Report on

“Cello Pens” Leader of

Indian Pen Market

Submitted To

Dr. M.Misra

Submitted By
Saurabh Kanojia
(imb2007046)

Indian Institute of Information & Technology

Allahabad

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I hereby take the opportunity to express my
gratitude to all of them who have helped me in
the successful completion of this report.
I wish to express my sincere gratitude to
Dr. M.Misra and Dr. Arpita Khare for their
guidance and support rendered to me in solving
my problems and difficulties that I faced in
completing this task on such a varied and vast
subject.
Last but not the least I take this opportunity to
express my heartfelt appreciation for my
colleagues for their support and encouragement.

Table of Content
1.How pen market Changed…………………
…....4

2
2.Indian Pen Market……………………………
…..6
3.Expected expansion of the Indian pen
market...7
4.Leading Writing Instrument Company of
India.…...8
5.Cello Profile……………………………………………
12
6.Cello Pens competitors in India…………………
…...13

How Pen Market Changed…

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Fountain Pen:
Lewis Waterman patented the first practical fountain pen in 1884. Writing
instruments designed to carry their own supply of ink had existed in principle for
over one hundred years before Waterman's patent. For example, the oldest known
fountain pen that has survived today was designed by a Frenchmen named M.
Bion and dated 1702. However, early fountain pen models were plagued by ink
spills and other failures that left them impractical and hard to sell.

The fountain pen's design came after a thousand years of using quill-pens. Early
inventors observed the apparent natural ink reserve found in the hollow channel of
a bird's feather and tried to produce a similar effect, with a man-made pen that
would hold more ink and not require constant dipping into the ink well. However, a
feather is not a pen, only a natural object modified to suit man's needs. Lewis
Waterman's idea was to add an air hole in the nib and three grooves inside the feed
mechanism.

A mechanism is composed of three main parts. The nib, which has the contact with
the paper, the feed or black part under the nib controls the ink flow from the
reservoir to the nib. The round barrel that holds the nib and feed on the writing
end protects the ink reservoir internally (this is the part that you grip while
writing).

All pens contain an internal reservoir for ink. The different ways that reservoirs
filled proved to be one of the most competitive areas in the pen industry in early
19th century.

There are nine standard nib-sizes, with three different nib-tip cuts: straight, oblique
and italic.

Ballpoint Pen:

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A Hungarian journalist named Laszlo Biro invented the first ballpoint pen in 1938.
Biro had noticed that the type of ink used in newspaper printing dried quickly,
leaving the paper dry and smudge-free. He decided to create a pen using the same
type of ink. The thicker ink would not flow from a regular pen nib and Biro had to
devise a new type of point. He did so by fitting his pen with a tiny ball bearing in
its tip. As the pen moved along the paper, the ball rotated picking up ink from the
ink cartridge and leaving it on the paper.
The British Royal Air Force needed a new type of pen, one that would not leak at
higher altitudes in fighter planes as the fountain pen did. Their successful
performance for the Air Force brought the Biro pens into the limelight.
The highly popular modern version of Laszlo Biro's pen, the BIC Crystal, has a
daily worldwide sales figure of 14,000,000 pieces. Biro is still the generic name
used for the ballpoint pen in most of the world. The Biro pens used by the British
Air Force in W.W.II worked. Parker black ballpoint pens will produce more than
28,000 linear feet of writing -- more than five miles, before running out of ink.
This is the change in the use of the Fountain pen to Ballpoint pen further we got
introduced with Gel pens but still the market of the ballpoint pens hold good.

Gel Pen:

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Gel Pens were invented by the Sakura Color Products Corp. (Osaka, Japan),
who makes Gel Roll pens and was the company that invented gel ink in 1984.

Indian Market of Pen

Ball pens forms the biggest chunk of the pen market in India and accounts for 72
percent of the total pen market followed by gel pen at 28 percent. The brand
leaders in this market are Cello, GM pens and Jigneshwar.
“Increasing penetration in FMCG retail stores boost the
phenomenal growth of writing instruments with Ballpoint Pen
takes a leading share in India’s pen market.”
Comment from ACNielsen (world's leading marketing information
provider)

“Pen market previously suffered from lack of organized

information on the market size or market shares of various
players, since most players are not listed companies and
distribution was mostly limited to stationery stores,”

Anmol Sherpa (Associate Director Client Services,

ACNielsen.)

