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Which Brands Do You Think That Will Never Die.


Icywolfe

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Never die means that they will be here and never be sold to another bigger company or just vanishes due to lack of money.

 

I say Pilot. As they have a large BP and GP line plus on the side they have FPs. (And apparently jewelry rings too, for some reason.)

 

And next might be Pelikan and Waterman Paris and Cross only because they also cater the FP group plus have a BP and GP line. But their lines are on the expensive side while Pilot is everywhere from dirt cheap to super expensive.

 

Waterman is owned by another company right now I think.

 

 

#Nope

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Pilot was the first company to come to mind. They have a huuuuuge line of products; when I was showing a friend my Metropolitan the other day, she showed me her favourite pen. It was a Pilot fineliner! I don't think Pilot ever really makes a bad pen, whether FP or BP or RB or felt-tipped or whatever, and they are able to cater to broke students and people who don't care about writing instruments AND to fountain pen enthusiasts with big budgets. I think they'll be able to stick around.

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Pilot was also the first company that came to my mind (followed by Platinum), some of the less obvious ones are companies like Uni, BIC, and any other that wide assortment of options from cheap to expensive.

 

The question is whether or not they will keep making things of quality or certain niche, or drop them in order to survive.

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Pilot was also the first company that came to my mind (followed by Platinum), some of the less obvious ones are companies like Uni, BIC, and any other that wide assortment of options from cheap to expensive.

 

The question is whether or not they will keep making things of quality or certain niche, or drop them in order to survive.

 

I don't think Platinum would survive that long as their other lines are lacking. Salior is on the same boat, too little or none on the other lines.

 

Pilot might just drop the the fine writing, but Namiki will carry on. I'm sure it will become like this:

 

Pilot:

RB, GB, BP line

Cheap FP like the Petit1 and Metros

 

Namiki: Everything else in FP.

 

I feel like Bic (Ball point) and Uni (Roller ball) and Pilot (BP, RP, GP, FP) will be the only ones left part of "old world" in the future. (I mean old world as how some pen brands are gone now, but common in the past.) I have a feeling MB might die out like Sailor because of the lack of the lower end. Platinum might be the new MB in the future.

 

 

Pilot was the first company to come to mind. They have a huuuuuge line of products; when I was showing a friend my Metropolitan the other day, she showed me her favourite pen. It was a Pilot fineliner! I don't think Pilot ever really makes a bad pen, whether FP or BP or RB or felt-tipped or whatever, and they are able to cater to broke students and people who don't care about writing instruments AND to fountain pen enthusiasts with big budgets. I think they'll be able to stick around.

 

Well their recycled bottles pens looks ugly. Even though my classmates love it. That is the only bad pen I think they make.

Edited by Icywolfe

#Nope

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Another vote for pilot here!

 

Their V5 disposable pen (the RB analogue to their Varsity, I believe) was a constant presence all throughout my primary school days in the early 2000s, though they were definitely on the pricey end of the spectrum for 7 y/o me's budget then. Oh, how things have changed XD

I dunno, what with Conway Stewart going the way of the dodo (into administration, where else?), I fear for all luxury pen brands now, with few exceptions; Montblanc is "the" rich-person brand as far as I'm concerned, and isn't likely to vanish anytime soon, while a LOT of others (Waterman, Sailor, Sheaffer, etc) are kinda tenuous now. Sheaffer's getting sold to Cross, IIRC? And I remember someone posting a thread about how Sailor isn't doing too hot in the market right now.

 

 

Bah.

 

Kevin

"The price of an object should not only be what you had to pay for it, but also what you've had to sacrifice in order to obtain it." - <i>The Wisdom of The Internet</i><p class='bbc_center'><center><img src="http://i59.tinypic.com/jr4g43.jpg"/></center>

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Never say never.

There are a lot of companies that are gone.

 

The problem is if the pen company ONLY manufactures pens or writing instruments, they are not diversified, and a change in the economy or peoples buying could kill them. A one-industry company has all its eggs in one basket. And if that basket falls, all the eggs crack. If the pen company is part of a larger conglomorate, which some/many are, they could survive by the conglomorate having diversified itself over various industries. But that does not mean the conglomorate could not kill the money loosing company. Any business can bleed money for only so long, before it has to cut its loses and shut it down/sell it.

San Francisco Pen Show - August 28-30, 2020 - Redwood City, California

www.SFPenShow.com

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Montblanc is "the" rich-person brand as far as I'm concerned, and isn't likely to vanish anytime soon,

 

A rich person has their limits too on what they will spend on stuff. They lack a lower end market that is why I feel Pelikan might survive a bit longer.

 

Never say never.

There are a lot of companies that are gone.

