How do you grow your company once you've dominated the luxury pen retail space of the second-most-populous nation on H Earth? India’s William Penn corporation has purchased the once-vaunted U.S. luxury pen manufacturer Sheaffer.
“Our love of Sheaffer dates back to the early 2000s,” says Nikhil Ranjan, co-founder of William Penn, about the company’s decision to acquire Sheaffer. When the opportunity came to buy the company, we couldn’t pass it up.”
Sitting in his Bengaluru office, Ranjan is dressed in business casual. The honks and buzz of morning traffic can be heard in the background as he sips his coffee. In his mid-40s, Ranjan affects a steady confidence and enthusiasm for the challenges ahead. He has a quick smile and sense of humor. Smart and capable, Ranjan is not the stuffy executive we have come to expect of the global conglomerates who own other pen brands in portfolios so large they barely pay attention to the pens.
The original William Penn store opened as one of India’s first comprehensive stationery shops in 2002. Realizing quickly that many of his customers were most attracted to the store’s selection of writing instruments, Ranjan says that he began reaching out to the major pen manufacturers of the world to begin increasing his company’s offerings.
There was no formal distribution of Sheaffer in India until 2003, when William Penn became the brand’s exclusive distributor in the country. People really loved Sheaffer as soon as he brought it into the store, he says.
When asked who his customers are, Ranjan says, It is divided into two parts: the pen enthusiasts who prefer fountain pens to anything else, and a large portion of people also love pens] for gifting.”
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 2022-Ausgabe von PEN WORLD.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 2022-Ausgabe von PEN WORLD.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Show Your Summer Style
The newest Visconti Homo Sapiens, Iris Garden, is a tribute to the beautiful irises that bloom each spring in Florence, Italy's Iris Garden.
Good Made Better Keeps Getting Better
SUZANNE C. LEE tests Dan Keller's wood and metal reading and writing accessories and finds her childhood dream desk come to fruition.
Layers of Talent: River City Pen Company
With his skills in design and eye for details, Rich Paul crafts pens that are as beautiful as they are functional.
Fathoming the Unfathomable
The new Kanilea Pen Co. Blue Moana fountain pen and Mau Loa cap band are inspired by the ocean's depths and universal interconnectivity.
Truphae: Flexibility Is Key
This young pen shop is writing a new chapter in retail pen sales by finding unique ways to foster community.
"Winter Counts:" Transforming Non-fiction into Fiction
Creative writing typically blends what we know and experience with what we invent and imagine.
Swivodex, Sailors, and the Plastic Revolution: An Overview of Dip-less Desk Sets, Part V
The end of World War II ushered in a new era, with plastics technology opening the way to better and less costly products of all sorts.
The Mystery of the Purloined Parkers
What do G-men, mobsters, and tampons have in common? The two most epic fountain pen heists in history.
The Other Articles of Impeachment
\"Hear ye! Hear ye! Hear ye! All persons are commanded to keep silent, on pain of imprisonment...\"
The Road to Recovery
A recent trip to Wajima, Japan, by TACCIA's Shu-Jen Lin shows tragedy in the present but hope for the future.