Pens market in India recorded a value growth of 82%

Survey done by the India’s leading market information providing company
‘ACNielson’ on pen market in year 2006. They come to know that ballpoint pen is
still a market leader by acquiring a large portion of the market. There is a ratio of
72% to 28 % for ballpoint to gel respectively.

In urban areas about 10.9 lac. of stores are selling pen, in the selling year of 2005-
06 itself recorded a growth of 23%.

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 Expected Expansion of The Indian Pen
Market

Indian pen manufacturers see this segment as a potential one in the coming years.
Many have set up a separate division to handle this market segment, as the `free-
gift-on-every-purchase' campaign uncorked by FMCG companies is acquiring a
shrill note.

"We noticed this trend about two years ago and it has picked up
since then. Last fiscal, our revenue from this segment was over
Rs 10 crore of our total turnover of Rs 80 crore. And this fiscal,
we expect it to almost touch the Rs 20-crore mark."
"We have set up an exclusive division to handle such orders, as
they require personalized service. We estimate this market
segment to grow to Rs 500 crore in the coming years,"
"Now, Indian manufacturers are beginning to reach out to the
overseas market. After UK's Poundland tied up with TWPL to
have Today's brand of pens in its chain of stores, we expect to
export pens worth $1 million to UK in the current fiscal,"

Mr. Ronnie Netto (Director of Today's Writing Products

Ltd (TWPL))

Another area that is opening up for Indian pen manufacturers is the trend among
overseas stationary companies to outsource their pen requirements from India.
In 2006, about 10.9 lac stores across urban India take the product in stock at
present which represents a distribution growth of 23 percent within a year (April06
over July’05). The increased distribution has brought about a phenomenal growth
for the pen market of 82 percent in sales. The sales peaked in the months of
February and March owing to exam season and touched maximum in the last
eleven months.
There is a consistent month-on-month growth in the writing instruments industry
fuelled by competitive pricing and product innovation. Today, one can buy a Gel

7
pen for rupees two and can choose from a wide variety of pens - with easy grip to
water-proof ink.
Although the writing instrument market is led by well known names like Cello,
GM (Reynolds), Jineshwar (Montex) etc. Smaller players such as Lexi, Agni and
Elkos for examples have also been able to maintain their share on a regional or
select pocket level.
Top Five Players - Pens (Ball & Gel)

Leaders Ranking The study also finds out that Marker

1 Cello 1st Pens is another segment that is
2 GM Pens 2nd growing in Urban India. GM tops the
list when it comes to marker pens
3 Jineshwar 3rd
(Montex) followed by Luxor and Stic. Most
segments like Whiteboard, CD
4 Linc 4th
Marker or Permanent Marker have
5 ADD 5th shown positive month on month
volume and value growth in April ’06.

Leading Writing Instrument Company of India

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 Joy of Writing
Introduction of Company:

Cello entered the field of plastic-moulded ballpoint pens in 1994. With just one
model of "Clear Pen". Cello stormed the market with Swiss tips and German ink.
A whole new generation of writing implements was born, offering clear flow and
quality of the highest standards. A generation which grew into Gripper, Gel,
Maxwriter, Impact and many more and continued to spread into export markets
like Europe, the Middle East, the Far East, the U.S.A and Russia.

Glorious History:

Cello is a leading exporter, supplier and manufacturer of Ball pens, Gel pens and
Refills. The company took its first step 35 years ago as a low profile enterprise that
slowly and steadily grew to be the indisputable leader in the plastic industry of
India.

In mid 1995-96, Cello came into its own by entering a diversified & highly
competitive field of writing instruments. 'Cello Writing Instruments and Containers
Limited'(CWICL) was born and a notable growth rate was achieved immediately.

