The past digital signage year 2023 was somewhat disappointing – not just for M-Cube. Even though the integrator was able to increase sales organically in a single digit range, many scheduled projects were postponed. For our CEO Interview series ahead of ISE, we spoke with M-Cube President Manlio Romanelli.
The European digital signage integrator with Italian roots concluded the year of 2023 with sales of around 65 million euros, marking the end of a lackluster year for the digital signage industry. Compared to the overall market, “our results are not bad, but we had actually planned for higher growth. Mostly due to delayed global retail projects, some of which have achieved only a quarter of the planned locations for 2023″, explains Manlio Romanelli, President of M-Cube Group.
“At consolidated level, M-Cube was able to record a growth of over 13%, factoring in the Notice Group acquisition in the Netherlands.” Luxury brands in particular had slowed down the trend for renovations. Business for luxury goods has been booming since the pandemic, but new openings and major renovations are not actually that frequent.
Demand for digital signage performed best in Italy and Great Britain in 2023, while the other European Countries in which the M-Cube Group is active were more impacted by the negative economic situation, despite the upcoming Summer Olympics in France. Overseas operations – M-Cube is active with its own subsidiaries in China and Hong Kong – developed quite well, especially Southeast Asia with the ASEAN region.
But Romanelli sees major catch-up effects for the new year. “We see a restart of the market and are very confident”, not only in regards to new projects, but also with new global tenders. “There is a lot going on in the market in the beginning of this year.”
Easyscreen takeover in the Netherlands very successful
The takeover and integration of the Dutch Easyscreen provider Notice Media was particularly successful. The digital signage entry-level platform opens access to many smaller projects and the team integrated quickly with M-Cube.
In general, M-Cube recorded good growth in digital signage software subscriptions last year, also because existing in-store radio customers switched to the M-Cube digital signage platform. However, the demand for omnichannel solutions is lagging behind expectations. There is no lack of interest from customers, but these projects have an even longer lead time than digital signage.
Green signage certification
M-Cube has put a lot of time into the company’s sustainability certification: “We have adapted our processes and realigned the solutions portfolio towards sustainability. We achived the Ecovadis Bronze certification last december”, says Manlio Romanelli.
The new European ESG reporting – which has been mandatory for companies with sales of more than 40 million euros since this year – has also been implemented in all national subsidiaries. “We now have much better transparency regarding green signage and can provide our customers with comprehensive advice.”
