Business Superbrands- 2nd edition(Main)

8/27/08

3:50 AM

Page 94

Market
In lettered hands its a deadly
weapon. It has sent to the
gallows hands that have wielded
the sword; by a single flourish it
has signed off freedom and
with equal deliberation inked
the death knell. It has accepted
surrender with magnanimity
and scattered wealth with
seeming disdain and
condescension for it. Within
its slim profile the humble
pen brandishes and conceals
enormous power in equal
measure. Whether the pen
is mightier than the sword
is an idiom that has been
put to the test through
centuries of turmoil,
upheaval and civil strife.
But would it survive the
mechanisation of the
'paperless office?' This
has been a question
that had remained
unanswered for over
four decades. But with
the advantage of
hindsight the answer
has now been
discovered: the
pen lives!
In this digital age, it continues to
be the enduring symbol of literacy and
refinement. In India, the multi-billion rupee
computer industry has failed to displace the
humble pen as the tool for communication.
These simple truisms are continually relevant in
a society where nearly a third of the population
has just about started to ink success by
emerging from the darkness of illiteracy.
The Indian writing instruments market is
estimated at Rs. 2500 crore (US$ 625 million)
and is growing at 15% annually (Source: Writing
Instruments Industry estimates). The leader,
among several other manufacturers, Luxor
controls by far the largest market share in India.
In 2008 it expects to exceed Rs. 300 crore in
turnover (US$ 75 million).

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Achievements
By virtue of it being so common place the pen
evokes little surprise. But the truth really is that
no segment is more fiercely competitive than
the writing instruments business. With a
combined market in excess of 3500 million
units per annum (Source: Writing Instruments
Industry estimates) the pen is in the thick of a
serious battle. Luxor's achievements, in such
an environment, are many and impressive.
Pioneering new categories, experiences and
uses, Luxor has always been at the forefront of
the Indian writing instruments market. It may be
a historical fact that if there was a significant
piece of writing in independent India, it was
probably inked with a pen manufactured
by Luxor.
For over four decades Luxor has had many
firsts to its credit. The launch of fibre tip
pens in the early 1970s was followed by
the introduction of micro tip
and 3-D roller ball pens. In
1980 Luxor added another
chapter to its history: it
introduced the metal body ball
pen and fountain pen range.
The beginning of 1982 saw
Luxor bringing the worldrenowned Pilot 'Hi tec' needle
point pen to India, in
association with Pilot
Corporation of Japan. Another
little known fact is that Luxor
was the company that
introduced locally made

markers and highlighters to the Indian market.

Since their launch in 1986 these products
have earned numerous awards for design
and innovation.
When liberalisation was announced Luxor
rose to meet the challenge of the open
economy. The company adopted the latest
technologies and upgraded product lines and
processes. Simultaneously, in a show of
aggression, it did the unthinkable: it launched a
slew of products in the international market.
Luxor has been the Number One Writing
Instruments Exporter for the past seven
consecutive years (Source: Writing Instruments
Manufacturers' Organisation). It has been
included in the Limca Book of Records 2003 for
conceptualising and designing the smallest pen
in India.
The company did more than just egg internal
production; it introduced the Indian market to
an exciting range of international products:
Parker in 1996, followed in quick succession by
Papermate and Waterman.
Luxor's unstinting commitment has been
proven by several certifications that it has
received. In 1996 Luxor became the first
writing instruments company in India to be
given the ISO 9001-2000 certificate; it was also
the first writing instruments company in India to
receive the ISO 14001 for Environmental
Management System (EMS) by the leading
German Registrar, DQS and also the first to
receive the OHSAS 18001 for Occupational
Health & Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS).
It is no surprise that Luxor products conform
to both the German DIN and the American
ASTM standards.

History
Living in crowded lanes of Old Delhi,
Davinder Kumar Jain, visualised the potential
in writing instrument way back in the early
1960s. At the age of just nineteen, DK, as he is
fondly called, started producing fountain pens,
a writing instrument that deeply fascinated
him. There were only two types of writing
instruments available in those days: wooden
pencils and fountain pens with rubber grips
and metal levers.
DK entered the manufacturing line for pens in
the face of stiff opposition from his family. On
the face of it, it would appear that there is no
big deal in putting together a pen. The fact is
that in the early 1970s, it was a Herculean task;
every little part that would go into making the
pen had to be imported from various corners
of the globe. DK set about assembling a fountain
pen with a clear vision: producing truly homegrown Indian pens using backward integration
and absorbing emerging technologies. Others
followed the path set by him, and thus DK,
almost single-handedly, created a flourishing
writing instruments industry.
Luxor, today, is the largest manufacturer
of writing instruments in India, producing
over one million pens per day in all
shapes, sizes, designs and colours. It is
the only brand of Indian writing instruments
that is exported to every corner of

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the world and is a registered trademark in

126 countries.