 

The problem is if the pen company ONLY manufactures pens or writing instruments, they are not diversified, and a change in the economy or peoples buying could kill them. A one-industry company has all its eggs in one basket. And if that basket falls, all the eggs crack. If the pen company is part of a larger conglomorate, which some/many are, they could survive by the conglomorate having diversified itself over various industries. But that does not mean the conglomorate could not kill the money loosing company. Any business can bleed money for only so long, before it has to cut its loses and shut it down/sell it.

Have you see the amount of non-writing instrument Pilot products. They even make wedding rings.

 

http://www.pilot.co.jp/jewelry/index.html

 

RLY Pilot.......

 

Actually I know what I'll give my future wife. Dat ring. If you read the technology page they some how made a simple old fashioned thing complicated.

Edited by Icywolfe

#Nope

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Lamy. Solid, low end pens that sell in large quantities, with marketing that gets them into virtually every retail outlet that sells fountain pens. They'll probably be around as long as there are fountain pens.

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Pilot seems to have enough going for it that they'll keep going for as long as people write with pens. Montblanc has the strongest branding of any pen company and should be able to keep going on that alone, though as a luxury brand, there are lots of hedge funds that wouldn't mind destroying their quality and reputation to milk a few bucks out of them.

 

Realistically, it seems like most fountain pen companies have seen major struggles over the past 20 years. Even the strongest companies can collapse very quickly after a few years of declining sales and mismanagement.

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A distinction needs to be made between "brands" and "companies" when having this discussion.

 

Pen "companies" are now and were then in the good old days, actual physical entities with manufacturing plants, design departments, sales forces, and distribution networks … brick and mortar and human flesh and blood working to support a like of products that were produced and sold by dedicated organizations

 

"Brands" continue to exist when those dedicated organizations that produced them and accounted for the value, may have passed from existence.

 

Based on this thought, I would add Newell Rubbermade for their actual varied manufacturing, design, and distribution operations. This structure supports varied product lines including well-known pen "brands" if not companies, to this list. Perhaps their greatest strength results from their early recognition of the supply and distribution needs for products sold into Walmart and Target.

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I put my money on a certain Major Brand (hint: look at the initials)

 

Why? Because there are more and more people becoming rich, and the Major Brand is a status symbol for them to flaunt their wealth...

 

 

~Epic

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1348/557449480_2f02cc3cbb_m.jpg http://null.aleturo.com/Dumatborlon/Badges/5EH4/letter.png
 
A sincere man am I
From the land where palm trees grow,
And I want before I die
My soul's verses to bestow.
 
All those moments will be lost in time.
Like tears in rain.
Time to die.

 

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I don't think Platinum would survive that long as their other lines are lacking. Salior is on the same boat, too little or none on the other lines.

 

Thing is, without being in Japan or being able to read their full Japanese offering, we don't really have a solid understanding just how well they may survive or how many different offerings they have in their own home economy.

 

I mean look at all their non-fountain pen offerings... http://www.platinum-pen.co.jp/eproduct.html

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I put my money on a certain Major Brand (hint: look at the initials)

 

Why? Because there are more and more people becoming rich, and the Major Brand is a status symbol for them to flaunt their wealth...

 

 

~Epic

Does Major Brand count though? It's part of a huge luxury conglomerate.

Edited by Keyless Works
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Thing is, without being in Japan or being able to read their full Japanese offering, we don't really have a solid understanding just how well they may survive or how many different offerings they have in their own home economy.

 

I mean look at all their non-fountain pen offerings... http://www.platinum-pen.co.jp/eproduct.html

What the...

 

Why don't I see their other non FPs in the US? (except brush.)

 

 

 

A distinction needs to be made between "brands" and "companies" when having this discussion.

 

Pen "companies" are now and were then in the good old days, actual physical entities with manufacturing plants, design departments, sales forces, and distribution networks … brick and mortar and human flesh and blood working to support a like of products that were produced and sold by dedicated organizations

 

"Brands" continue to exist when those dedicated organizations that produced them and accounted for the value, may have passed from existence.

 

Based on this thought, I would add Newell Rubbermade for their actual varied manufacturing, design, and distribution operations. This structure supports varied product lines including well-known pen "brands" if not companies, to this list. Perhaps their greatest strength results from their early recognition of the supply and distribution needs for products sold into Walmart and Target.

I guess I mean more of a Company. Like Platinum, Pilot, Lamy, Pelikan.

Edited by Icywolfe

#Nope

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What do you mean by that?

MB has been under the ownership of Dunhill since 1977.

They came as a boon, and a blessing to men,
The Pickwick, the Owl and the Waverley pen

Sincerely yours,

Pickwick

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Never say never when money is concerned!

"may our fingers remain ink stained"

Handwriting - one of life's pure pleasures

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