The feedback on Primesight signs was impressive. In the December 19 issue I asked on behalf of Ajit Patel whether other retailers were getting a better deal than the nine pounds a week that Ajit had 
managed to negotiate with Primesight for a sign outside his Haringey store.

As he is next to a North London tube station, his footfall is huge and so Ajit was hoping for a slightly higher return than less than a tenner.

Ash Kumar posted on C-Store’s website: “Any retailer who has a Primesight sign or is thinking about it, please take time to calculate the cost of the electricity that the sign will use.

“I was told by Primesight that my panel used 710kW of electricity per year. At my evening charge of 13p per kW, this is £92 per year in electricity alone, and this is assuming the lights turn off in the daytime, which they may not if the sensor is faulty. The £92 was more than I was receiving from Primesight per year and so, after discussion, they offered a larger amount. Get your electricity bills out, contact Primesight, do the maths. Don’t pay for their advertising!”

And the issue also drew a teaser comment from Hugh Walker, who sounds like he is about to compete in the market. He says: “Primesight sell this space for about £180 per panel per fortnight, sometimes less if your panel is bought as part of a larger package – they have to fund the sales commission of about 25% for the media and advertising agency, plus pay the team to fix the poster every fortnight, run 
the vans and the depots and also run a national and regional sales team etc.

“The average occupancy is about 75%, then there is the cost of the advertising panel, the installation, the business rates, insurance, cleaning and general repairs. The profit on this sign is quite low and they carry all the risks, too.”

Then comes the pitch: “If you are after a better proposal the digital screen option is better; one placed in your shop window with ads that you can upload promoting your shop, services and in-store deals is better and will bring you increased sales revenue.

“We are soon to launch a new service providing this – look out for Arisma.” Indeed, we will.