Pelikan’s distribution network is undergoing another major shake-up. Since 2001, Chartpak has served as Pelikan’s North American distributor, connecting the German brand to retailers and overseeing domestic repairs. After years of stability, Pelikan’s North American distribution is entering a new chapter. Chartpak’s relationship with Hamelin and the Pelikan brand began to shift in July 2024, when European Manufacturing and Design Ltd., part of the LSF group, became Pelikan’s exclusive Canadian distributor, narrowing Chartpak’s territory. Now, Chartpak has once again been sidelined as Pelikan pursues a new strategic direction. Effective Thursday, September 25, Coles of London has taken over as the brand’s United States distributor, ending a 24-year partnership with Chartpak. Read on for the details behind this latest realignment.
A Familiar Pattern
The latest changing of the guard marks the fifth time Pelikan has shifted its North American distribution. Since the introduction of the M400 in 1982, several companies have represented the brand on this side of the Atlantic, including Pelikan, Inc. (1982-1992), Anthes Universal (1992-1996), SRW Marketing (1996-2001), and most recently, Chartpak (2001-2025). Now, Coles of London steps into that lineage.
Coles of London is no stranger to the world of fine writing instruments. The company has operated in North America for nearly two decades, already serving as distributor for S.T. Dupont and Visconti. Its founder, Mark Cole, originally from London, England, has been immersed in the pen industry for more than 20 years. In 2006, he relocated to the U.S. to establish Coles of London, building a talented team of sales and office staff who can often be found representing their brands at pen shows across the country.
A New Chapter for Pelikan in the U.S.
I had the opportunity to speak with Mark Cole shortly after the transition. While he couldn’t share specifics about what prompted the change, his passion for fine writing instruments—and his enthusiasm for adding Pelikan to the company’s portfolio—came through clearly. In fairness, I also reached out to Chartpak for comment but was unable to connect. It is my understanding that Gary Lange, National Sales Director for Chartpak, will continue on in his role as Chartpak has a portfolio of dozens of brands that extend well beyond Pelikan.
Coles of London is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Once operations are fully up to speed, the company intends to handle Pelikan pen repairs in-house. Details on how warranty and other claims will be managed have yet to be finalized as the team prepares to take on the brand.
An Awkward Moment for New Releases
This transition comes at an awkward time. Two pens—the M600 Rudi Rother and the M805 Metal Sleeve—were announced before the change in distributors. That raises an obvious question: how does this affect pricing? Since Coles of London isn’t bound to honor Chartpak’s previous pricing, the earlier figures are effectively void.
Take the M600 Rudi Rother as an example. Under Chartpak, it carried an MSRP of $790 with a retail price around $632. Under the new structure, the MSRP has climbed to $945, putting retail at about $756—an increase of roughly 19.6%. The M805 Metal Sleeve shows a similar pattern, moving from an MSRP of $1,090 (retail $872) to $1,250 (retail $1,000), or about a 14.6% rise. Different models may see varying adjustments, but the direction is clear: Pelikan’s prices are trending upward under the new distributor.
Infographic: Comparison of U.S. retail pricing for the M600 Rudi Rother and M805 Metal Sleeve before and after the transition to Coles of London.
Margins, Tariffs, and the Cost of Change
I suspect that margins and tariffs account for much of the recent price increase. A margin represents the profit earned as a percentage of the item’s selling price. In simple terms, Pelikan—the manufacturer—sells to the distributor (Coles of London) at a wholesale price. The distributor then sells to retailers at a higher price, and finally, retailers sell to consumers at full retail. Each step adds its own margin to cover costs and generate profit. Typically, retailers take the largest margin, while manufacturers see the smallest.
Tariffs also play a role—unfortunately, they’re unavoidable. For goods imported from the European Union, where Pelikan’s pens are made, the current tariff rate sits at around 15%. Those added costs inevitably make their way to the end consumer.
Looking Ahead
For now, much remains to be seen. Pricing will likely continue to settle as Coles of London adjusts to its new role and finds its footing with Pelikan. I suspect the change was driven by a combination of business strategy and economics—possibly a desire for Pelikan to strengthen its North American presence while improving margins through a new distribution structure. How warranty service, parts availability, and communication with retailers evolve will tell us a lot about what to expect moving forward. Change can bring opportunity—new energy, new approaches, and sometimes a fresh perspective on a brand and its marketing. It can also come with growing pains in the form of higher prices.
Coles of London can be found online here. Information regarding Pelikan is still sparse, with placeholder pages displaying a “coming soon” banner. The company also maintains a presence on Instagram, and general contact details can be found on their website. For those seeking warranty service or repair work, patience will likely be required until Coles can fully ramp up operations. It should also be noted that Coles of London currently has no involvement with the upcoming Hubs event and inquiries should continue to be directed to hubs@pelikan.com.
