A lot for the entire world going digital: It seems we’re nonetheless very a lot a nation of pencil pushers.
Sure, the writing instrument that all of us keep in mind from childhood is holding its personal even in an period when so many people flip to computer systems and smartphones to do most of our communication and note-taking. Simply ask any mum or dad who has to purchase a boatload of pencils in the course of the present back-to-school purchasing season.
And whereas pencil manufacturing within the U.S. has dwindled through the years as manufacturing shifts abroad, the demand for these imports from such international locations as China, Mexico and India suggests a market that appears to stay sturdy.
Commerce information provided to MarketWatch by the Writing Instrument Producers Affiliation reveals {that a} key import class encompassing pencils and related writing instruments has grown by 17% from 2008 to 2022 — to a whopping determine of roughly 3.7 billion models yearly. Briefly, a lot of pencils.
David Baker, government director of the affiliation, famous that some years are stronger than others for U.S. pencil gross sales — the market took a little bit of successful in 2021 in the course of the COVID pandemic when many faculties went distant — however there’s no signal of weakening total.
The market is on observe for continued development, in response to a analysis report from Precision Enterprise Insights. It initiatives gross sales growing at an annual charge of seven.7% via 2028.
The rationale the pencil, a writing instrument that dates again centuries and usually consists of graphite encased in wooden, will not be solely in a position to survive however flourish has a lot to do with who makes use of them. Specifically, kids.
Individuals within the business be aware that pencils proceed to be the important, easy-to-use writing instrument for grade schoolers, particularly from the kindergarten stage as much as fourth grade.
“Pencils are so foundational at a younger age,” stated Steve Boyea, president of gross sales and advertising for the North American division of the Dixon Ticonderoga Firm, the pencil model maybe most related to the basic yellow-colored No. 2 mannequin. (Dixon is now owned by F.I.L.A. Group
FILA,
an Italian conglomerate.)
And because the inhabitants of youngsters within the U.S. grows — from 63.6 million in 1990 to 73.1 million in 2020, in response to authorities and different information — that just about explains the expansion within the pencil market, specialists say.
““Know-how has not changed the necessity for conventional core classroom staples.””
Not that digitization hasn’t crept into the world of studying. Contemplate that beginning subsequent yr, the SAT, the important thing college-entrance examination that high-school college students take, can be finished on-line, without having for pencils on take a look at day.
Tia Frappoli, president of the office-supplies observe for market researcher Circana, additionally famous that using digital instruments “accelerated and peaked” in the course of the pandemic and that many lecturers plan to proceed embracing such know-how sooner or later. However she stated the truth that pencils have held their very own from a gross sales perspective speaks to their resilience.
“Know-how has not changed the necessity for conventional core classroom staples,” Frappoli stated.
Pencil firms are additionally doing their half to make pencils, nicely, cool.
Tennessee-based Musgrave Pencil Firm, one of many few surviving American producers, has rolled out every thing from scented pencils to ones with colourful designs (assume dinosaur-themed fashions) through the years. In addition they have funky erase toppers that “add flash and attraction,” stated Scott Johnson, the corporate’s president.
Tennessee-based Musgrave Pencil Firm sells a wide range of a few of its hottest gadgets.
Musgrave Pencil Firm
The corporate additionally finds methods to deal with the grownup market, since pencils are nonetheless utilized in many professions. A working example: Musgrave now manufactures a cam-shaped pencil invented by a grasp carpenter — it’s a writing instrument focused for craftspeople.
Musgrave additionally works with firms to design pencils that may be imprinted with logos or messages. Johnson calls the pencil “the world’s smallest billboard” and added that “it’s a beautiful medium as a promotional merchandise.”
The corporate’s development formulation seems to be working: Johnson stated gross sales are up 10% year-to-date.
It’s attainable that a side of the pencil business’s resiliency is about rebuking the digital realm, business insiders say. Name it the Luddite’s revenge — or simply the concept holding a writing instrument between your fingers has a sure intrinsic (and nostalgic) attraction that typing away on a pc or cellphone can don’t supply.
Not less than that’s how Caroline Weaver, a pencil fanatic who as soon as ran a New York Metropolis retailer dedicated to the writing instrument, sees it. She stated she embraces the pencil for a lot of causes. Amongst them: the tactile really feel of utilizing it and the “distinctive freedom” that comes with having a built-in eraser.
Weaver added that at this time’s grown-up pencil customers are a proud, analog-minded bunch.
“Individuals are utilizing analog instruments not as a result of they should, however as a result of they need to,” she stated.
