A recent video I saw got me wondering… what companies are most dominant in the industry?
Well, there’s generally a lot more information about the writing instrument industry overall, with the bulk of it on pens. But there’s some info on pencils too. “Cognitive Market Research” has a few articles. I really don’t know anything about this company other than it being based out of India with sales offices in a few regions. There are some grammatical annoyances in some of the content, which affects the impression of trustworthiness. And the site looks rather dated.
Anyway, assuming the data is accurate, here’s a dump of it (which has a large portion forecasting expected market share based on known trends).
LINK to Pencils REPORT
The Cognitive Market Research site doesn’t explain what is “Others” for pencil type. I’m assuming wooden pencils refers to the common #2 type used in schools and industries. Perhaps others refers to drawing pencils that encompasses a color pigmented wax core, as well as a variety of graphite shapes. Under Drawing Pencils, there’s 6 types included, as well as an “Others.” Note that “Mechanical Pencils” is there, which I assume means lead holders.
LINK to Mechanical Pencils REPORT
LINK to Drawing Pencils REPORT
Some interesting statistics regarding mechanical pencils:
Global Mechanical Pencils Market Sales Revenue 2023 is $ 3.5 Billion
| Regional Mechanical Pencil Market Sales Revenue / CAGR for 2023 | Revenue / Percentage |
|---|---|
| North America | $ 1.33 Billion |
| Europe | $ 1.05 Billion |
| Europe CAGR for 2024 to 2031 | 3.8% |
| Asia Pacific | $ 0.84 Billion |
| Asia Pacific CAGR for 2024 to 2031 | 6.4% |
| South America | $ 0.18 Billion |
| South America CAGR for 2024 to 2031 | 4.3% |
| Middle East and Africa | $ 0.11 Billion |
| Middle East and Africa CAGR for 2024 to 2031 | 4.3% |
Top Mechanical Pencil Companies by Market Share (not listed by market share rank)
(Note that some have been intentionally left off, as an incentive to buy the full report)
Pentel
Faber-Castell
Pilot Corporation
Zebra
Staedtler
BIC Group
Uni-ball
Tombow Pencil Co. Ltd.
Mitsubishi Pencil Co. Ltd.
Koh-I-Noor
Paper Mate
Schneider Schreibgeräte GmbH
LAMY
rOtring
Muji
Naturally the pen market is much larger. Comparatively, the Global Pen market size will be USD 17.2 billion in 2023 and will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.0% from 2023 to 2030.
LINK to Pens REPORT
| Regional Market Sales Revenue 2023 | Revenue |
|---|---|
| Asia Pacific | $ 630 Million |
| North America | $ 504 Million |
| Europe | $ 468 Million |
| South America | $ 126 Million |
| Middle East and Africa | $ 72 Million |
Top companies in the pen market (no ranked order):
BIC Group
Newell Brands
Pilot Corporation
Montblanc International
LAMY
Zebra Pen Corporation
Staedtler Mars GmbH & Co. KG
Pentel Co. Ltd.
Mitsubishi Pencil Co. Ltd.
Faber-Castell
Sheaffer
Aurora
Parker Pen Company
Waterman
Cross Pens
Tombow Pencil Co. Ltd.
Schneider Schreibgeräte GmbH
Pelikan
Caran d’Ache
Uni-ball