 "Pen, ball pen")
Luxor Writing Instruments and Germany's Schneider Pen on Thursday announced a collaboration to launch co-branded products in the Indian market.
Under the partnership, Schneider will provide technology and transfer it to Luxor in India for manufacturing. It will be the first instance of the German firm producing its products outside of its home country.
Through the partnership, Luxor is looking to accelerate its growth and touch the revenue of Rs 1,000 crore over the next three to five years, while Schneider Pen is looking to increase its revenue by around 10 million euros.
"This is the first time a German brand or any brand is going to be launched as a co-brand. Luxor Schneider will be the consumer brand in the country and German technology and precision engineering, which is the heart of Schneider's brand, is now going to be part of the technical support and know-how and transferred to India, which Luxor will take forward and build the base of India's consumer with better writing products," Luxor Writing Instruments Managing Director Pooja Jain Gupta told PTI.
Based on the Schneider technology, Luxor will develop new products and categories, and not only for India but even outside India, she added.
"We could become a big source for Schneider for developing their business efficiencies outside India. It is larger than just a brand launch. It's a whole 360 degrees view on how India can grow from manufacturing and distribution and consumer," Jain added.
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Luxor will set up a full-fledged high-technology centre with the help of Schneider and the investment will be made by the Indian partner.
"We are looking at spending about Rs 80 crore in the next three to five years with a range of about 50 products in the next five years," Jain said.
Schneider Pen Managing Director Christian Schneider said, "Through Luxor, we get access to the biggest market in the world in India, the most populous country (in the world). We also have a lot of raw materials here in India to produce writing instruments and therefore, we said we can provide Luxor with the German technology to get more sustainable pens in the Indian markets."
He said Schneider is a leader in sustainable technologies in Germany and the partnership is a "a win win situation as it would give Luxor access to our knowledge for sustainable products and (we) get access to the biggest population for our products in India."
The two partners will target the mass premium segment in the Indian market with their co-branded products. The first product priced at around Rs 60 is aimed at student market and office goers, Jain said.
On the growth expectations, Jain said Luxor is looking to increase its revenue to Rs 1,000 crore in the next three to five years, up from Rs 750 crore at present.
The Indian organised writing instruments market is estimated to be Rs 4,000 crore and Luxor has a 22 per cent market share in the segments it is present. The company is not present in categories such as pencil and pen in the Rs 5-10 range mass categories. Schneider Pen is also looking to increase its overall revenue through its partnership with Luxor and access to the Indian market.
"Schneider's revenue is more than 150 million euros in total worldwide. We expect from the Indian market that we can grow here by maybe 10 million euros for Schneider. So it's about 7-8 per cent of our total revenue in the world," Schneider said.
Luxor has also roped in star Indian batsman Virat Kohli as its new brand ambassador. He will be the face of Luxor across its stationery range.
According to Gupta, association with Kohli is expected to strengthen Luxor's appeal among young writers and fortify its position as the provider of high-performance writing instruments in the country.
Established in 1963, Luxor has completed 60 years. It exports to over 120 countries and is a registered trademark in more than 106 countries.
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