Montblanc to continue India, China expansion

Montblanc Group, the German maker of the Meisterstueck fountain pen that is owned by Cie Financiere Richemont SA, will continue to expand in Asia as economic growth boosts consumption of luxury goods in the continent.

The company, which entered China in the early 1990s and has almost 100 outlets in 48 cities in the country, plans to open 4 to 5 new stores there next year, CEO Lutz Bethge said.

“The environment has certainly improved a lot as it shows in our results and we are very happy that we see a very broad- based development” in global demand, Bethge said. “We are also very happy about what has happened and continues to happen in China, where we still see a lot of potential for us,” he said in an interview while attending a meeting with German and Chinese business leaders in Montblanc’s hometown of Hamburg.

Montblanc, founded in 1906, sells its gold and diamond- encrusted pens, watches, cuff links, jewelry, perfume and leather accessories in about 70 countries at its own 360 boutiques and through other retailers. China has overtaken the US as Montblanc’s biggest individual market and it sees sales growth in other Asian countries, said Bethge.

“We have continued to expand in the past years to other markets, and India has been a very important market -- it is a market where we see, as well, strong potential for us,” the Montblanc CEO said. “There are a number of the former Soviet Union republics, such as Azerbaijan, that also do well for us.”