Five weeks ago, I wondered what the future holds for pens in 50 years. The most popular response is “gone.” Pens will have gone the way of dinosaurs, relegated to museums.
The annual analysis and forecast of the global pens, pencils, etc industry hit the streets. I don’t have an extra $4,000 lying around for a copy but I found an excellent summary of which I will paraphrase. Spoiler alert: the writing instrument industry is hanging in there. The appeal and culture of the written word has not lost its charm.
In 2023, the global writing instrument industry was valued at $17.73 billion and is expected to enjoy single-digit growth reaching $18.51 billion by 2030. See! I will focus primarily on pens, but this industry includes pens, pencils, markers, and stationery.
I have to be honest, the writing instrument market is saturated and demand has been flat for years. Product manufacturers are trying to make use of unique innovative materials to expand the choice of models and designs.
When I say “sustainability and eco-friendly products,” conjures thoughts of journals, notebooks, and paper, welp no more. Consumer choices are trending away from disposable pens to refillable options and pens made of recycled materials. I’ve read about but not seen, plantable pencils. When the pencil has whittled down to a stub, you plant it then watch it grow into a herb, vegetable, or flower – really, I am not making this up.
Hope for growth
No surprise, school supplies, and office supplies are driving growth. And the big surprise goes to Covid-19. Yup, the pandemic gets credit for the rise of e-learning and remote employees and we need supplies. Geographically, Asia Pacific is responsible for 31.3% of the writing instrument market share.
The growth of digital pens falls into this group, just look at the sale of Lamy to the Mitsubishi Pencil Company. A significant driver of this decision for Lamy management was the future expansion into digital writing….
Pens, Pencils, and Markers – oh my!!
Honestly, I take the availability and choices of pens and pencils for granted – all pens, ballpoint, rollerball, gel, and of course fountain pens. The latter is often seen as a status symbol, even a luxury. As the world’s economies improve so do living standards as has the willingness to purchase brand-name goods. The growing importance of education across developing or underdeveloped countries, plus increasing disposable income has begotten an increasing number of schools and colleges. These schools and business offices in developing countries in Southeast Asia and the Middle East are leading the demand for highlighters, markers, and pencils.
Students represent the largest writing instrument consumer ($10 billion in 2023). Pens, pencils, markers, and notebooks are essential to students. The sheer volume of writing required as a student generates a constant and growing demand. The growing value of education and governmental initiatives to encourage students to pursue education in schools and colleges in underdeveloped and developing countries will likely boost the demand. Working professionals make up the next largest group of consumers.
Shopping
It isn’t Amazon, it is your local stationery shop. We just missed National Stationary Week so get out there and make amends. In many ways, this is not a surprise yet it is, 35.8% of the sales in 2023 flowed through stationery stores.
I enjoy stationeries for the obvious, handling a pen, notebook, the journal is very satisfying, not to mention the helpful staff. Stationeries offer a wide variety of options, easily discernible variety. Online sellers (I can’t call them stationers) are convenient and expected to continue growing.
Who are the Major Players
To no one’s surprise, the primary players in this industry include Faber-Castell, Newell Brands, Mitsubishi Pencil Co, Linc, Hindustan Pencils, Flair Writing Industries, Shanghai M&G Stationery, Pentel Co, Luxor, Pilot Corporation of America.
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Fountain Pen Chronicles and More 
Thanks for mentioning this, Danny. From what I can tell, the use of fountain pens at work is becoming quite rare. In fact, I know only two people (out of 1400) who occasionally use one, and I’m one of them :-). The workplace is increasingly going digital. We don’t write our names to mark our attendance anymore; a barcode scan does the job, and just like that, the fountain pen’s time to shine is over. Regarding stationery, I maintain a keen interest, and I believe journaling is one of the reasons. The fountain pen certainly stands as a luxury status symbol, if only to uphold our traditional writing methods. The fountain pen is a source of relaxation for me, whether I’m writing, sketching, or reviewing and comparing different models. It’s intriguing to track the market trends and witness the revival of vintage fountain pens. I imagine you share the same enthusiasm for these timeless writing instruments. :-)
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Hey Pascal, Thanks for your thoughts. I have been using a fountain pen at work since 2005ish and I was working at manufacturing support. I got some very strange looks when I would use a FP in a manufacturing plant. My job requires I write constantly, there is no way I could do it without making notes, diagrams, flow charts. Without a doubt, working in this fashion and the number of jobs requiring the ability to write is diminishing. I feel that jobs requiring development and creativity will always require writing. As will attending schools, You will not find me investing in stocks of companies producing pens, pencils etc. 4%-6% cumulative growth over 6 years is a horrible investment.
