#FPQuestion of the day:
What are your thoughts on the recent trend of legacy pen brands being acquired by new owners? (e.g. Pelikan by Hamelin, Lamy by Mitsubishi Pencil, Sheaffer by William Penn) What do you think this means for the #FountainPen industry? #FountainPen
@Autumn i think it really depends on who’s doing the acquiring. Hamelin and Uni-Mitsubishi are already in stationery so I am cautiously hopeful on those acquisitions. Montblanc was acquired by a luxury retailer and has certainly shifted positioning accordingly, and it looks like William Penn are looking to do the same with Sheaffer.
@penfount this this has been happening for a long time. Sheaffer and Parker have been traded a few times. Rotring is owned by the same company as Parker, Waterman and Sharpie. The previous Pelikan owner was a "very German" company from Malaysia. This has been going on for a long time. The fountain pen market has been shrinking for a long time and these brands end up being traded in some sort of concentration effort.
@penfount I don't mind brands being bought by new owners - an owner with good management and deep pockets that protects brand value is great. It's not enough to just keep churning out more of the same models, but also to introduce new ones. But it requires understanding of the market, and the user experience, to come out with successful models. There will always be growing pains.
@penfount on one hand, there’s certainly a mixed track record on changes of ownership, Parker is a shadow of its former self. But if the alternative would be the company running out of money (as happened with Pelikan) then I suppose an acquisition is the less bad of the options.
@penfount I'm not sure it's always a good move. Vintage Kaweco are reliable writers, some with gold nibs and piston filling mechanisms. Modern Kaweco have less than stellar converters and can be hit or miss. Geha got swallowed by Pelikan and now we only have a limited supply of vintage models. If the company that buys the legacy brand is knowledgeable, great. But otherwise, I'm okay with saying goodbye to brands.
@ktowngirl just a point of clarification, Kaweco wasn’t acquired. It went under completely, and then a new company bought its trademark, but they’re otherwise not related at all. You can think of modern Kaweco as more of a “Kaweco reboot” or “Kaweco cover band”
@paradoxmo True, and they're in the cosmetics industry, iirc. That may contribute to the QC issues. I don't know if you think it's closer to the "re-birth" of Esterbrook.
@ktowngirl as I understand it, only the pen body itself is manufactured by H&M Gutberlet, the owners of new Kaweco. The components like nib, converter, boxes, inks are all farmed out to suppliers. So they seem to not do much/any internal QC on the stuff from suppliers, maybe they just don’t have the expertise.
Re: new Esterbrook, yes it’s exactly the same situation, a defunct brand getting bought by a new company. But I think Kenro, the owners of new Esterbrook, are actually doing a good job.
@paradoxmo I like the new Esterbrook pens. I have one Estie OS with a Needlepoint nib which I'm happy with. In fact, I'm thinking about getting a second one with a Journaler nib. My initial comment stands: I'm not against legacy brands being bought up as long as the new owner knows what they're doing and is able to give customers good products. Nino Marino brought Delta back, right? And the people behind OMAS have been working for Scribo. I can get behind that.
@ktowngirl@paradoxmo I have vintage Esterbrook Js, and have a modern JR Pocket Pen. The modern pen is a delight to write with. During the much-criticized Rosenberg management of modern Esterbrook the pens were lackluster and actually detracted from the brand. Glad Kenro bought it and new management turned the brand around.
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