RM Gregory Printers has added Promo to their name in a bid to fight the dwindling print prices and provide its clients with end-to-end services. RM Gregory Promo Print will now offer clients offset and digital printing, promotional products, banners and displays, graphic and web design as well as social media, marketing and safety products. Speaking with Australian Printer, co-owner Hassan Moussa says since buying the company in 2001, business has gone full circle in terms of growing and seeing a downturn.
Eddie and Hassan Moussa owners of RM Gregory Promo Print
Moussa says, “Like everyone else in the print industry, it is difficult and not easy to manage. It is a labour intensive industry, the margins are not there and it’s cutthroat with a lot of people competing for a dwindling level of work. “We are up and down. There are times – such June and November – when we are busy, and for other times we had to extend our offerings to develop new ways to generate more revenue. “I am also really well networked and have founded several companies so that helps with the level of connections we have.” He says there are several printers who are treating the industry unfairly by providing prints well below cost. Moussa says, “There are several printers who are undercutting others and most of the time they are brokers not printers. “I had a long term customer who came to me saying that the work we produced for him for $1000 he can get for $500. “So we are put in a difficult position because if I say I can do it for $500 then that would mean I have been charging him too much and if I don’t then most probably I will lose the client.” The company, established in 1954, went through challenging periods which was further exacerbated by the global financial crisis. “We went through a really difficult time after the GFC hit and since our staff were committed and loyal to us we did not want to let them go” Moussa says. “Of course we had to restructure their hours to ensure the company was sustainable. “When we took over the company there were seven staff and during our time at its peak we had 15 people working for us. Now we employ eight people,” he says. “We also leased some sections of the building which has ensured we have another revenue stream.” Moussa says the name change was designed to ensure the industry and its clients knew that RM Gregory Promo Print did more than stationery. “We can do anything for our clients. If we don’t have the capability in house we will go out of our way to get products printed for our customers at the highest quality,” he says. “Recently we have seen a spike in fabric printing, which we outsource from a company who gets the work done in China, and the print quality is excellent. “With fast turnarounds and competitive pricing you can’t beat offers like that. But that is the only product printed in China. The rest of our products are produced in Australia.”
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