Working women can now boast of a pen's range dedicated just for them. Lawrence and Mayo (L&M) is creating a range of stylish pens under its own brand name targeted at women in the corporate world, and professionals such as doctors.
“There was a gap in the market for pens that only women — especially executives and professionals — would use. Most of the big pen brands, such as Cross and Mont Blanc, are targeted at men. We have decided to target women CEOs and even doctors with our new brand,” said Mr Vivek Mendonsa, Director, Lawrence & Mayo.
Price point
Pegged at between Rs 1,200 and Rs 2,500, the pens would be sold along with pens meant for general use that the company would soon be launching at its stores. “Our ladies' range would be out soon along with the general pens. We took a cue from apparel brands like Arrow and Van Heusen, which have ventured into womenswear. Since we decided to extend the brand into accessories, the purpose was to get into a segment that has not been tapped into,” Mr Mendonsa said.
However, unlike eyewear, the Rs 160 crore Lawrence &Mayo has decided to get more exclusive with its pens. The eyewear retailer would sell the product through institutional channels, apart from its own outlets . “There would be exclusive distribution of our pens. Apart from our stores, there would also be some amount of corporate sales through the direct sales route,” he added.
Besides, online sales would form an additional channel of distribution. “There would be B2B sales, through our own Web site as well as that of other e-commerce portals like Flipkart,” said Mr Mendonsa.
The company will start retailing accessories such as watches and leather wallets too going forward. L&M recently appointed a Mumbai-based advertising agency – Josh Pro, to create a new logo and for brand building .
Privately owned by the Mendonsa family, the 135-year old Lawrence and Mayo may also look at new sources of funding as it launches new stores. “Once we reach 100 stores, we would be going back to the drawing board with a fresh business plan,” Mr Mendonsa, who has already been approached by a slew of private equity players, said.