FESPA Australia COVID Business Survey Results are in

The results from a recent industry survey*, undertaken by FESPA Australia, indicates that businesses are still concerned about the long-term effects of COVID-19 despite the Government stimulus packages.
The JobKeeper package will cease in September 2020, and the majority of respondents stated that they are concerned about what will happen once the stimulus package ends. Half of the respondents stated that they are concerned about the ability to sustain their business, while a third are concerned about the ability to retain staff and service existing financial commitments.

“Over 80% of respondents took up the JobKeeper government package, while the remaining 20% of respondents either took no package or applied for cashflow assistance payments. That’s a lot of businesses that have been reliant on this support. It’s not surprising that there are concerns as to what will happen when the stimulus packages cease. It indicates that there may still be a need to continue with some form of support, or at least have a transitional phasing out of the support before it ceases abruptly,” Nigel Davies President of FESPA Australia says.
Economically, 44% of the respondents believe it will take 6-12 months for the business turnover to recover, while just over half of the respondents believe it will take longer. Despite the changes to revenues, many businesses remain optimistic in the return of confidence back into the industry, with over half of the respondents stating they were somewhat optimistic.

Most businesses have been affected by COVID-19 in many ways, and with the continuing changes taking place, we are now looking to the longer term. Between 18 May and 17 June 2020, FESPA Australia surveyed a cross section of their membership base in order to examine what impact the COVID-19 crisis has had on businesses and the printing industry as a whole and to discover whether there will be any lasting repercussions arising from COVID-19.

With the various Government stimulus packages, many businesses have been able to weather the storm, but the end of the stimulus packages in September 2020 may prove challenging for some.
Over half of the respondents fell into the Small Business category (having between 5-19 employees) with just over a quarter operating in Victoria and a third operating Nationally.

KEY FINDINGS
Businesses are still concerned about the impact of COVID-19, despite the Government support and stimulus measures announced in March. Nearly two-thirds of businesses are more concerned about understanding what the long-term effects of COVID-19 may have on their business with three quarters experiencing other challenges such as adapting to working virtually, cash flow issues, losing staff and business closure.

Out of all business surveyed, the majority were eligible for the JobKeeper payment package (JobKeeper payments are available to businesses with a 30% decrease in business turnover), and over 80% of respondents took up the government stimulus package. The remaining 20% either took no package (which suggested that their business had not decreased by 30%) or sought alternatives such as cash flow assistance. Respondents welcomed the scheme and hope that it will enable them to maintain their businesses during the COVID-19 crisis.

The JobKeeper package will cease in September 2020, and half the respondents stated that they are concerned about the ability to sustain business, while a third are concerned about the ability to retain staff, and service existing financial commitments.

All businesses made changes in the face of COVID-19 with over two thirds implementing reduced work hours and half requesting staff to take leave. Only 6% of respondents had to stand employees down, while the remaining respondents made no changes to work activities.

Despite these changes, many businesses have adapted their operations to continue trading, with almost a quarter developing new products and services and a third have considered restructuring existing operations. 20% of businesses have considered expanding their operations through joint ventures and mergers.

Economically, 44% of the respondents believe that it will take 6-12 months for the business turnover to recover, while 38% believe it will take 1-2 years, and 13% believe it will take longer. Interesting to note that 6% of the respondents stated that their turnover had been unaffected or in fact had improved.

Despite the changes to revenues, many businesses remain optimistic in the return of confidence back into the industry, with over half of the respondents stating they were somewhat optimistic. 19% are very optimistic, and 12% not that optimistic or were neutral in their response.

Nearly two thirds of businesses were concerned about understanding what the long term effects of COVID-19 may have on their business with three quarters experiencing other challenges such as adapting to working virtually, cash flow, losing staff and potential business closure.

Over half of the respondents were concerned about the ability to sustain business beyond September 2020, while 20% were concerned about retaining staff, and ability to service existing financial commitments.

Over 80% of respondents have taken up the JobKeeper government package, while the remaining 20% of respondents either took no package or applied for cashflow assistance payments.

All businesses made changes in the face of COVID-19 with over two thirds implementing reduced work hours and half requesting staff to take leave. Only 6% of respondents had to stand employees down, while the remaining respondents made no changes to work activities.
Many businesses have adapted their operations to continue trading, with almost a quarter developing new products and services and a third have considered restructuring existing operations. 20% of businesses have thought about expanding through either joint ventures or mergers.
From an economic perspective 44% of the respondents believe that it will take 6-12 months for the business turnover to recover, while 38% believe it will take 1-2 years, and 13% believe it will take longer. Interesting to note that 6% of the respondents stated that their turnover had been unaffected or in fact had improved.

In summary, the majority of respondents were optimistic, with over half of the respondents stating they were somewhat optimistic while 19% are very optimistic, and 12% not that optimistic or were neutral in their response.

SURVEY DEMOGRAPHICS
FESPA Australia is the peak industry Association for specialty printers. Our members include leading digital printers, screen printers, sign makers, textile and apparel, vehicle wrappers and promotional products printers who manufacture a diverse range of products.
The survey included sole traders (12.50%); small business (56%); and medium business (31%).
The survey covered all States with many businesses operating at the national level or across several states.
All industry sectors were covered with the exception of packaging as we received no response from businesses in this sector.

To view the full results, go to connect.fespaaustralia.org.au
*The survey included sole traders (12.50%); small business (56%); and medium business (31%). The survey covered all States with many businesses operating at the national level or across several states. All industry sectors were covered with the exception of packaging as we received no response from businesses in this sector.
About FESPA Australia
FESPA Australia is the peak industry Association for specialty printers. Our members include leading digital printers, screen printers, sign makers, textile and apparel, and promotional products printers who manufacture a diverse range of products.
Membership with FESPA Australia gives you access to the global resources of both FESPA (Europe), and Printing United Alliance (USA).