Luxor Writing Instruments Private Limited - Marketing Pens in India

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Background Note

The pens industry in India had passed through various phases with the changing tastes and preferences of customers. Till the late 1970s, only two categories of pens existed in the Indian market - fountain and ball point pens. During that time, people preferred writing through a pencil rather than a pen. Moreover, people preferred fountain pens, as it was perceived to write better compared to the ball point pens.

Apart from domestic manufacturers, who manufactured fountain pens on a small scale and sold them at cheaper rates, branded fountain pens manufactured by leading international players such as Monte Blanc, Cartier and Parker were available in India through the grey market. However, owing to their high prices, not many people could afford to buy them. Camlin Limited was among the noted fountain pen makers in India during that time. By the late 1970s, fountain pens started loosing their popularity as people found it cumbersome to refill the ink regularly. The 1980s witnessed an increased acceptance of ball point pens and Wilson Jotter was considered to be the market leader in this segment. The pens manufactured by Jotter were popularly called Jotter pens. The market for ball point pens was also dominated by domestic players in the unorganized market. With the increase in demand, existing players started expanding their capacities while many new players began entering the market.

In 1982, Deepak Jain, managing director of Luxor Pen Company (Luxor) entered into an agreement with the Pilot Corporation of Japan to officially launch Pilot pens in India. In 1984, Suraj Mal Jain⁵ started a manufacturing unit for ball point pens and refills in Kolkata and named it as Linc Writing Aids Private Limited. The company launched new varieties such as disposable pens into the market.

In 1986, the French pen company, Reynolds entered the Indian market through its subsidiary, GM Pens International Limited by setting up a manufacturing plant at Chennai. It used the latest technology to make pens and refills of better quality and offered them at an affordable price. The Reynolds 045 pens became very popular among the regular pen users; especially among the school and college students.

Until the late 1980s, not much importance was given to the promotion of pens and there were very few recognized brands in the market. Companies did not consider it worthwhile to invest large amounts of money on promotional activities. The focus was more on pricing and distribution. Pens were manufactured in large volumes, and were priced competitively. By 1990, 90% of the market share in India was held by unorganized players.

In the late 1990s, the pen industry witnessed several developments. The varieties of pens available in the market increased significantly. The new range of pens introduced included Fibre Tip Pens⁶, Gel Pens⁷, Roller Pens⁸ and Marker Pens⁹. A marked change was also noticed in the attitude of people, and they became increasingly brand conscious.

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5] Suraj Mal Jain was the managing director of Linc Pens and Plastics Ltd. In 1976, he had set up a small manufacturing unit for ball point refills in Kolkata.
6] In these pens, the ink is fed into the tip of the pen through a meshed fibrous reservoir which works on capillary action and the ink is then passed on to the ball which rolls on the paper. These pens later came to be known as Roller Ball Pens.
7] The pens with refills filled with gel ink, a semi-solid fluid, and pointed tip, which enables smooth writing experience.
8] A variety of fibre tip pens in which a regulator controls flow of ink thus eliminating the need for an absorbent wadding, and yielding more ink holding and writing capacity.
9] A variety of fibre tip pens used for marking and highlighting.

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