t seems like a case of the fragrance dying out. Remember the khusboowala pen - Zee? Launched by Today�s Writing Products in 1995, it was heavily advertised and the innovation was pushed in the media with a budget of Rs 6 lakh. Apparently, it did wonders for the company�s sales figures. But the popularity of the pen triggered off a wave of fakes in the market. Zee has since been withdrawn, but the trend of innovations continues at Today�s with meter-wala pen, climate-control pen and so on. With all the action, the company hopes to close the year 2004-05 with a turnover of Rs 90 crore against Rs 82 crore it did in 2003-04.


"Innovation," says Ronnie Netto, director, Today�s Writing Products, "is a differentiation point, along with pricing." In the
Rs 1,200-crore writing instruments market (Rs 1,600 crore including the unorganised players), Today�s - whose portfolio includes ball pens, gel pens, roller pens, markers and highlighters - claims a market-share of 9 per cent by volume and close to 7 per cent by value. Competition comes from Reynolds, Rotomac, Linc, Lexi, Flair, Luxor, and market leader Cello, which is three times the size of Today�s.
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