The market for pens - Italy

The pen market represents the main segment of the writing market and includes the sale of by-products such as ballpoint pens, fountain pens, and markers. Since their invention in 1985, pens have been used worldwide, with stable and steady demand. However, the increasing integration of technology has caused the inherent characteristics of pens to be revisited. For example, we refer in part of this study to smartpens, which are connected to an electronic device such as a tablet. It is important to refer to the luxury pen segment, whose sales grew by 2.1 percent in 2018, mainly due to price increases. These products, in fact, are increasingly seen as true luxury products and less as simple writing instruments. In Italy, the pen market is very fragmented when measured by the number of pen retailers, with many different brands, sizes, shapes and features. However, there are giants in the industry, such as Bic, Staedtler, and Pilot, which contribute to a highly concentrated market in terms of sales. In terms of distribution, sales occur mainly in supermarkets or hypermarkets, or in stationery stores. E-commerce accounts for only a small part of the distribution market share. Although the pen industry remains relatively slow to innovate, new trends are becoming increasingly important and include, for example, products made from recycled plastic.