William Penn acquires Sheaffer

[IlikeInksandIcannotlie]

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/miscellaneous/william-penn-buys-iconic-american-brand-sheaffer/articleshow/93439093.cms?from=mdr

https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/william-penn-acquires-sheaffer-brand-11659979662080.html

[Theroc]

 

Let's hope against hope that WP return the brand to it's roots or anything. A.T. Cross' custodianship of the brand is (was) disgraceful.

 

[mke]

On 8/12/2022 at 8:05 PM, Theroc said:

WP return the brand to it's roots or anything

Why? There are so many good brands. No need for Sheaffer(s).

If the new owner will make good pens - great.

But the new pens have nothing to do with the former company.

Sometimes, it is better to start fresh: "Reffaehs", e.g.

[A Smug Dill]

If Sheaffer’s business model, commercial practices, and target market(s) — those, and not the brand’s best-loved pen models or most-recognised styling, being its very roots as for-profit enterprise — would have remained viable and financially worthwhile, then the company would probably have continued to operate close to “its roots”, instead of getting sold only for the new owners to quickly abandon a commercially successful formula.

 

Its roots have withered and died. Only the name survives, and it makes sense for the new owners to try to extract as much value out of that name recognition as possible. It’s all about revenue and profit, not love or heritage conservation. It certainly isn't about spirit., or whatever a self-proclaimed Sheaffer fan thinks makes a Sheaffer pen recognisable in today's mass market to a generation of shoppers and users who aren't burdened with decades-old expectations.

 

Customer nostalgia is meaningless if it doesn’t translate to willingness and likelihood to pay more for less, when there are other newer and/or foreign brands that can tick the boxes with their offerings when it comes to functionality and manufacturing quality.

 

The best thing one could hope for is that Sheaffer is transformed, in the hands of William Penn, into something barely recognisable but nevertheless profitable in today’s market, and make a success story out of the acquisition while creating even more distance between the now and what-once-was.

[mke]

8 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

The best thing one could hope for is that Sheaffer is transformed, in the hands of William Penn, into something barely recognisable but nevertheless profitable in today’s market, and make a success story out of the acquisition while creating even more distance between the now and what-once-was.

 

https://www.sheaffer.com/sh_en_us/our-pens/by-writing-type/fountain-pen

 

Eventually, they need to remodel Sheaffer more quickly than I thought. Most of the pens on Sheaffer US HP are out-of-stock. Perhaps the new owner can use this as a chance to slim down while not forgetting the large marketshare they have in India.

Anyway, opening that page above made me think as if I were opening the corresponding Parker site. They resemble too much.

 

If I would change Sheaffer, I would focus on a few basic (but beautiful) models as the money cows and than create regularly SEs/LEs of the basic models with the help of great designers.

 

Let's see what the future brings.

 

 

 

 

[The Elevator]

Is this the end of Sheaffer as a fountain pen manufacturer?

I recently went on the Sheaffer website looking for ink cartridges in purple and green. (Yeah I know I could just buy Standard International cartridges or eyedropper my No Nonsense pens, but I wanted something I could quickly refill on the go, and with a bit more capacity) When I got there, I obviously clicked "products>Refills" and was greeted by a page of... rinky-dink ballpoint and rollerball cartridges. Confused, I refined my search to "fountain pens" and discovered that over half the product listings lead to 404 errors or out of stock notices.

 

I can only hope this means that Sheaffer is gearing up for a new product launch, but realistically I expect this indicates the end of the line for their fountain pens. Now time to go get my hands on some NOS and buy out the local Office Depot's remaining cartridge stock.

 

Can anyone confirm or deny my speculations?

Edited February 23, 2023 by The Elevator