From a turnover of Rs. 2.7 crores in 1995-96 to a turnover of Rs. 240 crores in
2001-02, CWICL has remained committed towards providing a wide range of
versatile, top-notch quality, state-of-the-art components and foreign technology.

From a modest production of 20 lac pens per month, CWICL today produces 500
lac pens per month. The Cello factory has a total area of 1, 00,000 sq. feet & has
strength of 3000 workers. With a marketing network of 40 Super Stockiest, 1900
distributors and a professionally trained sales team of over 300, Cello manages to
satisfy millions of consumers in every corner of India.

Today, Cello is acknowledged as a quality brand in the urban and rural markets of
India. In addition, it has been well accepted by a wide range of corporate
customers. Cello pens are a favourite in the Gulf, Middle East and Far East
countries as well.

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With global acceptance and a team of dedicated professionals, CWICL is ready to
conquer tomorrow and lead the Indian pen industry to take a giant step forward.
Designing & Technology:

Injection Moulding: High volumes are achieved by using the latest

polymerization technology. The finest moulding machines and moulds ensure
excellent quality & clarity in even the largest volumes.

The Tip: The tip is a unique geometric structure to give comfortable speedy
writing with exactly the right amount of ink to produce writing of high color
intensity. Based on a 0.5mm ball of Tungsten Carbide rotating in a socket made of
specialized nickel alloy to prevent wear on the ball, seat & lip with systematic
quality monitoring at every stage

Gel: Add to this the latest technologies from Japan, raw materials of highest
quality standard, Automatic filling machines with sensing devices for quality
control and water based pigmented thick fluid ink, which when agitated becomes
less viscous for comfortable, smear free & enduring writing.

Ball Pen inks: If you want to be in the world market tomorrow, you must not
spend today working with yesterday's ideas. The development & production of
high grade ball pens is a continual task at Cello.

All our ball pen inks are imported from Germany & Japan which enhance the
quality in ball pen refill production. These inks have specialized additives which
prevent from goofing giving these specialized inks have a shelf life of at least two
years.

Product Catalogue:

This is a world where Cello Europe ensures that every one of our products
personifies unquestionable quality. A world in which unswerving trust is sustained
and the highest standards are maintained.

A portfolio of 15 pens (gel & ballpoint both)are listed below:

Cello Platinum Cello Soft Gel

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Cello Pointec Gel Cello Flo-Gel

Cello Alpha Gel Cello Executive

Cello Xtra Gel Cello Pronto

Cello Techno Tip Cello Optima

Cello Dokusoft Cello Finegrip

Cello Gripper Cello Gripper 2 Cello

Maxriter

Profile

11
Business Type Manufacturer , Exporter

Export Turnover $USD 52 million.

Capital in Dollars $USD 10 million.

Export Percentage 5%

Import Percentage 15%

Primary Competitive Manufacturing of around 2 million pieces per day. All

Advantages procedures like packing, tip manufacturing etc., are
in-house.

Sales Volume $USD 52 million.

No of Staff 400.

Year of Establishment 1995-96.

Export Markets Africa, Europe, South East Asia.

Import Markets Europe, Japan, Korea, America, China.

Investment on $USD 9.6 million.

Manufacturing Equipment

Monthly Production 50 million per month.

Capacity

Credit Rated No

Product Range Writing Instruments (Ball pens, Gel pens, Refills),

Household items, Furniture, Non stick Cookware, Oral
Hygiene products.

Website www.cellowriting.com

Cello Pens competitors in India

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 G.M.Pens International Pvt. Ltd. is the exclusive licensee of
Reynolds, France, in India and the SAARC countries.
Headquartered in Chennai, G.M.Pens has pioneered the writing
instruments revolution in the Indian market. Commencing
operations in 1986, G.M.Pens introduced to India, international
quality writing instruments, and marketed them under the brand name Reynolds. It was also the
first company to build a brand in a category that behaved more like a commodity till then.
Over the last 20 years, G.M.Pens has invested substantially in building a large manufacturing
base with facilities in Chennai and Pondicherry. A state of the art R&D facility, one of the most
sophisticated in the Reynolds family worldwide, has ensured that the latest in writing technology
isavailable to the Indian consumers.

