The pen market - France

The pen market represents the main segment of the writing market and covers sales of by-products such as ballpoint pens, fountain pens, writing markers and rollerballs The history of the fountain pen dates back to 1865. Since then, and until today, the pen has been a popular commodity used all over the world, with a stable and constant demand. Nevertheless, as we approach the ever-increasing integration of technology, it is plausible to assume that the intrinsic characteristics of the pen will be reinvested. For example, we designate a portion of this study to discuss smartpens, which are connected to an electronic device such as a tablet The pen market is highly fragmented when measured by the number of pen retailers, with many different brands, sizes, shapes and features. Sales are primarily in super or hypermarkets, or stationery stores. E-commerce represents only a small fraction of the retail market share. Nevertheless, there are giants in this sector, such as Bic, Staedtler and Pilot, which contribute to a highly concentrated market in terms of sales. Although the pen sector is still relatively slow in terms of innovation, new trends are becoming increasingly important and include, for example, organic products.