LUXOR WRITING INSTRUMENTS PRIVATE LIMITED - MARKETING PENS IN INDIA

continued from : THE MARKETING MIX

continued from : PRODUCTS AND PRICING

In 1999, LWIPL launched the 'Papermate' brand of pens in India. Papermate was the largest selling brand in the US during that time. The brand strengthened the presence of LWIPL in the low priced pen segment. These pens were primarily targeted at the school and college students and were priced in the range of Rs 4 to Rs 13. The specialty of this product was that they possessed the Lubrigude ink technology[1] , which ensured that the ink did not leak, thereby offering a comfortable writing experience.

In order to penetrate the Indian market, the company offered these global brands at lower prices. For example, the Parker Vector roller pens were launched at $3 compared to $9 in Europe. The Parker refills were priced at a rate of Rs.35 compared to $3 in Europe. Similarly, LWIPL launched the Papermate pens at nearly 1/3rd of the price in the US. In 2000, LWIPL launched the Parker Beta range, with prices ranging between Rs.50 to Rs.75.

Targeted at the youth, the company sold around one million pens within a couple of months of its launch. In 2002, Parker pens were available in three broad price categories (Refer Table I). By that time, the Parker range of pens had emerged as the largest selling brand in the LWIPL pens portfolio, contributing 40% of its revenues. LWIPL also launched a series of innovative products in order to mark certain occasions.

In January 2000, the company launched the "Millennium series" of Parker Vector roller pens. These pens had the world map inscribed on them and their unique design enabled people to determine the time difference between countries. Priced at Rs.250 each, these pens became very popular.

In November 2001, LWIPL launched 'Special Moment', a gift pack consisting of Parker Vector and Parker Beta pens, which had the signature of the brand ambassador, Amitabh Bacchan inscripted on it. These pens were primarily targeted at pen collectors, who were fond of Parker pens.

TABLE I
THE PARKER RANGE

MODEL	PRICE RANGE (in Rs.)
BETA	50-75
VECTOR, REFLEX.	100-400
SONNET, RITALTO, FRONTIER	1000-5000

Source: ICMR

In February 2002, Parker launched the 'Black and White' range of Parker Vector ball pens which were priced at Rs.145.each. In mid 2002, the company launched the 'Football Legends World Cup edition' of Parker Vector pens in order to cash in on the popularity that the event enjoyed. The pens had photographs of famous football stars such as Maradona, and Pele inscribed on them. These pens were primarily targeted at avid football fans, who would be interested in collecting pens bearing photographs of their favorite players.

In December 2002, LWIPL launched the "Gajgamini" range of Parker Sonnet fountain pens. The limited edition of pens (only 500 pens were released) was named after the paintings created by noted artist MF Hussain[2] and also had his signature inscripted on them. LWIPL priced these pens at Rs.5000 each.

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THE FUTURE

ADDITIONAL READINGS AND REFERENCES

[1] The technology enables pens not to smudge, smear, leak or leave blobs of ink on paper.

[2] He is an Indian artist famous across the world for his paintings.