Camlin to market Zebra's stationery products in India

Camlin today said it has joined hands with Japan's stationery products maker Zebra to bring the latter's products into India.

The company, which is a leading stationery products maker in India, said it would like to spread its presence into pen category whereas Zebra would be keen to make its presence stronger in the large and growing Indian market.

"With this in mind Camlin Limited and Zebra Company Ltd decided to join together to bring Zebra products into India," Camlin Ltd Executive Director Shriram Dandekar said in a statement.

He further said, "Initially the products would be imported from Zebra factories and Camlin would be marketing and distributing Zebra products through its extensive distribution network in India."

Subsequently, both the companies could jointly explore setting up manufacturing facilities in India, Dandekar added.

The Indian writing instrument market is close to $1 billion in size and estimated to be growing at an annual rate of 8-10 per cent.

The pen market that forms the bulk of the writing instruments market is extremely competitive with many players. In such a dynamic and growing market both the companies wanted to have an attractive share of the pie.

The tie-up would initially focus on the Indian market but later it will also look at exporting opportunities to SAARC and other countries arising out of sourcing benefits, the company said.

Zebra Company, with $300 million annual sales, was established in Japan in 1897 and is today one of the leading writing instruments firm in Japan.

It manufactures and sells ball point pens, gel pens, markers, highlighters and other similar writing instruments. The company also exports its products to the US, Southeast Asia, Europe, China and the Middle East.

Shares of Camlin today closed at Rs 51.60 on Bombay Stock Exchange, down 1.15 per cent from its previous close.