Conway Stewart In Administration!

[j1020]

My Churchill Excalibur LE (003/100) may have been one of the last pens out the door. Mr. Adams personally expedited it.

[Matlock]

Well the plant and equipment are being sold next week, so only the name will remain and be sold at some stage I think. I would expect remaining stock may be offered to the dealer network as a simple way to tidy up so you may yet get that elusive pen.

 

I would think there will be very little remaining stock as CS tended to work on a "just in time" basis, assembling pens as required. Any remaining stock is probably earmarked for nominated dealers. We shall see.

[mongrelnomad]

It's been a while since I bought a CS and, trawling through the 'usual suspects' dealer network, I was surprised to what degree their product-line had shrunk. Never mind the dearth of styles; the resins at the end were incredibly uninspiring considering CS's incredible inventory. There was not a single pen I could consider picking up...

 

And so, in memoriam, my wonderful mini collection. RIP:

 

Left to right: Wellington (never got the resin name), Churchill Amethyst, 100 Nebula, Churchill Red Whirl. Up top, my sad, stained Coronet.

[Vlad Soare]

That Nebula 100 looks gorgeous.

I was torn between Nebula and Classic Green. In the end I decided for Classic Green, but I was still thinking of getting another pen in the Nebula finish at some point in time. Unfortunately, now it seems to be too late for that.

I guess I'm fortunate I could get my Wellington just in time. It had already been discontinued, but the factory made one for me.

Edited September 12, 2014 by Vlad Soare

[AJ50]

Purely personal choice, but I never liked the Nebula colour or all those swirly colours. However, that pen on the left looks gorgeous - I think (most likely wrong) that it's Cherry Red?

[Matlock]

Purely personal choice, but I never liked the Nebula colour or all those swirly colours. However, that pen on the left looks gorgeous - I think (most likely wrong) that it's Cherry Red?

Looking at CS 2005 catalogue I think you are correct.

[arran]

I think CS had the broadest variety of mosaic pens in the market and came regularly with new colours and patterns

I am convinced there is a supplementary market for it.Onoto I thing is not fishing in the same pond!Ok both are British , but the character and appearance are totally different I think.

I really think CS has a great future if well managed.

I ordered a CS 100 for my wife with italic at La Couronne , but canceled the order for an Onoto excel with same nib specs

[mongrelnomad]

Does anybody know what is happening to the resin stock? How wonderful it would be to have someone like Conid pick up some of the more unique materials for their Bulkfillers...

[mongrelnomad]

I think CS had the broadest variety of mosaic pens in the market and came regularly with new colours and patterns

I am convinced there is a supplementary market for it.Onoto I thing is not fishing in the same pond!Ok both are British , but the character and appearance are totally different I think.

I really think CS has a great future if well managed.

I ordered a CS 100 for my wife with italic at La Couronne , but canceled the order for an Onoto excel with same nib specs

If they're selling off the company assets as stated above, then the company is dead as everything but a memory. Anyone purchasing the name would have to start from scratch.

[RMN]

When I visited them about 5 yrs ago, they had large racks of plates and square and round rods in many many colours and materials, including some casein.

They bought the stuff in large plates, sawed them into square rods, and then they went into a sort of mega pencil sharpener to produce the round rods. That sharpener was army surplus from WW2 from an ammo factory.

 

Since the administration in 2010 they have been churning out LEs on a specific colour regularly, my guess is to reduce the enormous stock they had.

 

So in my opinion stocks are not so large by now.

 

And even then, 5 yrs ago it was a very small operation run by a handful of workers, who were not there every day. The day I was there, there was no production going on. So even then they were working on the idea of just-in-time.

 

D.ick

[warblerick]

I don't know if any remaining stock will be flying off dealers shelves, as some have thought. When you buy a (an expensive) brand new pen, a warranty is expected. If the dealer could honor the warranty, well that's one thing, but if the company no longer exists, will there be any sort of warranty against defects, quality, or other issues? And what of the pens made in 2005/2006, the ones that came with a 100 year warranty?

 

I would have to think twice about any purchase of in-stock merchandise now. Sad too because I really had my heart set on trying to find an Excalibur Churchill at some point in time.

 

So, I will certainly now be very much more careful with my precious CS pens.

[Matlock]

I don't know if any remaining stock will be flying off dealers shelves, as some have thought. When you buy a (an expensive) brand new pen, a warranty is expected. If the dealer could honor the warranty, well that's one thing, but if the company no longer exists, will there be any sort of warranty against defects, quality, or other issues? And what of the pens made in 2005/2006, the ones that came with a 100 year warranty?

 

I would have to think twice about any purchase of in-stock merchandise now. Sad too because I really had my heart set on trying to find an Excalibur Churchill at some point in time.

 

So, I will certainly now be very much more careful with my precious CS pens.

