NEW DELHI: Indian made Parker pens will soon be adorning pockets of the wealthy around the world. US-based Newell Rubbermaid is going to make India a sourcing hub for its premium writing instrument brand Parker.
In addition, the company in collaboration with its Indian partner Delhi-based Luxor Group will bring Parker s accessories comprising men s jewellery, leather products and eye-wear to tap the country s growing lifestyle market.
The domestic writing instruments market is valued at Rs 2,000-crore currently, of which 70% lies in the organised market. Parker pens, which sports price tags starting as low as Rs 75 and goes upto Rs 25,000/unit, claims to hold more than 50% market share in the premium segment, in which it is competing with brands such as Cross and Montblanc.
Currently, Parker is a Rs 75 crore brand in the country, which is expected to become Rs 300 crore brand in the next five years through the portfolio expansion, said Luxor group chairman DK Jain. Luxor also has distribution rights for Newell s Waterman brand in India.
Luxor currently produces 12 million Parker pens at its Noida facility, which is sold entirely in the domestic market. The company will start exporting pens to various overseas markets such as Europe, North America, Japan and China from next year.
The company plans to invest Rs 100 crore to expand manufacturing and retail base of Parker in India in the next 15 months. While half of the investments will go in setting up a new pen-making facility in Noida with the capacity of 100 million units, the balance will be invested in opening 100 exclusive and shop-in-shop stores across the country.
To build Parker brand in India, an extensive range of its accessories will be launched in India early next year that will be available in Luxor s existing and new retail outlets. Driven by design, quality and contemporary aesthetics these accessories will deliver additional growth of the brand in the lifestyle space, said Newell Rubbermaid president Magnus Nicolin.
Newell has also entered into an agreement with Luxor International, the wholly owned export oriented subsidiary of the Luxor group, for sourcing its Berol branded markers. The Indian company will export 40 million units of Newell s Berol markers produced under Luxor International in India to the US per year for the next 3-5 years.
The Rs 2,000- crore privately held Luxor group, which also has interest in IT, real estate and hospitality, draws Rs 300 crore revenues from its writing instruments business currently and claims 15-20% share of the domestic organised writing instruments market.
The $6-billion Newell Rubbermaid has brands such as Parker, Waterman, Papermate, Berol, Sharpie and Dymo in its portfolio, which alone contribute over $1-billion to the company s overall revenues.
Source : The Economic Times