Montblanc: How They Became The Global Leader Of Fine Writing Instruments

[max dog]

Montblanc today can claim, "we produce our products in Germany, Switzerland, and Italy, and we sell big in China!". Impressive, how many companies today can claim this? It's hard to criticize MB for their successful brand strategy in light of where Parker, Waterman (USA), and Sheaffer ended up today. Sailor, Pilot, Platinum, Lamy, Pelikan, Visconti, Aurora and Cross all aspire to be Montblanc today with their high end products they produce that cost as much as Montblanc, but don't carry the brand recognition and prestige of Montblanc.

 

Here is an inspiring 2012 Forbes interview with CEO of Montblanc as he talks about how Montblanc survived the onslaught of the computer age that killed the pen industry in the 1980s to become the global leader in fine writing instruments today.

 

 

What a brilliant business plan and branding!

Edited March 7, 2020 by max dog

[Estycollector]

Do you know for certain those brands target market is the same as MB?

 

Seems to me Parker and Sheffer have always produced writing instruments for a broader market. They produced nuts 51 and later the 21. LAMY is a good example of producing quality models for a wide demographic.

Edited March 7, 2020 by Estycollector

[markofp]

It's hard to criticize MB for their successful brand strategy

 

 

You're right. It IS hard to criticize their successful brand strategy.

 

It is VERY easy, however to criticize their pens. I have never been happy with any Montblanc that I have ever owned. I pick one up now and then, do some writing with it, realize that I have Parkers and Pilots that can write circles around it, and then I cap it and hand it back.

 

Selling sketchy writing brittle plastic pens that cost a fortune because of "brand recognition and prestige" might be seen as successful strategy, but the video above is a CEO trying to give solidity to flatulence. I will take my Pelikan M800 or Pilot 823 any day.

Edited March 7, 2020 by markofp

[Tseg]

I may have a small crack in my MB 149 nib collar, but it writes well. Of course I have dozens of other really nice writing pens at 1/3 the price. Their nib collars are fine.

Edited March 7, 2020 by Tseg

[DonM]

I guess I'd question the implied definition of "global leader".

[cellmatrix]

Their brand strategy is good and I drank the coolaide as well. I have two MB 149's. I mainly got them because of the great comments on FPN, including some sincere, and informative posts from the OP.

 

They are nice pens, very handsome, and smooth writing, but I've realized over the years that I like finer nibs and even the MB 149 EF I have still writes too widely because these 149's have very generous ink flow.

 

For that reason I prefer my old EF pilot vanishing point so much better than my MB EF 149 even though 149's costs hundreds of dollars more. Some day, I will sell these two montblancs when I have the time.

 

As far as the Montblanc marketing strategy, obviously at least part of the appeal is to those people who like to show off to others they are successful and have money. That kind of strategy does not resonate with everyone (not so much with me for example), but it does with a lot of people, and hence they can sell a lot of high end pens.

 

So yes they are successful and more power to them.

[WLSpec]

Thank you for this. I will be sure to watch

 

I do find it interesting how MB is so widely known. Most pen brands mentioned in this pen world we live in would not be recognizable by someone who is not knowledgeable about fountain pens, but most people would recognize Montblanc. I know that before I entered the fountain pen world I had never heard of almost every pen brand I know of and own with the exception of Pilot because of their inexpensive models which are widely owned, but I probably would have heard of Montblanc.

Edited March 7, 2020 by WLSpec

[tim77]

[...]

to become the global leader in fine writing instruments today.

 

 

There's a large Montblanc shop near me. It has six big display windows. Not one contains a "writing instrument".

[Mulrich]

Most other older pen brands went to the low end of the market and have done okay but are constantly dealing with competition from generic cheap alternatives. MB isnt the only high end manufacturer but they defined that segment of the market.

[BDarchitect]

MB has one of the few instantly recognizable brand marks with the snow cap, which has been essential to broad consumer awareness. They have also been very conscious about aligning their products with the reputation of Swiss and German manufacturing for precision, quality, durability, and timeless design. And now they are diligently reinforcing their brand as a luxury item by maintaining control over the sales environment for their products, especially through their stores. All of this has lead to the ongoing recognition and success of the company as a symbol of quality and luxury, as he describes. I would bet the vast majority of pen owners don't read reviews on FPN, let alone even know this forum exists. They simply buy the brand for its reputation and because it is easily recognized as a mark of status. The products need only be "good enough" to maintain that reputation, they don't need to be "the best", as others here have noted. Indeed, the CEO doesn't claim anywhere in that interview that they are trying to make the best pen, wallet, case, or whatever; only that they continue to reflect the core values as timeless, quality, luxury products. The consumer market is full of brands that ride on their reputation while other, less well known competitors, make better products without the same cachet.

Edited March 8, 2020 by BDarchitect

[Karmachanic]

Veblen put it nicely.

[KBeezie]

I wonder if they're including sales of all their branded products and not just their pens. Since it is a 'status' symbol now more so than something I'd equate to being fine writing instruments (least not the way they used to be).