Product
Luxor designs and develops products that
specifically address the needs of its consumers
in different segments. From the highly sensitive
ball pen to robust board markers, Luxor
employs cutting edge research and development
to create new products.
It pioneered fibre-tip and roller-ball pens in
India. These are also distinctly styled to catch the
fancy of their users. Thus, to attract students,
Luxor has created colourful designs on the body
of its pens. These designs vary from cartoons,
floral, binary systems to unique animal and bird
collections. In fact, Luxor has an extensive array
of colour pens, crayons, sketch pens, tattoo
markers, etc and is the only company in India
that caters to the complete sketching, drawing
and colouring needs of children.
Luxor was not only the first to introduce
markers for various applications, but also
invented the concept of 'Dry Safe Ink Markers.'
These markers do not dry even when the cap
is left open for 24 hours. Luxor enjoyed a
complete monopoly in this segment for over
a decade.
It has been the constant endeavour of the
company to develop and improve its products
through in-house R&D and continuously refine
them to meet the functional and fashion needs
of its consumers. All products are manufactured
on a company-wide TQM platform in
conformity with international standards. The
company specialises in selling high quality
writing instruments by customising them to
consumer's needs.

coincided with Luxor's entry into new product

categories. Luxor Premium Corporate Series
encompasses files and folders while Luxor
Premium Notebook Series includes spiral and
hard bound notebooks and office pads. With the
objective of making learning a pleasurable
experience Luxor launched a new premium kids
brand called Luxor Planet Happy in 2007.

Recent
Developments
In order to further
strengthen its strong presence in
the international market Luxor
has recently set up a new
state-of-the-art
manufacturing facility in
Noida. Spread over two
acres, this 100% export
manufacturing unit
manufactures over one million pens per day for
the international market.
Understanding the critical role of real-time
information, Luxor has recently implemented
SAP. The company, one of the worlds first in the
writing instruments category, has joined a select
group of international organisations to do so.
The Indian retail environment is undergoing a
huge metamorphosis. Not to be left behind, the
company launched Luxor Signature an
experimental gift and stationery store in
October 2006. Gratified by its success, Luxor
has plans to roll out 100 of these signature
outlets across the country in coming years.
Spearheading the retail drive, Luxor has also
opened up its shop-in-shop formats in Reliance
hypermarkets and other stores. This initiative

Luxor is looking at
diversification as a means of growth.
Towards this end, the company is developing
9 million square feet of IT/ITES space under a
company called Luxor Cyber City (P) Limited. It
has also entered the hospitality industry by
acquiring 50% stake in Edenpark Hotels which
owns the four-star deluxe property, The Qutab,
in New Delhi.

Promotion
Luxor built the brand on the strength of its
product range and quality and by appealing to
the fledgling nation's desire to be seen as selfreliant. Luxor's advertisements of the early years
would matter-of-factly state: 'For the first time in
India'. This straight forward approach worked
well. It laid the
foundation for
Luxor's exponential
growth in the 1970s
and 1980s.
The company also
started, albeit
unknowingly, the
trend of celebrity
endorsements in
India. In the 1960s, it
featured film stars,
sportsmen and other
celebrities for its
writing instruments.
Most of these
were not paid

endorsements since celebrities were not yet

marketable commodities.
By the early 1980s, the Indian market was
becoming quite sophisticated and there were
many players in each product category vying for
a share of the consumer's mind. The time had
now come to launch and build brands, rather
than just products. Taking advantage of this
trend, Luxor launched its range of 'gloliters' and
markers with a high-decibel advertising
campaign that encouraged its
consumers to 'Stop
Underlining, Start Gloliting'.
Since then, Luxor has
supported the launch of
every new product with highly
visible and energetic marketing
efforts. This culminated
famously in the signing up of
India's biggest film star,
Amitabh Bachchan, who
added his own touch of style
and pizzazz to the Luxor brand.

Brand Values
The Luxor brand enjoys an appeal that is
universal. Adults view it as a reliable writing
companion and children find the style and
colours of Luxor products loads of fun. Luxor
provides value for money, which gives it a strong
brand position. It has products in all writing
instrument categories making it a formidable
player.
Competitors can ignore this fact only at their
own peril.

www.worldofluxor.com
THINGS YOU DIDNT KNOW ABOUT

Luxor
If you were to join, end-to-end, every Luxor
pen made in a year, the resultant chain would
stretch from the earth to the moon
The Luxor brand has been re-purchased by its
owners at least four times in its history
Luxor once launched a 3-D roller pen that had
14,000 glass beads
Luxor has exported pens to over 75 countries
in the world

SUPERBRANDS

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