I am writing this article while in the midst of a ten-day trip to Europe. I am visiting customers here much like I do when I travel domestically. I usually take three trips here a year: two to continental Europe, and one to the United Kingdom. Despite the marked cultural differences between Europe and the United States, there are many similarities with regard to the awards market and the way it is trending forward. In some ways these similarities are good, but in many ways some of the negative influences hitting the United States market have found their way to Europe as well.

As the U.S. awards market is essentially controlled by two distributors who have risen far above everyone else, in Europe there is one. This company, based in the Netherlands, services all of Western and Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and Russia, and appears to be the best capitalized and most aggressive distributor by far. They offer a large range of products, excellent stock and service, have periodic open houses and participate in a major way in sponsoring Europe’s bi-annual awards trade show. Make no mistake that this company is working hard to spread its footprint all over Europe and ensure that any dealer of consequence is its customer. There are other distributors in Europe, but this company far surpasses them in volume.

Although the U.K. is part of Europe, it is very polarized when it comes to awards distribution. For the most part, companies in the U.K. and continental Europe do not co-mingle. The primary sources of supply in the U.K. are based there and look at the U.K. as their primary market. Three or four main suppliers service that market, and although they do sell outside the U.K., make no substantial effort to branch outside. Conversely, continental European companies have a relatively small impact in the U.K. marketplace. Although just a few hundred miles apart, for the most part these markets operate independently of each other.

As is the trend in the United States, these days most products come from China. Prices have been driven down by Chinese production, and as a result, European award product manufacturing is sadly a thing of the past. Marble used to be a mainstay of the awards market, and worldwide production used to be controlled by factories in the Massa and Carrara region of Italy. Today, these factories are all gone, replaced by cheaper and somewhat inferior production from China. European trophy companies are known for their vast selection of cups.

These cups range from small inexpensive cups on plastic bases to large, opulent and colorful selections. As recently as ten to fifteen years ago, these cups were almost exclusively produced in Spain and Italy. Today that production is virtually non-existent, replaced by Chinese components that are either imported as assembled cups or sold for dealer assembly. Medals, ribbons and other decorative parts also used to be almost exclusively manufactured in Europe, but today are primarily among those products imported from China as well.

In short, while the European awards market is far smaller than that of the United States, many similarities with regard to sourcing are the same. Economics has driven manufacturing away, and as a result, spawned the growth of a few select distributors with deep enough pockets to invest in stock. Europe used to be a design center, but today its design capabilities are controlled by manufacturing concerns many miles away. The few manufacturing companies that remain are small and basically are specialists. The Chinese imports around them limit their ability to expand in a big way. More than likely, this is a trend that is here to stay for the foreseeable future.

Compared to the United States, the retail end of the awards business in Europe is far behind technologically. While estimates put the amount of laser engravers in U.S. trophy shops somewhere north of 80%, it would be hard to believe that 25% of shops in Europe have them. Of course, part of this is because tastes are different, and the product offerings do not necessarily dictate their necessity as in the United States.

For one thing, plaques are far more important to the United States awards market than they are in Europe. Plaques and the plates that ultimately complement them call for far more engraving than bases for cups. It is hard to envision an awards business in the United States being able to compete in today’s marketplace without a laser engraver. In Europe, this is still the norm.

There are also far more “basement” and part-time shops in Europe per capita than there are in the United States. I recently visited a relatively large internet-based retailer in central Germany, located in a town of 2,000 people. As we had lunch, he told me that this town had three “shops” that sold awards. Basically, they were part time businesses open only in the evening or by appointment, and needless to say, all had antiquated technology. He went on to say that this is prevalent throughout Germany.

Of course, as an internet-based retailer, he was far more equipped. Multiple machines and technological sophistication allow him to ship daily to customers all over Germany and sometimes beyond. His business model is not unlike the internet-based retailers in the United States. The main difference is that he is an anomaly. Generally, his type of business does not exist in Europe like it does in the United States. This is one area that the European market lags far behind the United States in. In general, the awards market in Europe is probably at least ten years behind the United States technologically.

When you break it down, the core elements of the awards industries in Europe and the United States are the same. You have a few distributors that control the marketplace, a handful of manufacturers, and a variety of dealers. The major difference is that the large, sophisticated dealer that is found in virtually every United States city is much less prevalent in Europe.

The European retailers that have invested the time and resources to grow above their competition are well positioned for the future. Many small retailers find themselves in need of making some hard decisions. The European market is poised for changes similar to those experienced in the United States in the last decade. One thing that it still has not done is determine its time schedule. Once it does, more changes will come.