Kokuyo Camlin, which is still popularly known as Camlin, has been a brand that brings a rush of memories for adults and kids alike in India. In this dynamic world, there is a growing need to have a right mix of traditional and new-age products to engage with customers. Saumitra Prasad, Chief Marketing Officer, Kokuyo Camlin talks to Free Press Journal’s
Jescilia Karayamparambil and R N Bhaskar, about the innovation in stationery business.
Which categories are dominated by Camlin?
We dominate various segments in stationery. In case of school colours, we have a 70 per cent market share. In the category of markers, we are market leaders with a share of 35 per cent in some categories and for some markers our market share is 40 per cent. Then, we are leaders in geometric boxes with market share of 48 per cent. In mechanical pencil categories, we are market leaders. In other categories, we have a good presence.
Which products come under the low margin category?
Notebook is a low margin category. This is mainly because the space is dominated by unorganised players. Also, there is always pressure on the costs like that of paper. In India, anything related to paper or notebook the margins are low. In this category of stationery, the trader gets high margin compared to other categories. This industry has always been trade driven. Across products, the traders expects good margins. But the margin that the companies have to play around with is less in case of notebooks.
How much margin does a trader get in notebook category?
The retailer is used to a high margin of 25-30 per cent compared to FMCG categories which is around 10 per cent.
In this business, where do pens stand?
In pen, there are two categories. One is mass segment (pens costing Rs 5-10 each) and the other segment is pens costing Rs 10 and more. In the mass segment, the margins are less but it is slightly higher compared to notebooks. Compared to all categories pens are the most advertised products. This is mainly because pens act as FMCG products due to their mass appeal.
Notebooks are larger in size but pen are the most distributed products. The pen goes to small towns and also rural markets. The pen is a frequently purchased product. In case of pens, the margins are better off compared to notebooks.
In your product mix, what are the biggest bread and butter segments?
Being the oldest company in the stationery business, we started off with fountain pens and today we have a wide range of products. We have a presence in each and every stationery segment in the country. This is unlike any other company. We have been a dominant player in the colour category — among school students, professionals, artistes and hobbyists. We dominate in the space for colours and that is a very complex structure.
In school colours, there is so many products. But the general perception among people is that all crayons are same. We introduced an innovative concept called brush pen. Today, children want to colour but they have less time and colouring is cumbersome using water and colours. To tap into this segment, we came up with a product that gives a feeling of using a brush to colour. It colours like brush. It is something we developed over a period of time. There are products which consumers need and we are working towards servicing those needs. The brush pen was designed keeping in mind the requirement of the customer.
In the artist category as well, we have a wide variety. There is no other brand that competes with Camlin in this segment. Thus, we have a dominance there. There are some international brands that are present but there are no Indian brands. And these international brands are available through the import channel. There is no organised presence of these international brands in the country. We are the only one that manufactures the product and has an organised supply chain.
How much percentage of your turnover will come from the colour category?
The colour category is the largest category for us. The school colour category contributes the highest to the topline.
At what rate is colour category growing?
The overall market in the stationery business is growing at 9-10 per cent. In colours, we see categories growing between 12 and 14 per cent. In case of stick and dry format, the growth is good as the convenience factor comes into play. So stick and dry colours are doing better than liquid colours. The stick format of colours is growing the fastest as it is the most convenient format.
Is Indian market for art growing faster or the western market?
Indian art market is definitely growing. Trends indicate that art should definitely grow. Firstly, it is growing among school children and schools as they understand the importance of art. In the adult segment, there is far more respect for art and artistes. There are people taking up art as a discipline and also many housewives taking up art as a hobby. These are trends that indicate that art will grow in India. It is already happening in western markets.
Art is also used as stress buster. How is the demand in that category?
There are therapy classes that are using art. For a company like us, we have recently launched an adult colouring book. The benefit is that it will help you relax. It is a simple book that comes with colour pencils along with the book. You just need to fill in the colours. By doing this, they are getting relieved from the stress. These intricate designs have been developed by psychologists. We are going to promote it by introducing more user-friendly products. We got a lot of appreciation from consumers after the launch of this product.
Do you think new-age products create a dent in the share of traditional products?
We do not look at caramelising our existing product. But at times, when the consumer needs change, you cannot stop that urge. The objective of any marketer is to satisfy its consumer, by fulfilling its needs in the best possible way. As long as you keep consumers happy, that is good for the brand.
Which category is your focus area in terms of R&D?
We are serious players in all segment whether it is school kids, artists, hobbyists or adults. We have a team that focus on all segments and our Research and Development (R&D) is also set up like that. We are diverse in terms of products that we offer.
Do you depend on Kokuyo for R&D on colours?
Camlin always had their R&D team in place. But after Kokuyo came into the picture they have helped improve the processes in development and manufacturing. Japanese are known for their immense quality and the kind of checks they have in place. Any complaint we receive is attended by our top team. This is a big change that we have seen (Today Kokuyo owns almost three-fourths of the equity share capital, while the general public owns barely 24 per cent. The original promoters own barely around a per cent)
Which age segment accounts for the largest share for Camlin?
Break up the children in two segments – one in the age group of under 10 years and the other being 10 years and more. Our presence is good in primary school products. In the case of secondary education products, we dominate in some segments. In the case of the pen segment, we are late entrants and there are many existing players already. We are pioneers of classical pens that is fountain pens use ink and which are rarely used today. Except for states like Tamil Nadu, most kids today use gel pen.
Which region is driving growth?
Our strong markets are south and west which are driving growth. Comparatively, the northern market is weak. The big exception is Bengal which it is very good with colours, in the east we are not doing that well. We are looking at areas of opportunity in the North. In Kerala, we are a dominant player with a market share of 90 per cent.
