Mitsubishi Pencil acquires German pen maker Lamy
One of the unofficial jobs I had at Mitsubishi Corporation in the UK was to be the recipient of incoming calls from customers complaining about random products that the telephonist on reception could not find a department to forward to. One time it turned out to be someone who had bought Mitsuba golf clubs but was convinced they were Mitsubishi, but more frequently the calls were complaints or enquiries about Mitsubishi brand pencils. Which, then and now, are not handled by Mitsubishi Corporation, nor indeed is Mitsubishi Pencil even part of the Mitsubishi group of companies.
Several decades on, my favourite workaday pen continues to be uni-ball Eye (micro), which is manufactured by Mitsubishi Pencil. It makes my terrible handwriting slightly less terrible, and is completely reliable when I need to scribble quick notes.
In one of my attempts to make my more formal writing more legible, I remember having for many years a Lamy fountain pen, so it was a nostalgic moment to read today that Mitsubishi Pencil has acquired the Germany company, C. Josef Lamy GmbH. Mitsubishi Pencil say they made the acquisition in order to expand overseas and move into higher price ranges, as the stationery market in Japan is expected to shrink amid the country’s falling birth rate and digitalization efforts.
Mitsubishi Pencil was already present in Europe – with headquarters in France and operations in the UK and Spain, employing around 100 people in total. Lamy has around 380 employees.
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