Sales data

[kenny]

Does MB have available any data on their sales of their various models over the years?

[Richard]

If they have it at all, you can bet dollars to donuts they will not make it public. That's not the kind of thing a manufacturer of premium-priced articles wants known; it can have a negative effect on people's willingness to pay "luxury" prices for what turns out not to be so exclusive after all.

 

How not-so-exclusive are MB pens? Writers series pens are produced in "limited editions" of 20,000 or more. Think about this in contrast with a company like Bexley. If I exclude the Continental and Multi-Max, which are "commodity" pens, I'd be willing to bet that Bexley hasn't produced 20,000 pens since it opened its doors in 1993. The Bexley Artists series (like the David Broadwell Edition below) were issued in editions of 18 (yes, that's eighteen) pens. Now that's exclusive.

 

http://www.richardspens.com/images/shared/amer_artist.jpg

Edited December 13, 2006 by Richard

[Turboff]

According to Robbreport.com, they make "millions" total, which no doubt includes ball and roller pens.

[jd50ae]

How not-so-exclusive are MB pens? Writers series pens are produced in "limited editions" of 20,000 or more. Think about this in contrast with a company like Bexley. If I exclude the Continental and Multi-Max, which are "commodity" pens, I'd be willing to bet that Bexley hasn't produced 20,000 pens since it opened its doors in 1993. The Bexley Artists series (like the David Broadwell Edition below) were issued in editions of 18 (yes, that's eighteen) pens. Now that's exclusive.

 

I have always wondered about the sales mentality in deciding to call something a LE when there is more of them then there are Bic pens. <_<

[Titivillus]

How not-so-exclusive are MB pens? Writers series pens are produced in "limited editions" of 20,000 or more. Think about this in contrast with a company like Bexley. If I exclude the Continental and Multi-Max, which are "commodity" pens, I'd be willing to bet that Bexley hasn't produced 20,000 pens since it opened its doors in 1993. The Bexley Artists series (like the David Broadwell Edition below) were issued in editions of 18 (yes, that's eighteen) pens. Now that's exclusive.

 

I have always wondered about the sales mentality in deciding to call something a LE when there is more of them then there are Bic pens. <_<

To be honest by definition they are a limited edition in that only a certain number are produced. Granted that number is in many cases large!

 

I'm looking at a pen that xxx/500. It's a nice pen and a reasonable limit to the number as well.

 

I can see larger numbers if there is some tie in with whatever the edition is hnoring as well.

 

 

K

[Johnny Appleseed]

If they are publicly held, some of that might be in their Annual Report. While they may not want their market to know how "non-exclusive" their products are, they want investors to know how many they sell. It may not be broken down to each model, but I will bet they highlight how many 146s and 149s they have sold.

 

If they are privately held then the info won't be public.

 

John

[Turboff]

They're owned by Richemont, which is at least partially public because they have an Invester section on their website. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like they list information for specific brands. Their other pen makers, Montegrappa and Cartier, are pretty small in comparison, so I suppose it's fair to say that the sales info for "Writing Instruments" is mainly about Mont Blanc.

 

http://www.richemont.com/sales_by_business_segment.html

Edited December 14, 2006 by Turboff

[BillTheEditor]

I have always wondered about the sales mentality in deciding to call something a LE when there is more of them then there are Bic pens.

Actually, calling something a "Limited Edition" is a marketing decision, not sales. It adds (they hope) to the brand and it positions the product in the market. It doesn't do anything for the buyer, at least not automatically.

 

You can brand an otherwise "average" product and if you are successful it will kick it up a market segment or two and allow you to set the price an increment or two higher. Look at Moleskine notebooks. Please don't jump on me as attacking Moleskines. I use them. I also know their benefits for me, which is why I buy them, which brings us to the sales part.

 

The sales person (if he or she is any good) will only use the term "Limited Edition" if that would improve the perceived value of the pen to an individual buyer, or if it seems to be important emotionally to the buyer. Same for "precious resin," "21 karat nib," and "platinum furniture." They are only features.

 

This is why selling is such a challenge, and why so many people are bad at sales.

[Allan]

I wonder how many people drive cars with LE, SE, SSE, etc logos on them :-)

 

Allan

[Richard]

I wonder how many people drive cars with LE, SE, SSE, etc logos on them :-)

I dunno how many do, but I do. The Chrysler PT Cruiser comes in the standard version, the Touring Edition, and the Limited Edition. What the different labels really mean is that as you go up the scale you get more features included in the base price. The only option I had to put into my 2001 Limited Edition was a combination CD/cassette stereo instead of the basic radio. (Now that I have an iPod, I use the casssette feature to pipe the iPod's output into the car stereo instead of carrying oodles of CDs. )

[saintsimon]

I wonder how many people drive cars with LE, SE, SSE, etc logos on them :-)

 

Allan

The 'Limited' designation for car feature/trim levels is an American fashion, not used elswehere.

 

But Ferrari Enzos or Porsche GTs are real LEs without the label

[Allan]

I wonder if more Porsche GTs or PT Cruiser LEs are produced? :ltcapd: Or we could talk percentages, if 15 people want to purchase the Bexley Artists series of which 18 were produced, and 20,001 people want to buy a LE Mont Blanc of which 20,000 wereproduced, seems to me that the MB is actually more market limited than the Bexley.

 

Allan

 

PS. It's all in good fun!

[Kalessin]

I wonder how many people drive cars with LE, SE, SSE, etc logos on them :-)

 

Allan

The 'Limited' designation for car feature/trim levels is an American fashion, not used elswehere.

I blame the 1958 Buick Limited. Buick made other models named Limited before then, but this is the one everyone remembers. After 1958, "Limited" buicks were usually just the highest trim level.

 

These chrome-laden beasts were among the greatest expressions of the automotive design excess of the 1950s. And I want one.

 

http://hem.passagen.se/ianderss/756edl1.jpg

 

Picture tour of another one:

http://www.ev1.pair.com/buick/source/buick_158.html

[Richard]

I blame the 1958 Buick Limited...  And I want one. 

You can have your '58 Buick. For me the ultimate '50s car is the Raymond Loewy-designed '53 Studebaker Commander Starliner Hardtop Coupe.

 

http://hem.bredband.net/b284654/IMAGES/53commander_strlnr.jpg

 

My dad had one of these, in this color, and it was the best road car I ever drove -- arrow straight and astonishingly smooth at high speed. The downside was that the firewall was thin enough that you could cook your feet when the temps were running around -20° F outside.

 

It also had variable-ratio steering -- remember when GM "introduced" that feature around 1960?

 

And it had a hill holder. Stop on an uphill grade, take the car out of gear, and as long as you held the clutch down you didn't need to ride the brake. Put it in gear when the light changed, and drive away without sliding backward at all. Subaru "introduced" a hill holder some time in the '90s, I believe...

Edited December 14, 2006 by Richard

[saintsimon]

I wonder if more Porsche GTs or PT Cruiser LEs are produced?

 

Allan

 

PS. It's all in good fun!

Porsche produced actually 1.270 of the originally 1.500 planned GTs with the 612 hp V10 engine. Cost ( price 452.400 € ) may have been a limiting factor - and it was not really beautifull

 

http://www.angurten.de/Bilder/fotosets/porsche-carrera-gt-010.jpg