In a freewheeling chat with ET Online, Shu Itoh, President, Pilot Corporation, talks about why it is planning to go solo after a four-decade tie-up with Luxor, plans for the Indian market and its ambition of becoming a Rs 300-crore company in the next five years. Edited excerpts:
The Economic Times (ET): Why did Pilot Pen India decide to branch out as an individual entity in India after a long association with Luxor?
Shu Itoh (SI): After 40 years of the joint venture in India, Pilot Corporation’s idea to branch out as an individual entity was to tap into the growing population and economic growth, with 100% handling by the Pilot brand backed with an aggressive action plan. As an independent company, we can focus on creating awareness across India about the brand, which will help us to tap the smaller markets as well. Other than the distributors as a major revenue model, we will have full control of the marketing, inventory management, advertising, sales and manufacturing, which will help growth in the longer run. To make an impact, we will also target to expand our current distribution network, which is around 60,000, to approximately 1,00,000 in the next 1 to 1.5 years.
ET: How big is the market for high-quality writing instruments in India? How does Pilot Pen India aim to capture a more significant chunk of the pie?
SI: Pens costing between Rs 5 and 10 are growing at a single-digit pace of about 5-6%, whereas the high-quality category share is much more at 25-30%. Currently, the market is approximately Rs 40 billion and expanding at a large scale. In this first year after launch, our major focus will be to spread awareness through print ads in leading publications, followed by social and digital platforms. Our idea is to capture the market with our strong sales team and aggressive marketing activities which now would be driven by our 100% control of the brand.
Shu Itoh, President, Pilot Corporation
ET: In the midst of the global headwinds being witnessed, what plans do you have in terms of expansion for the Indian market?
SI: We are sure that India will become the fifth-strongest market after Japan, the US, Europe, and China. Our expansion plans for India include the expansion of the localised product range, which will be complemented by increased sales and distribution in untapped regions. Moreover, with India having the largest-ever youth population, efforts and promotions will be directed toward young Indians. We have also partnered with various agencies to run campaigns in roughly 1,000+ schools across the country and we have started using social media to target the Gen Z audience. Our current turnover is Rs 100 crore and we aim to reach Rs 300 crore in the next 5 years.ET: You have a diverse range that includes ball pens, mechanical pencils, liquid ink pens and the likes. Which one is the fastest-selling product category for you as a brand and for the Indian market specifically?
SI: We have a wide range of products to offer in the Indian market such as rollerballs, fountain pens, ball pens and markers. We are catering to the diverse needs of customers. In India, our Pure Liquid Ink Pens are the fastest-selling product category, which shall be contributing over 80% of the Pilot brand sales.
ET: In a market that has a range of low-cost options in writing instruments, what is the pricing strategy you have adopted that is attractive for the Indian consumer?
SI: Our price point is different, as we offer a high-quality premium range of writing instruments and we don’t have any plan to fight the low-cost options by local brands. Affordable price with added value for the Indian consumers who have buying power is the strategy we are adopting. Also, as India is a price-competitive market, people in the country are looking to refill their pens. We can leverage this ideology and are looking to get 50-60% of our revenue from the refill ink business.
