Putting the fashion in pens

Last Monday, Star Paper Corp. senior product manager Ben Arlen Tan had a nationwide inventory of four units of Waterman’s top of the line range. Two days later, his inventory was down to two Serenite fountain pens, each retailing at P35,000, and a Serenite rollerball, which was priced a little lower.

"Unlike other brands, Waterman does not have a low-end or entry level product. With its cheapest pen priced at P1,500, Waterman starts at mid-market," said Tan.

The brand was named after Lewis Edson Waterman, who put up his own pen-producing company in 1883 after he lost an important contract because his pen didn’t have a reliable ink flow. The French company was eventually purchased by Newell Rubbermaid, which also owns the Parker brand.

"Star Paper got the Waterman distributorship two years after it got Parker," said general manager of the product management division Romeo Jacinto. "Although it is Europe’s best-selling pen, Waterman is not as well known here as the American brands, in large part because of our American orientation."

To date, Waterman sales account for 5% of total Star Paper revenues.

"We’re hoping to double Waterman’s contribution to total sales this year, particularly in the fourth quarter when pens are a popular gift items," said brand manager for Parker and Waterman Ronald Vizonde. "While there is the possibility that Waterman might eat into the share of Parker, we’re hoping that growth will be at the expense of competitors."

At retail prices, the total pen market in the country is conservatively placed at P200 million, excluding very good fakes of popular brands sold in flea markets. "The market for pens has dropped in all Asian countries except for Hong Kong and Korea, where the practice of giving prestigious gifts remains strong," said Tan.

Market awareness

Star Paper carries all of Waterman’s 15 designs or ranges, each range coming in different colors and in sets of fountain pen, rollerball, ballpen and pencil. "The slowest moving are the pencils. The only ones who buy the pencils are those who want to complete a set," said Tan.

Because of its market positioning, Star Paper distributes Waterman only in Metro Manila outlets of National Bookstore and in department stores that cater to the high-end market. Metro Manila accounts for 80% of total pen sales in the country.

"Pens are normally bought as gifts," said Jacinto. "Filipinos do not buy pens for themselves; they give it to somebody they love or whom they respect. Given this mindset, the pen must have value not only in the eye of the giver but also in the eye of the receiver."

To accentuate them as fashion items with a wide range of concept designs and colors, the Waterman pens are displayed in trays imported from France. Sales personnel are trained to ask buyers questions, to better help them select the right pen to give. As an incentive, sales personnel are given twice the commission of other pen brands.

"For the first time in our company’s history, we’ve come up with a promotion where a buyer of a Waterman can win a car," said Jacinto. While the promotion will help drive sales, Waterman’s uncommon look and quality will be the deciding factors behind each purchase.