Nataraj & Apsara are the most famous pencil brands in India

Interestingly opposed to what most think, these are not competitors

Both belong to the same company, Hindustan Pencils with

- 844 crores INR revenue
- 45% Market share
- Produces 8 million pencils daily

A thread 1/

In the Pre independence era and even after independence, pencils were imported from foreign countries.

A handful of Indian players couldn't match the quality of foreign players. Post independence they asked the government to intervene

1/

The government helped the local companies by restricting the imports. But the consumers were not happy with the quality of the local products and even the price was higher than the foreign pencils

2/

In 1958, Hindustan Pencils was started by 3 friends. They visited some of the German factories and learnt how to create good quality pencils.

The quality of their products were much superior than the other local players'

3/

In very less time, their pencils branded as Nataraj became the market leader in the industry capturing over half of the market

The value proposition of the Nataraj pencil was that it lasts longer than all the other pencils as shown in their old ads

4/

While Nataraj was the mass brand offering longer life at an affordable price, company also launched Apsara in the 80s.

Apsara was priced at a higher price point with more options and claimed to produce much clearer handwriting

5/

This dual brand strategy helped the company capture all the different segments and become the largest pencil manufacturer in the country with close to 60% market share at its peak

6/

By 2000s, the company started exporting it's products to over 50 countries.

The company claims to produce 8 million pencils, 1.5 million sharpeners, 2.5 million erasers, 0.2 million rulers and 1 million pens every day.

7/

Hindustan pencils continue to remain market leader but its market share has gone down to 45%

Players like Koyuko Camlin & Doms have eaten into their market share. Especially, new entrant Doms with their premium pencils is growing fast and has captured 30% of the market share

8/

In recent times the company is not being managed well. Despite of revenues of close to 880 crores, they made profits of only 1.17 crores. High chances that company might slip to losses

Doms on the other side has much better margins. 26 crores profit on 437 crores revenues

9/

Regardless of the dismal financial performance of the company, Nataraj and Apsara would always be remembered for being part of lives of millions of children across the globe

10/10

Sources:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.economictimes.com/industry/miscellaneous/pencil-makers-are-optimistic-not-threatened-by-industry-inventions/amp_articleshow/67731030.cms

https://www.google.com/amp/s/bloncampus.thehindubusinessline.com/columns/brand-basics/hindustan-pencils-sharp-as-ever/article23253653.ece/amp/

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