 

In the UK we have what is called The Sale of Goods Act which overides the makers guarantee (unless that guarantee is of the 100 year variety). The responsibilty for the guarantee is, in the first place, with the dealer. If the manufacturer is still in business this causes no problem, if not most dealers have either the expertise to carry out repair work themselves or "they know someone who can". I am sure in the US most dealers have some sort of back up for repairs etc.

I am certain that you are more than careful with your pens anyway.

Peter.

[Tancred]

Well the plant and equipment are being sold next week, so only the name will remain and be sold at some stage I think. I would expect remaining stock may be offered to the dealer network as a simple way to tidy up so you may yet get that elusive pen.

 

If this is the case then the company is as good as dead, just like the original one all those years ago.

 

To be honest, even after the first rescue in 2010 I felt that they were scaling down the range substantially, with prices rising quite a bit. Still, the name has good brand value and a buyer may wish to use it to fill a niche market, which means the new company (if there is one) will probably either aim at the very high end luxury market or at the bargain bucket one, with not much in the middle. I hope this won't be the case. Anyway, luxury pen companies don't always do well - look at Michel Perchin.

[warblerick]

 

If this is the case then the company is as good as dead, just like the original one all those years ago.

 

To be honest, even after the first rescue in 2010 I felt that they were scaling down the range substantially, with prices rising quite a bit. Still, the name has good brand value and a buyer may wish to use it to fill a niche market, which means the new company (if there is one) will probably either aim at the very high end luxury market or at the bargain bucket one, with not much in the middle. I hope this won't be the case. Anyway, luxury pen companies don't always do well - look at Michel Perchin.

Just to save me from having to look it up, whatever did happen to Michel Perchin?

[watch_art]

Just to save me from having to look it up, whatever did happen to Michel Perchin?

 

I heard it changed into David Oscarson. Or David something something or other. I can't remember but David was part of it. I think.

 

Edit:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/143493-michel-perchin/

[warblerick]

One thing about the modern Conway Stewart company that surprised me, when I found out, was how small the company actually was. That they lost only four jobs was even a bit of a surprise, as I thought there were more like a dozen employees. Their full and half-page full color advertisements in magazines such as Pen World and Stylus were so outstandingly done, with such spectacular photographs, one would have thought it was a much larger company. That they had many Reader's Choice awards (in several different catagories) through the past several years from Pen World, and had several pens on the cover in that same magazine over the past years, also led one to believe they were larger than they were.

 

I truly hope the company will make a come back, as there were really no other pens that I like(d) as well. So classy and refined, great writers, and all a classic modern pen should be.

[Matlock]

One thing about the modern Conway Stewart company that surprised me, when I found out, was how small the company actually was. That they lost only four jobs was even a bit of a surprise, as I thought there were more like a dozen employees. Their full and half-page full color advertisements in magazines such as Pen World and Stylus were so outstandingly done, with such spectacular photographs, one would have thought it was a much larger company. That they had many Reader's Choice awards (in several different catagories) through the past several years from Pen World, and had several pens on the cover in that same magazine over the past years, also led one to believe they were larger than they were.

 

I truly hope the company will make a come back, as there were really no other pens that I like(d) as well. So classy and refined, great writers, and all a classic modern pen should be.

 

I believe that, at one time, they did have around a dozen employees. I seem to remember that was mentioned when the WES had a tour round the works a few years ago. Perhaps the full story will come out in the next few weeks?

[dms525]

One thing about the modern Conway Stewart company that surprised me, when I found out, was how small the company actually was. That they lost only four jobs was even a bit of a surprise, as I thought there were more like a dozen employees. Their full and half-page full color advertisements in magazines such as Pen World and Stylus were so outstandingly done, with such spectacular photographs, one would have thought it was a much larger company. That they had many Reader's Choice awards (in several different catagories) through the past several years from Pen World, and had several pens on the cover in that same magazine over the past years, also led one to believe they were larger than they were.

 

I truly hope the company will make a come back, as there were really no other pens that I like(d) as well. So classy and refined, great writers, and all a classic modern pen should be.

 

If I understood him correctly, Michael Masuyama told me Mary Burke's husband did CS's advertising photography. It was quite good, wasn't it? Note that he was probably not an employee but, rather, a private contractor. Thus, he would not have been counted among this who lost employment.

 

David

Edited September 13, 2014 by dms525

[warblerick]

Yes, that is correct. Mary is married to Bill Riepl, who was the photographer for all those great pen spreads.

[raging.dragon]

 

It ever was such. I feel for anyone who has an order in the pipeline and also for pen dealers who have placed orders with CS. They will allways be at the back of the queue when it comes to getting their money back.

 

Many, probably most, customers will have paid by credit card and thus be covered - they can dispute the payment (for non-delivery) and have it reversed. If CS can't cover the reimbursement then credit card company, or their insurer, will take the loss. This could be bad for dealers and distributor who have either prepaid for stock, or have to refund customers for out of stock special orders. However, it's also likely many dealers saw the writing on the wall and avoided getting into this situation.