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Conway Stewart Back On Track ?


MANUPENS

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Conway Stewart back on track ?


Almost everyone interested in writing instruments has heard the sad news that on August 28,2014, Conway Stewart went into “administration” as they call it in the OK (Receivership in the USA). The previous re-organizations of Conway Stewart were survival attempts to give the company a new start. This time the company is being liquidated. This time, all assets of the company were/are being sold off. Don Yendle and the successor owners of the brand, deserves a lot of credit for their efforts over the last 20 years in reviving a brand that was dormant for the time between the seventies and 1994.


The reasons for Conway Stewart’s failure are not uncommon in today’s economic climate. Ultimately, the lack of adequate capital to support and survive the ups and downs of sales volume at adequate margins were the cause of Conway Stewart’s demise. The real pity is that Conway Stewart never suffered from a lack of creativity, workmanship and product quality. And excellent customer service and distribution activities led by Mary Burke in North America, was a big plus too. If making beautiful objects were all it took, the company would be alive and well today. Ultimately their business model was not viable in today’s marketplace. A paradigm shift in manufacturing and distribution was and is required.


New Developments: I have acquired the rights to the trade name Conway Stewart brand for the USA. I intend to carry on the operation of the Conway Stewart brand beginning with 2015 production. The new Conway Stewart business plan will be a departure from the now overcrowded exaggerated-price, costly advertising, and limited edition model. There will be much more information coming in the near future about this.


For now, wishing you a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2015!


Emmanuel Caltagirone called "Manu"



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Hmmm. Well good luck anyway.

I would point out that Administration and Receivership are VERY different. An Administrator is appointed by the company to manage the business until it can get back into profitability or, if that fails, to sell off the business in whole or in part. A Receiver is appointed by creditors to recover their assets, not the same thing at all .

The article in The Journal of the Writing Equipment Society (No. 101) makes clear what took place.

Edited by Matlock

Peter

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I think this is the final trashing of Conway Stewart. I suspect acquired=picked up expired US trademark rather than purchasing the rights from the UK based holder. Best considered as opportunistic than anything else and has probably consigned any UK based CS to the rubbish bin. Given this is an announcement about a US pen company this forum would be the wrong one for this topic.

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I think this is the final trashing of Conway Stewart. I suspect acquired=picked up expired US trademark rather than purchasing the rights from the UK based holder. Best considered as opportunistic than anything else and has probably consigned any UK based CS to the rubbish bin. Given this is an announcement about a US pen company this forum would be the wrong one for this topic.

 

I agree.

Peter

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I had a conway stewart pen for a while and it was a fantastic pen. I think that some pens are aspirational, and the brand reflects that.

 

Turning CS into another parker could be sacrilege - it's clearly no longer going to be a British company :(

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Hi,

 

I believe the FP community will support any initiative, regardless of marque, to bring creative high quality products to market, especially if those are backed-up by excellent customer service.

 

I wish you good fortune!

 

Bye,

S1

The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

 

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Hi,

 

I believe the FP community will support any initiative, regardless of marque, to bring creative high quality products to market, especially if those are backed-up by excellent customer service.

 

I wish you good fortune!

 

Bye,

S1

Thank you, it is nice to see some positive comments after the harsh speculative spew from above. Let us hope for the best,

 

Post Script

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Having read the posts here on FPN and those on FPB I am very much afraid it is a case of Conway Stewart RIP. I can see nothing positive in all this but I would love to be proved wrong. The speculative spew may be harsh but, given the problems of the worldwide trade name, it may turn out to be justified. We will have to wait and see.

Peter

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its basically like the reemergence of the Esterbrook, the Wahl-Eversharp companies that is happening right now as long as the pens deserve the price and the company backing up their products then all is not lost but what happens to the support to the old CS pens if it's still going to be openly supported then I don't think anyone is on the losing end of the stick well there were some more horrible stories with CS here anyway b=I mean sure the service might be more expensive now for people in England if everything else will be based in the USofA

Edited by Algester
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It is not a matter of the country of manufacture. As I understand it the forthcoming operation only has the right to the CS trade name in the USA. This will mean that the new pens (if they are released) will not be available outside the USA. Not much help to anyone in the UK (or EU, Japan, Australia, etc. etc.) who would like to own a new CS.

