So Yesterday saw the end of for what many business's have described as the worst period of trading in their history as we were told that we are officially out of recession with the UK economy growing by a mammoth 0.1%. Although we are also warned at the same time that we could experience another downturn in the not too distant future, referred to as a double dip! On a brighter note, the IMF (International Monetary Fund) now predicts that the UK economy will grow by 1.3% in 2010. Well we have had enough predictions over the last two years to last a lifetime and the one prediction that we could all have done with is the news that we were about to enter recession in the first place and a warning to put measures in place to deal with it.

So how has the recession impacted on our industry and what does 2010 really hold in store for us. Looking at January 2010 compared to January 2009 there are certainly signs of hope for the coming year. JKL Clothing have experienced a 27% increase in enquiries and a 30% increase in visitor numbers to our website. These figures are masked by the fact that JKL Clothing invested heavily in our marketing campaigns during the recent downturn and these investments are now beginning to bear fruit. Even so, such an increase certainly raises our hopes for the future.

One of the most noticeable positives is the demand for t-shirt printing at a time of year when this area of our business tends to be very quiet indeed. So how can this be explained? A statistical blip, would be one reason that may spring to mind, but with a positive mindset lets look at the other possibilities. Investment that is done thoughtfully should always produce a positive return given time and JKL Clothing have certainly taken the view that investment in a downturn can stabilise a business and provide it with the best chance of success when market conditions improve. But back to the main theme of this blog, the movement out of recession. JKL Clothing firmly believe that we can all talk ourselves into the doom and gloom of an economic downturn and by continuing this theme of conversation can stay there. So the message from JKL Clothing is that whilst market conditions remain difficult we are seeing an upward trend shown positively in the business done in t-shirt printing and the outlook is certainly brighter then this time last year.