With a highly competitive print marketplace, specialist outfits like Abbot are finding trading conditions increasingly tough. Some believe that diversification is not necessarily the answer and that focusing on specializing will help Abbot ride out the difficult climate. Abbot was established in 1920 as the Abbot Duplicate Book Company and originally manufactured books.

After a management buyout in July 2006, the company rebranded under its present name and moved to a similar site in Hemel Hempstead, which boasted a historic paper mill that produces 100% recycled paper, as one of its residents. The move to smaller premises was an opportunity to restructure for the good and bad times. Abbot was faced with an intensifying economic slowdown and are wary of diversifying, particularly into the digital field, which so many companies have decided to do in response to the economic climate.

Abbot is spending money to create a digital market. They believe that in a declining market or economic downturn, a focus on specialist traditional printing can be as effective as diversifying into digital. Abbot has concentrated on making sure it maintains a very lean inventory. It has kept paying its suppliers in terms, kept employee productivity high and grown capacity organically through internal investments. It also wants to invest in new equipment when the time is right.

Tags: book publishing, digital printing

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