G.M.Pens offers the widest range of writing instruments and accessories in the Indian market. A
variety of writing instruments including ball pens, gel pens, fountain pens, mechanical pencils,
markers, handy boards and children’s colouring pens that cater to consumers from the age group
of six to sixty are marketed under the brand name Reynolds. A continuous focus on consistent
quality and a constant endeavour to provide quality products at affordable prices have ensured
that Reynolds has been the numero uno in the Indian writing instruments market. A substantial
investment has also been made in establishing the Reynolds brand name through the mass media,
especially through television and press ads, in an effort to convert the category from a
commodity to a brand dominated one. The company's products are available in three hundred
thousand retail outlets across India covered through a network consisting of 1800 redistribution
stockists and 27 main stockists. This is facilitated by a sales and marketing team of over 300
professionals.

Starting off as the world’s largest manufacturer of nibs, the

company carved its niche in offering a host of quality writing
instruments. Montex became the only Indian company to have
everything – from manufacturing accessories to assembling under
one roof.

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Under the camaraderie of Mr. Raman Jain, Montex today is a force to reckon, with a
product profile as versatile and innovative.

Montex has been the first in India to introduce Transparent Ball Pens, Trendy
Fountain Pens, Precision Tips, Gel Ink Pens, Roller Ink Pens, Tank Pens, Rubber Grip
Pens and Co-molded Pens. Montex is recognized as a pioneer in the Indian pen
industry with innovations to its credit.

In its endeavor to offer the best, the company has combined the advantages of its
infrastructure with the uniqueness of its raw material Supplying associates, who are
world-renowned names in their respective fields. The machineries used for
production are some of the biggest brands from Switzerland and Germany. One up
than all these is the thrust on regular updates in the field, and also consistent
research and development. The company has 3 state-of-the-art manufacturing
units, located in the commercial capital of India – Mumbai, along with other
prominent locations.

Montex is not only the most popular brand in India, but also recognized world over.
Its products reach out to over 35 countries in the world, covering almost all the
continents.

Established in mid 70’s and founded by Mr. S.M. Jalan, Linc group
has over the past three decades established itself as one of the
market leaders in the writing instrument industry of India. Today,
Linc Pens & Plastics Ltd (LPPL) boasts of having a product
portfolio of over 200 SKUs including stationery equipment. It
offers a wide range of writing instruments from ball pens to gel pens and markers
to pencils. Its products are targeted primarily at the mass markets, schools and
offices. The USP of the company has been quality product at reasonable price i.e.
value for money thru economically priced products with great price-to-performance
ratio. It was the first company to launch a gel pen at Rs.10 when the prevailing
price of other brands was over Rs.15. Subsequently, it was again the only one to
introduce 5/- Rs gel pen, which helped the company to be brand leader in the gel
pen segment and increase its market share considerably. Incidentally, it is also the
sole marketer for premium international brands like Lamy, UniBall and Bensia.
Lamy, is not only the market leader in Germany but has also become one of the
renowned brands for fountain pens, ball point pens, roller ball pens, multi system
pens and mechanical pencils across the world. On the other Uniball is the most
popular brand of Mitsubishi, Japan and Bensia is a well known manufacturer of non-
sharpening pencils.

The history of ADD Pens Limited goes back to 1987, when a

young graduate from Rajasthan set up a modest
manufacturing unit for pens in Mumbai, with a production
capacity of 1000 pens/day. This young man, Mr.

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Manakchand Jain with his vision and entrepreneurial skills laid the foundation of
what is today known as ADD Corporation Limited.

From these humble beginnings, the company has grown into one of India's leading
manufacturer of Writing Instruments. This phenomenal progress has seen many
landmark moments over the years.

Roll Pen

ADD presents World's First Roller Ball Pen.

Tech Pen

ADD TechPen -Technically Perfected for Smoothest Writing Writes

Sharp & Clear

Spacewalker

ADD Spacewalker - Fascinating Classic Black & Chrome

combination.

Legacy

Presenting another jewel in the crown -ADD

Legacy.

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