The Fourth Annual Neon/Lighting Survey

Despite 2002’s economic difficulties, the results of ST‘s fourth annual neon/lighting survey reflect glimmers of hope. The number of responses, the aggregate amount of total sales and neon sales, plus the average amount of overall sales and neon sales per respondent, are the highest since the inaugural study…with an asterisk.

We received a response from a $50 million company (the second largest was $10 million), which impacted numerous averages. Despite 122 responses, if we don’t use the $50 million response:

* Average sales per respondent drop from $2.2 million to $1.8 million.

* Average neon sales per respondent drop from $734,353 to $605,834.

* Overall expenditures on neon equipment/supplies drop from $14 million to $4 million.

* Average expenditures on neon equipment/supplies drop from $171,463 to $50,123.

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The $50 million respondent represents 20% of all respondents’ sales volumes (Table 1). This same respondent attributes 30% of its overall sales to neon, which closely approximates the overall 33% average, so the ratio of neon to other types of illuminated signage remains unaffected.

Perhaps the primary question is: Did LEDs gain any ground on neon in 2002? Maybe incrementally. Table 2 indicates that LEDs’ share of the illuminated sign market rose from 3.8% in 2001 to 4.7% in 2002. Depending on your perspective, you could say LED usage gained less than a percent, or you could say nearly 25%. Overall, such a small change must be considered negligible.

To view a full report, purchase the April 2003 issue of Signs of the Times magazine here.

Preview:

Sales per respondent (as well as total sales for all respondents) fell right in the middle of previous responses. The average sales volume of $2.2 million compares to a previous high of $2.4 million (1999) and a previous low of $2 million (2001). The number of respondents, 122, likewise falls between the prior low of 98 and the high of 140.

Many of the other responses approximate midway between highs and lows from previous years. Also in Table 1, neon sales as a percentage of all sales (33%) nearly split the difference between a low of 29% and a high of 38.7%.

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The mix of power supplies, essentially traditional ferromagnetic (core-and-coil) and electronic, falls between the results of prior years, with ferromagnetic transformers still preferred by slightly more than a 2:1 margin (Table 6).