be cutting back print spends. Look for, and sell into, migrations by the beers/malt liquors ($3.5B to print, -17 percent) segment into other drink categories with brand extensions. Bud Vodka?

At size Number 9 and gaining weight is fashion ($507B, +13 percent; with $8.6B to print, 0 percent). Luxury goods led by jewelry and accessories ($2.9B to print, +14 percent) will wear best on U.S. sheetfed and flexo presses, while the remaining categories of clothing and footwear ($5.7B to print, -6 percent) will owe their print to Asian and European providers.

Macy’s will become a national brand with its conversion of 400 department stores, and other clothing chains will dress up their units with sharp signage and upscale appearances. Screen and digital large-format printing will soar.

Telecommunications equipment/ services ($940B, -5 percent; with $8.4B to print, -17 percent) drops five lines to Number 11. Wireless, including equipment ($202B, +10 percent), is the only growth segment with $2.0B in print. Broadband licenses covering 89 percent of the U.S. population will take effect in 2007, with T-Mobile USA and the other Big-Five rolling out 3G Wi-Fi and Wi-Max ad campaigns.

There’s a particularly attractive opportunity for printers to provide “dot-mobi” domains and sites formatted for cellphones and PCDs. Pay attention to Mobil Top Level Domain, the management company founded by Microsoft, Google, Nokia and others.