Less Competition Bad For The Electric Sign Industry

[Erik Sine]

 

 

 

I was just having a conversation with a buddy the other day about the Sign Industry.  

 

He asked me what I think is our industries biggest problem right now is.  I answered pretty quick as it has been on my mind a lot lately.  I told him that there isn't enough competition like there was decades back.  

 

Glantz just bought another Sign Supplier, there have been a lot of mergers between other Sign Suppliers.

 

Right now, when it comes to LEDs that we buy at Sign Suppliers, those options have shrunk.

 

Let's look at Principal LED for example.  They bought Transco, they bought Ventex (took their LED line away), they bought Aries Graphics (Neon & LED Wizard), and just recently they bought Sloan LED.  Quality when it came to their LEDs has been average over the years.  There's nothing real premium about them, in fact over the years the quality and efficiency has gone down.  Options of what you can buy as Sign Suppliers has shrunk, you can go there and you can buy, let's see....Principal, Sloan....and Principal & Sloan.

 

I just saw a concerned post the other day on FB stating that LED prices are going up.  I'm sure, why would they lower when the options are so few???  It's like the shrinking of Gas Stations, think of it as if there was only Mobile to buy your Gas.  With less competition, can you see prices lowering, quality improving?

 

No.

 

That only happens when there is enough competition.

 

The only real improvement in the last couple of years has been MET joining into the Laboratory fray.  There is no longer just UL, there is also MET.  This is the ONLY improvement I've seen in some time.

 

 

Now, don't get me wrong.  I'm all for Capitalism, and credit Principal LED for making all the right moves and rubbing out the competition.  

 

 

There is PLENTY of upside for them with making moves to shrink the competition, it's just when we as consumers are provided with less options....we end up paying more for less, that is the downside with not much competition in our market place.  Unless of course, Principal LED becomes real generous and decides to cut prices and build better products despite the shrinking competition and takes this upon themselves....but this rarely happens....let's be real, how often as consumers does the happen?

 

Just think if you were the only sign shop in town with no competitors to compete with?  Would you be driven to provide the best customer service and use only the very best in components for your signs so they stand out at night?  Would your attitude towards your clients change a little?