[cellmatrix]

MB has one of the few instantly recognizable brand marks with the snow cap, which has been essential to broad consumer awareness. They have also been very conscious about aligning their products with the reputation of Swiss and German manufacturing for precision, quality, durability, and timeless design. And now they are diligently reinforcing their brand as a luxury item by maintaining control over the sales environment for their products, especially through their stores. All of this has lead to the ongoing recognition and success of the company as a symbol of quality and luxury, as he describes. I would bet the vast majority of pen owners don't read reviews on FPN, let alone even know this forum exists. They simply buy the brand for its reputation and because it is easily recognized as a mark of status. The products need only be "good enough" to maintain that reputation, they don't need to be "the best", as others here have noted. Indeed, the CEO doesn't claim anywhere in that interview that they are trying to make the best pen, wallet, case, or whatever; only that they continue to reflect the core values as timeless, quality, luxury products. The consumer market is full of brands that ride on their reputation while other, less well known competitors, make better products without the same cache.

 

Very insightful comments

[max dog]

 

You're right. It IS hard to criticize their successful brand strategy.

 

It is VERY easy, however to criticize their pens. I have never been happy with any Montblanc that I have ever owned. I pick one up now and then, do some writing with it, realize that I have Parkers and Pilots that can write circles around it, and then I cap it and hand it back.

 

Selling sketchy writing brittle plastic pens that cost a fortune because of "brand recognition and prestige" might be seen as successful strategy, but the video above is a CEO trying to give solidity to flatulence. I will take my Pelikan M800 or Pilot 823 any day.

Would be interested in hearing about specifics of the MB pen(s) you are referring to. What model, nib type, new or used, how many? It's one thing to say your other pens can write circles around a Montblanc, but some more details of your comparison would be helpful. It reminds me of a youtube review of a Cross Townsend. It was a review of an an EBAY purchase, and from what I can make out the reviewer acquired it super cheap, in disrepair with a worn or damaged nib. Reviewer complained about how scratchy it was , and poor ink flow, and compared it to his $5 fountain pens and said something similar that his cheap pens wrote circles around the Cross, and the brand was junk. I've got several Cross Townsends and they are some of the finest writers in fountainpendome. An unfair comparison is never very helpful to the fountain pen community.

Edited March 7, 2020 by max dog

[corniche]

...and we sell big in China!". Impressive, how many companies today can claim this?

Buick.

 

Hi Max Dog,

 

I only have one MB and I have been tempted to get another, but haven't yet. They do make nice pens, but I don't think they quite measure up to their price. I got mine for $300 @ a jewelry store that was closing down. I'd go for that deal again, but not their typical prices.

 

I guess I've drunk the Kool-Aid, just not enough.

 

Sean

[max dog]

Buick.

 

Hi Max Dog,

 

I only have one MB and I have been tempted to get another, but haven't yet. They do make nice pens, but I don't think they quite measure up to their price. I got mine for $300 @ a jewelry store that was closing down. I'd go for that deal again, but not their typical prices.

 

I guess I've drunk the Kool-Aid, just not enough.

 

Sean

My father was a big Buick man. I remember his first 1956 Buick Roadmaster, and then later 2 more Buick Regals until his driving days were over well into his 80s! Nice cars indeed!

 

Where MB differ from the other brands that produce high end writing instruments is, they decided not to compete in the lower tier market and focus their strength in the higher end. For good or for bad, I think this has solicited some negativity from some with regards to the brand as being luxury hype. But the good thing is, MBs can be had for great prices used on EBAY and other online options.

 

While I think a lot of MB consumers are attracted to the brand for it's prestige, MB caters to fountain pen enthusiasts too, offering remarkable writing experiences to match their brand image. If they weren't concerned about the writing experience for the enthusiasts, why offer EF, F, M, B, BB, OB, OBB, OBBB, and just go the route of offering F and M nibs like so many brand do today. The EF and OB nibs I have are a dream to write with, and the latest special edition Calligraphy flex nib is in vintage flex territory, just sublime!

[Estycollector]

Most other older pen brands went to the low end of the market and have done okay but are constantly dealing with competition from generic cheap alternatives. MB isnt the only high end manufacturer but they defined that segment of the market.

I remember circa 93 getting a 149. What I dont recall is writing much with it.

[Fuzzy_Bear]

If you remember that Mercedes used to advertise, and for long enough, that everyone believed they had better resale value than Cadillac.

 

Which was probably false.

[austollie]

It also appears to me that Montblanc has the formula right, if the aim is (as it is for any well run business) to maximise the return to shareholders. Montblanc has positioned itself as an easily recognisable status-symbol brand and is leveraging this to sell other luxury goods. I see people writing with Montblanc pens (albeit ballpoint pens) in meetings all the time.

 

However, I personally find it objectionable to flash status symbols around. I think that's in poor taste. To me, any new pen that I purchase has to justify its existence on its merits. I would not pay extra, because a pen (or watch or car or whatever) allows me to show my colleagues or neighbours that I've got the ability to buy something that is more expensive than it needs to be.

 

If you like modern Montblanc pens, then great. To me, their cost is not justified by what they are. Before making a purchase, I would ask myself "If the logo wasn't there, would I still buy the pen at that price?". If the answer is no, then I would not buy the pen. Notice how some classy pens (e.g. Lamy 2000) have a barely visible logo?

 

Personally, I enjoy my collection of 1970s and early 1980s Montblanc Carrera pens. I also like the Monte Rosa line made up until at least the 1960s. There were functional pens. My Monte Rosa piston filler doesn't even have the Montblanc logo on it.

[BaronWulfraed]

Given the focus on "status symbol" they need to put together a joint advert with Piaggio... Where someone is signing the purchase papers of a Vespa* scooter using a MB fountain pen...

 

 

* sure, the steel monocoque/unibody is a selling point, but when you get down to it -- A Piaggio branded (plastic body) scooter with the exact same drive train will be $1000 to $2000 less.