Luxury Writing Instruments and Stationery in Singapore

2020 IMPACT

COVID-19 pandemic exacerbates already weakening demand for luxury writing instruments

The emergence of the pandemic and subsequent lockdown restrictions has exacerbated the increasingly weak position of luxury writing instruments, with the latter perceived to be one of the sunset industries in Singapore. Given an increasingly digital world, demand for both luxury writing instruments and stationery has dwindled over the years with a shrinking consumer base, with these products generally marketed by brands to attract affluent professionals.

Limited online presence of retailers restricts channel shift during lockdown

The limited online presence of specialist retailers offering luxury writing instruments and stationery in Singapore placed a further restraint on the category’s sales in 2020, especially during the 2-month long Circuit Breaker from April to June 2020, where non-essential services and retailers including retailers of writing instruments were not permitted to operate. Since many consumers of these products prefer to visit bricks-and-mortar stores to inspect and test the writing instruments before making a purchase, e-commerce does not offer a viable distribution channel to the category, despite gaining marginal value share in 2020.

Consumers opt for cheaper alternatives given economic downturn while leading brands could continue to develop a presence in other categories

The competitive landscape of luxury writing instruments and stationery is fairly consolidated with Richemont Luxury (S) Pte Ltd (Montblanc, Cartier), and Hermès Singapore (Retail) Pte Ltd dominating value share at the end of the review period. Smaller players under “others” were also losing ground prior to the pandemic to more renowned names such as Sailor Pen Co Ltd and Visconti Srl.

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