News of Pelikan International Corporation Berhad’s (PICB) decision to divest itself of its core stationery business back in May sent shock waves through the fountain pen community. Pelikan’s product range is vast, covering a wide array of school and office supply products. While their fine writing instruments division is a much smaller slice of the overall Pelikan pie, it means everything to their fans. Brand fealty aside, Pelikan’s contributions to the writing community over the last century cannot be ignored, especially when you examine just a few key examples amongst their innumerable writing instruments as well as their inks. More recently, the Pelikan Hubs event has become one of the premier social gatherings outside of pen shows for our little coterie. Of course, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. The brand’s luster has worn, tarnished over the last several years by Pelikan’s failure to invest and modernize their production, some notably inconsistent designs, a lack of exciting nib selections, wide regional pricing disparities, and, perhaps most vexing of all, the discontinuation of the ink view on their Souverän models. Perchance these were all signpost pointing to the eventuality that we find ourselves at today. The Hamelin Group will buy the brand in a sale that is expected to be closed by year’s end. The hopeful believe that this might be the dawn of a new era for Pelikan, heralded by a fresh vision from clear eyed investors and an infusion of capital. The pessimist prognosticates the beginning of the end, a stripping down and dilution of the brand to nothing more than a shadow of its former self. This dour view is sadly informed by experiences with other once famous pen brands which were sold, their heritage and brand integrity squandered for profit. Which direction will Pelikan end up going? Only time will tell but I have gained some insight as to which direction we may be heading. As I alluded to in a prior post, I reached out to Hamelin to try and clarify their intentions for the brand. What I learned was somewhat heartening. Read on to find out what Hamelin had to say for itself.