When a manufacturer markets a line of products on its own account (whether directly or through a subsidiary) but under a different name, collectors refer to this as a “subbrand.”
Many subbrands were created by the more slippery and colorful characters in writing instrument history, who would adopt different names under which to offer their products in order to evade Federal Trade Commission rules. One of the best examples of this was explored in The Leadhead’s Pencil Blog Volume 7, which untangled the web woven by James Kelley, as he adopted such names as Keystone, Waterson, Banker, and Packard to market products that violated Waterman’s trade name (in violation of FTC cease and desist orders) as well as Sheaffer’s design patents for the Balance.
Sheaffer created several subbrands, but for more respectable reasons. In most cases, subbrands were created and offered to expand product lines into the lower-priced market without diminishing the company’s reputation or extending Sheaffer’s “lifetime” warranty to obligate the company to repair them. Subbrands were also occasionally used by Sheaffer to try out new technical innovations— again, without fear of damaging the company’s reputation or incurring another expensive recall campaign. Unlike the slippery characters, Sheaffer proudly promoted its subbrands as being made by Sheaffer, enhancing the reputation of its lower-priced lines while maintaining sufficient distance from them should they prove unsatisfactory over time.
Univer, Vacuum-Fil, and WASP
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 2023-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 June 2023-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.