User:Serram 009/sandbox

William Penn is a multi brand online and offline retail company for men’s accessories and writing instruments, headquartered in Bangalore, India.

History
William Penn came into existence in the year 2002 in Koramangala, Bangalore. The brain child of ex- IBM engineer Nikhil Ranjan. They hold the distinction as India’s first walk through stationery store. Until then, stationery could only be bought across the counter from your neighborhood stationery cum general store. In creating a walk - through stationery store, they introduced a touch-feel experience to something as mundane as stationery.

In 2003, William Penn created a buzz when, for the first time in the country, a ‘pen fair’ was held at its store in Koramangala, Bangalore. World’s top Pen brands such as Sheaffer, Montblanc, Waterman and many more were presented. The success this event brought was unprecedented. William Penn themselves were taken aback to see the whole street outside its store packed with cars and people, all visiting the exhibition and making a purchase. Realizing the potential and the need in the retail sector for a store solely dedicated to superior quality writing instruments, which until then, could only be brought into India via the grey market or a visiting relative from overseas. In 2004, they set up their first multi brand pen store in India at the Forum Mall, Bangalore. World brands such as Sheaffer, Waterman, Lamy, Caran d’Ache, S.T.Dupont to name a few, were showcased.

Riding on the success of this store, William Penn then went on to open stores in prime locations across India including at all airports in the metros.

Partnerships
William Penn became the country’s sole distributor of Sheaffer pens in 2005 and in 2010 joined Sheaffer’s billon dollar club. In 2014, William Penn also acquired sole distributorship for the German brand Lamy in India.

In August 2016, Lifestyle brand Zippo, known for its cigarette lighters, announced a tie up with William Penn Pvt. Ltd., for distribution of its products in India.

In January 2017, William Penn along with Zippo tied up with Rock On 2, an Indian Bollywood movie, to launch a special limited edition lighter.

Product Launches/Events
In 2007, William Penn launched India’s first comprehensive pen portal under www. williampenn.net.

In 2006, they introduced Limited Edition pens dedicated to Indian tradition and various deities that are worshipped. Ganesha Limited Edition and the Sri Venkateswara Limited Editions made from precious metals were curated solely for India. For the first time in the country, pen clinics were held in 2008, Pen maestro from Sailor Pen company Nagahara San was invited to set up a pen repair clinic in Delhi and Mumbai. During this time, an array of Limited Editions, the likes of which the country had never before seen was also showcased. Hugely successful, the event was repeated in 2012. William Penn started the ‘Write a letter, say it better campaign in the year 2014, a unique concept targeted at bringing back the lost art of letter writing. The campaign received a mixed response, but the repeat of the campaign in 2016 saw a very good response from the customers. William Penn claimed that thousands of people participated in the campaign and over 5000 letters delivered.

In house products
With the years of experience garnered through retailing the best of brands from across the world, William Penn introduced a collection of writing instruments and accessories made from superior quality materials and pocket friendly prices under ‘Pennline’.

Criticism
William Penn has often been criticized for higher pricing compared to the other stores and world market.The management at William Penn deny that there is a huge difference, they maintain that there is a slight hike and this is due to the fact that the import duties are higher than other countries and so is real estate, as their stores are located in the most premium malls and at airports where the rentals come a huge cost.

Rebranding
In February 2017, William Penn rebranded its logo. As part of this makeover, the company will rearrange and restock their merchandise. The company said that while the focus will still be fine writing instruments, about 40% of the sale will include business lifestyle accessories and men’s accessories like cufflinks, belts, bracelets, laptop bags and more. The brand is looking forward to scale up operations with several more stores in the pipeline and enhance the overall brand experience to international standards.