Peter

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Sandy1, on 02 Dec 2014 - 12:05, said:snapback.png

Hi,

 

I believe the FP community will support any initiative, regardless of marque, to bring creative high quality products to market, especially if those are backed-up by excellent customer service.

 

I wish you good fortune!

 

Bye,

S1

Thank to support our initiative,

We do not know yet how we will organise the manufacturing but for sure it will not be made in China. We wish to keep the CS pens manufactured in EEC. It was almost the case before, nib from germany, feed from France, filling system from Germany....anyway, it is right to say turning machines and final assembling where based in Plymouth UK. Producing 100% british could be a dream, I agree, but who and where ? Parker newhaven closed, CS closed....

Manu

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its basically like the reemergence of the Esterbrook, the Wahl-Eversharp companies that is happening right now as long as the pens deserve the price and the company backing up their products then all is not lost but what happens to the support to the old CS pens if it's still going to be openly supported then I don't think anyone is on the losing end of the stick well there were some more horrible stories with CS here anyway b=I mean sure the service might be more expensive now for people in England if everything else will be based in the USofA

not sure, as long as you stay behind your products and give an adequate customer service, it is fine.

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Thank you, it is nice to see some positive comments after the harsh speculative spew from above. Let us hope for the best,

 

Post Script

 

Oh dear....here we go again...a history lesson may be appropriate!!

 

The prime reason the last CS was unable to be offered as a going concern was TM related. The TMs under which the name was used was licensed from CS Global Brands, a company controlled by Brand Cellars which is now in administration. This license was cancelled for whatever reason, suffice to say the TMs either had to be sold or the Brand Cellars stake in CS Global bought out to allow Brand Cellars to be finalized. It would seem the capacity to acquire the TMs beyond CS. Without certainty to the TM then the fate of CS was as seen.

 

The right way to revive the CS name is to acquire the TMs from CS Global, the wrong way is to register the TM in a different country. The right way at least acknowledges the hard work of those previous efforts to revive the name and gives credibility to the process , the wrong way simply aims to profit out of others misfortune. Mr. Emmanuel Caltagirone is also involved with Wahl Eversharp

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but what happens to the support to the old CS pens

 

You're on your own with those. This operation has no connection with any previous CS.

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It is not a matter of the country of manufacture. As I understand it the forthcoming operation only has the right to the CS trade name in the USA. This will mean that the new pens (if they are released) will not be available outside the USA. Not much help to anyone in the UK (or EU, Japan, Australia, etc. etc.) who would like to own a new CS.

 

Probably not an issue. Who's going to take legal action to prevent worldwide distribution?

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Manu,

 

I wish you all the best for success with reviving CS brand....

 

Having enjoyed both vintage and modern CS pens the past 5 years or so, I was saddened to hear of the demise of CS pens this summer.

 

I hope that you will honor the great qualities that CS pens have had and create as good or better new pens with the CS name on it.

 

Best,

 

Mark

FP Addict & Pretty Nice Guy

 

 

 

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Probably not an issue. Who's going to take legal action to prevent worldwide distribution?

 

I think the administrators may have a different view.

Peter

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I had a conway stewart pen for a while and it was a fantastic pen. I think that some pens are aspirational, and the brand reflects that.

 

Turning CS into another parker could be sacrilege - it's clearly no longer going to be a British company :(

 

 

You are right there.

 

It being BRITISH would be a major part of the Charm for me

Das leben ist wie ein Perpetuum Mobile mit ein Mangel..... Immer im Bewegung jedoch nicht unendlich. (life is like a troubled Perpetuum Mobile ever moving but not for ever)

Tricked throughout the centuries...

For centuries people had been tricked by kings & "religion-alism"

In the 20th century people got tricked by communism

Today people get tricked by (neo)capitalism :)

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