The World of Pens!

Introduction

One's handwriting speaks volumes about one’s personality. A learned gentleman once said to me, “When the going sometimes gets tough, we make hasty decisions in life and repent later. Predominantly because we are always in a hurry to get them over with. We ‘THINK’ fast. I use a fountain pen because it eliminates the possibility of writing fast and hence thinking fast. It conditions me in a way to make better decisions.” The gentleman in question was a veteran and respected army officer. I was intrigued by this notion and took to the Fountain Pen and have enjoyed using it ever since.

Due to obvious reasons, I tend to buy pens that don’t burn a hole in my pocket. On the other hand pen collectors are known to shell out lakhs of rupees to add one prestigious brand to their collection. Why? I always wondered. When I stumbled upon the William Penn Store during a visit to the Express Avenue shopping mall in Chennai, I decided to probe further into the question. I had found my individual Marketing project!

William Penn – The World Pen Store

Established in 2002, ‘William Penn – The World Pen Store’ is India’s first multi-brand retail store chain housing the most premium brands in fine writing instruments, desktop and lifestyle accessories from the world over. Currently they boast of 15 stores across 6 major cities in India.

Take a look at the picture below to know the list of finest writing instrument brands that are on offer at the official store at Express Avenue mall, Chennai.

Store Employees

An India-Kotak & Crisil research suggests that among the rich Indians, 61% of luxury pens are purchased as an impulse buy. That statistic allows us to understand the importance of store representatives in this business. Most of the times, they are the key to a customer making a purchase, an expensive purchase, a more profitable purchase. Purchases of expensive pens are sometimes accompanied by lengthy discussions and significant research and deliberation. In such a scenario, it is imperative that the store personnel are trained adequately and are equipped to cater to the whims and fancies of the customers.

William Penn store employees have to undergo a formal training program before they can be deployed. They typically are immaculately dressed, well groomed and knowledgeable. They are required to handle products with gloves on and with utmost care. This also projects a sense of exclusivity and premiumness to the customer.

Most Popular Brand and Why

Rewind about 6 months ago and you might be able to recall daddy Anil Kapoor embracing daughter Sonam in a Mont Blanc television commercial. If you missed it, here it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdmCkYHF0go.

Assistant Store Manager, Mr. Hussain informed us that the legacy of the brand and its sustained advertising efforts have pushed people to the stores. Mont Blanc is indeed the most popular premium brand among the consumers that walk into his store.

The Shifting Consumer Profile

There is one particular aspect of this ecosystem that surprised me totally. The consumer base of expensive writing instruments has now widened significantly and encapsulates not just well to do adults, but also school going kids. Possessing a Mont Blanc makes as much a statement in classrooms as it does in a boardroom!

This could be attributed to the higher purchasing power and the freedom that kids in general, and their daddys ofcourse, are seen to possess nowadays.

In-store Techniques

The most selling pen, Mont Blanc, is placed right in front of the door so that it is the first brand that a customer sees when he/she walks in. The products are kept in supremely clean and shiny looking glass shelves with a dim yellow light shining from both top corners. This lends quite an aesthetic feel to the store and enhances the look of the already stunning designs.

I call that ‘peacocking’.

  

William Penn’s USP : Customer Service

The nature of this business and the customer profile makes After Sales Service indispensable. William Penn realise this and are well known for their brilliant service. After sales service involves service in stores as well as at home (for most of the high net worth clients). Word of mouth is a very important part of building brand equity for the stores and prompt and effective service is a big way to achieve that.

Here’s an article that highlights the above point quite nicely http://www.businessworld.in/businessworld/businessworld/content/Getting-Write-Stuff.html

William Penn’s Marketing Efforts

Having a niche target audience makes mass media channels of advertising a riskier proposition for William Penn. Hence, most of their marketing efforts are directed through ads in high-end magazines, celebrity association, PR etc. (one example http://www.indiantelevision.com/mam/headlines/y2k7/may/maymam79.php)

Another unique way of attracting attention and making tons of money at the same time is to design limited edition pens. Most limited edition pens, designed by most premium brands at some point or the other, are upward of 1-1.5 lakhs each. They allow William Penn to (i) garner publicity through press and word of mouth & (ii) rake in the extra moolah from limited edition fanatics.

Competition

William Penn chain of stores had the first movers advantage, until the ‘Editions-Pens of the World’ chain of luxury pens was launched by Deccan Chronicle. Then, there are the shop-in-shop outlets for high-end pens in retailers like Shoppers Stop and Crossword bookstores, among others. Players such as Emonte, a franchise of diamond retailer Gitanjali Gems, add to the competition.

Future Projects

William Penn plan to open atleast 6 more stores across the nation this year.

Financials

Revenue in FY2011 : 45 crore rupees

Revenue in FY2012 : Approx. 66 crore rupees

Cost of setting up a store : Approximately 1 crore rupees.

Cost break-up : 60% - inventory, 40% - rental, infrastructure and personnel costs.

Source : www.Businessworld.in

Interesting Facts

-Despite the exchange of large sums of money involved, even in today’s consumer oriented world, William Penn does not offer a flexi pay or repayment through EMI. The cost involved in managing such a setup themselves is too high. Instead, they provide EMI facility through credit card tie ups with leading banks like HSBC & Citibank. Want to pay by cash, pay the full amount!

-People shell out huge sums of money for the brand value, the design and the metal (iridium/ gold/ steel). But most importantly for the writing that a premium pen provides. For the hardcore pen collectors, if the pen doesn’t write well, the rest doesn’t matter. Makes sense!

-The high price is also attributed to the ink flow mechanism that high end pens possess. Such pens cannot be de-assembled. The sophisticated assembly enables a smooth and perennial flow of ink from the cartridge through capillary action, enabling the pen to write brilliantly and better than normal cheaper alternatives.

So the next time you see a William Penn store, do spare a couple of minutes to explore the fascinating world of luxury pens! You're sure to have a Pentastic time.