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The fountain pen is probably the ideal tool to let your creativity run wild. Brainstorming and writing down notes on a piece of paper is the domain where the fountain pen feels good. For me, this is not possible at work, but if I do see the opportunity, the fountain pen is pulled out. I always have them with me, you never know. Indeed, the fountain pen as a subject of investment does not seem like a good idea to me :-)
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I did have thoughts. And then read Pascal’s comment which covered virtually all of them. Work? Certainly patient daily intervention information on the hospital ward is going towards digital capture. Journalling is often suggested for well being in mental health. Diaries, schedules and everyday notes on iPads, iPhones are, well by my own lack of interest in them, never accessed. Not sure if professionals use them often though. I often consider deleting these apps. And I noticed a main stationery business, Paperchase, has recently shut down. I first saw the shop I loved to visit closed down in my daughter’s city. Further enquiry saw that they went bust. I suppose Montblanc and other high end pens are status symbols and will go on and on. Great post Danny. There are many, many thoughts on this subject I suppose. There could possibly be so many considerations you could write a book. As long as you used pen, ink and paper. 😉 Cheers.
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Hey Gray, As much as I would like to think otherwise, the writing industry is doomed or at least limited to students and the the few who enjoy writing and refuse to give it up. I feel I am fortunate that my job requires I scribble thoughts, notes, diagrams, etc. I primarily use legal pads filling 1 or 2 pages per day. I have looked at technology as an alternative and it is still years behind. Until then, inky fingers for me. All the best.
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As long as there’s a vibrant community embracing it, the industry will persist. The significance of local purchases and the occasional visit to a pen shop cannot be overstated. Bloggers, ourselves included, play a role in sustaining the life of our cherished writing tools. It’s often observed that people are genuinely excited about using a fountain pen, and converting new enthusiasts is always a bonus. Embrace those inky fingers! 🤣
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Excellent points. I cannot imagine a world without pens, pencils and journals. They have place and a purpose. If using them makes us special, so be it. And I got ink on my fingers yesterday.
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Fascinating. I know that we have no local stationery shops anymore, so when it comes time to buy new pens, usually Pilot brand, we’re shopping in a big box store where nothing is all that special. I do look back fondly on those small stationery shops, though.
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My fave used books store has a section dedicated to stationary. I find what I need there. Plus it is locally owned and I prefer to keep my neighbors employed. It is a changing world. I’m sure many will say for the better, I am not so sure.
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Thanks for this thoughtful post Danny. The history and development of writing tools and of paper, go back a long way and have obviously been of massive importance in civilisation. Although recent digital alternatives offer many advantages, it is difficult to imagine pen and paper dying out completely. Although good fountain pen shops are few and far between, the number of different types and models of writing implements must surely be higher than ever.
Incidentally, I read a fascinating book recently, titled “The Notebook. A History of Thinking on Paper” by Roland Allen, published in 2023 by Profile Books, which I recommend highly, if available in your part of the world. In a thoroughly researched yet entertaining volume, he covers topics such as the origins of book-keeping for finance, commonplace notebooks, ships logs, travellers’ notebooks and more recent phenomena such as bullet journals. Currently it has led me down the rabbit hole of reading Bruce Chatwin, in whose book The Songlines we find the inspiration for Moleskine notebooks.
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Thanks. That book does appeal to my interest. I have to write every day for my job – I think on paper. Nothing digitally comes close. I too cannot imagine pen and paper leaving us completely. It seems innately unnatural to not put pen or pencil tp paper.
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The book will be release locally to me on 3 Sept.
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That’s great. I am sure that you will find much to interest and inspire you, as I did!
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It’s always sad when technology weeds out the good ole things like the fountain pen.
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Like the saying goes, technology is great… when it works. LOL
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