A New Ball-Game For Parker Pens

Parker pens, the century-old icon of the writing business, is trying to change its identity. And like all changes, this change too is traumatic, more so because it encompasses change not only its product-line but also its logo, packaging style, as well as its target-market. Parker Pens is no longer content with its historical image; it wants to have contemporary look and feel. ''We do not want to be known as a product which only our grandfathers used, and then bequeathed it as a family relic. The idea is to make our product relevant to today's consumer while also retaining its classic edge,'' says Manoj Kumar, 37, General Manager (Marketing), Luxor Writing Instruments.

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To realise this, the Boston (US)-based Gillette--which bought over Parker in 1992--has launched 'Worlds Beyond' package to revitalise the brand and the company. Parker's franchise for 2000 and beyond will see a new logo, new graphics, new products-including upgrades of existing ones-new sales-support material, and new advertising. More important, India will be the first country outside its home-base where this initiative will be launched. ''We will first kick-off a mass-media campaign which will be handled by McCann-Erickson (also its global agency) to make sure that the trade and people know about the new look. We do not want trade-level confusion where both our distributors and consumers start having doubts about the 'real' Parker,'' he says.

The company is launching the new Worlds Beyond package because the global writing instruments business is worth $6.3 billion annually, and while Parker already enjoys a 12 per cent share of the market, there are tremendous growth opportunities. Today, the stationary business accounts for $743 million in the $9.9-billion Gillette Group turnover. The objective is clear: pull in new segments of consumers. Parker is also keen to send out a signal through this campaign that its pens are quality pens though not elitist. ''More and more consumers have to participate in the Parker experience and graduate with the brand. We have been traditionally associated with professional and educational outlook rather than flamboyance,'' confirms Kumar.

The effort to make Parker affordable is not new, it was started back in 1981 with the introduction of the Vector range in moulded plastic barrels. In India, this range starts at Rs 125 and goes up to Rs 300. ''But this, of course, is still seen as expensive to the masses here who are used to paying just a few rupees for a ball-pen,'' says Kumar. Incidentally, India is the one of the four manufacturing-bases for Gillette's writing instruments business. The company entered into a 50:50 joint venture with the Luxor Group, and the venture is called Luxor Writing Instruments. Of the three brands--Parker, Papermate, and Waterman--that Gillette owns globally, only two have been launched here (Waterman is a super-premium product). The company launched Parker first as consumer here are familiar with the brand while Papermate, which is aimed at the lower-end of the market, would benefit from the brand-loyalty to Luxor. ''This is because Luxor has a strong presence in the trade and people will reach out to Papermate products that carry the Luxor brand as well,'' says Kumar.

Parker, meanwhile, seems to be attempting a Swatch-type of marketing in writing instruments. It seeks to be a pen that logs volumes in sales and, at the same time, retains its historical perspective which gives the modern consumer a feel of class. It is perceived as a quality product but not too expensive and exclusive as Mont Blanc, which cost upwards of Rs 7,000 and goes right up to Rs 6 lakh. Even a Cross pen, for that matter, is available upwards of Rs 500. In India, the company is aggressively targeting business-to-business platform in addition to trying to market it as a lifestyle product by getting M.F. Hussain to work on a limited Gajagamini edition, which was sold for Rs 5,000 each. Only 500 pens were made and sold to people on invitation, claims the company.

The company seems to be succeeding in its plans. It has not only made inroads into institutional sales here--which, according to reports, accounts for 25 per cent of its sales in the UK--it has, in fact, leveraged on Luxor's client-base of over 500. D.K. Jain, 57, the Chairman and President of Luxor Writing Instrument, says: ''Parker has the advantage of the established infrastructure network of Luxor. We have built our corporate client-base to almost 1,000 now.''

The company has also penetrated as many as 3,000 top towns in the country. Parker Pens are now available in one out of two stationery shops in these towns. ''We can credit ourselves for kicking off a premium platform at Rs 125 in the country. It is not as if pens were not priced at that level before, but the brand makes all the difference,'' says Kumar. Parker Pens has realised that success depends on the speed of response and delivery of a quality product. In fact, with India being one of the manufacturing-bases, Parker Pens are comparatively cheaper than in some other countries. And the bottomline seems to be responding to that. Trade sources claim that the company can easily notch a turnover of Rs 20 crore this year. And that's something to write home about.