Shah Rukh to continue scripting Linc’s success

Kolkata-based Rs 190-crore Linc Pen and Plastics is set to renew its contract with Shah Rukh Khan as brand ambassador. Linc Pen, one of the branded players in the Rs 2,100 crore writing instrument industry, had signed up SRK for one year in December 2008. Linc is said to have already commissioned Mumbai-based creative agency, The Republic, to make a new set of television commercials with SRK, which is likely to be aired from November.

“The association with Shah Rukh Khan helped us increase brand awareness and tap new markets. ‘Trade confidence’ has also increased significantly. We, therefore, thought of leveraging the association and are renewing our contract with SRK,” Deepak Jalan, managing director, Linc Pens and Plastics, told Financial Chronicle.

Linc Pen is known for low-priced ball and gel pens. However, following the brand’s association with SRK, the company forayed into the Rs 40-50 price segment. Without divulging the contract value with SRK, Jalan said that to reach out to their core target group—youth and students — the company had decided to be an associate sponsor of this year’s IIFA (film) awards ceremony to be held in Macau.

The company, which hopes to notch up a turnover of Rs 300 crore in the next three years, is also betting high on exports. “The total value of exports from the Indian pen industry is estimated at 400-500 crore and is growing rapidly, with the Indian pens eating into Chinese ones in a big way,” Jalan said.

Last year, the company earned Rs 40 crore from exports and Jalan is confident that this figure will move up considerably. Interestingly, Linc has got its brand registered (in some cases applied for registration) in as many as 50 countries, while at present Linc Pens are present in only 20 countries. “We plan to make our brand available in all the 50 countries in next three-five years,” Jalan said.

Leading players who export pens from India include Linc, Cello, Lexi, Flair, Luxor and Montex.