What are your thoughts on this latest development? Are you optimistic about the shift to Coles of London, or do you have concerns about how it might affect availability and pricing? I’d love to hear your perspective in the comments below.
Shame, Chartpak was always good to deal with. And instant price raises is a bad look.
At a minimum, it is very unfortunate that prices had to change after being announced. It would have made more sense to me that this transition occurred at an time between releases to make for a cleaner break.
Thanks for the report, Joshua. It‘s good to hear that the new distributor seems to have a Passion for the brand. I think at present Pelikan‘s fine writing business can use all the help it can get in every segment of it’s value chain. I can only assume and hope that Pelikan has evaluated the alternatives carefully, and they have chosen the most promising path forward.
I’m curious as to what value proposition Hamelin saw in Coles that Chartpak could not offer. Hamelin has done a lot of work streamlining inefficiencies and eliminating redundancy. The usual supply chains across the globe were largely disrupted and old relationships essentially wiped out. Whole new playing field out there.
Coles raised prices beyond what tariffs would done and cut dealer margins. For a moment there it looked like there may have been some pricing advantage for US retailers but that is obviated. Coles needs to offer stellar service and also be better at securing good numbers of special and limited edition pens for the USA. At least in the early going neither of those are manifesting. Tough times for Pelikan collectors and USA retailers.
It appears that the opportunity for US vendors with the elimination of de minimis may have been short lived based on what the price increases suggest. It remains to be seen what value Coles will add to the brand for the money.
Shame! The price increases are simply obscene and cannot be justified. The prices that Chartpak released already accounted for the tariffs (as a simple calculation based on EU prices show). I was looking forward to buying domestically, but no longer. At these prices it is very advantageous to continue to buy from Europe. I was seriously considering the latest M800s, but now I may just stick with Montblanc.
I was actually in the process of establishing domestic relationships for my purchases but now have to again evaluate what is advantageous. The Metal Sleeve will cost me $1000 plus tax and shipping from a U.S. retailer. The same pen would cost me $969.53 from overseas once vat removed and accounting for tariffs and shipping fees. Cheaper for sure but not by a lot. Of course that is just a quick example. Deals elsewhere might tip the scale in one direction over another. For now, it’s going to have to be a case by case basis.
My condolences to pen friends in the United States. The change of distributor coincided with a suicidal tariff policy. It seems that US citizens will simply buy pens in Canada or in European Union. And the US economy will simply lose out on this…
That has been the story for a while now. Any advantage U.S. retailers were to have gained with the removal of de minimis seems to have been negated.
Tariffs on fountain pens imported from Europe are not that significant, actually, it’s basically 0.4¢ per pen + 2.7% ad valorem. Still lower than sales tax in the US. Joshua is incorrect about 15%.
“As of late 2025 and moving into 2026, the United States imposed a 15% tariff on most goods imported from the European Union (EU) following a trade deal designed to set a new baseline for imports. Regarding the specific, updated, and nuanced situation for fountain pens (often classified under HTS codes 9608.30.00), the following rules apply:
15% Tariff on EU Goods: The general rule for EU products, including consumer goods like fountain pens, is a 15% tariff, which replaced previously threatened, higher rates.”
Well, if they just implemented it in 2026, I would stand corrected. However, I received a pen from Germany in November 2025 and it had the 2.7% duty added (plus DHL fee).
Without knowing it, I seem to have been right in the middle of this! I purchased an M600 Rudi Rother at the announced price from a US pen dealer. He was very apologetic about the time it took to ship the order and talked about a change in supplier which he hoped would help with some supply and distribution issues. Now it makes more sense. And, by the way, the Rudi Rother is stunning! Absolutely stunning!
Indeed it is. Some of the best series of pens thus far that Pelikan has put out for some time.
This is a disappointing time to be an enthusiast, as it seems the best advice was “hope you got what you wanted already.” I.e. I’m very happy I acquired my 910 Toledo White, M1000 Renaissance Brown, and the screaming deal that was available on the M800 Green Demonstrator, when I did. Everything in stationery (and elsewhere) seeming to drastically jump in price while, for most, they don’t have any more disposable income for the hobby.
Especially troublesome may be those U.S. retailers that already pre-sold the Rudi Rother and Metal Sleeve. Are the U.S. retailers expected to eat the cost difference if they haven’t already gotten their allotment? I myself have a pre-order for the RR right now, and would be extremely upset if I was hit with a bill to make up the difference because of Coles of London deciding it should be 20% more than last month. As you said in another comment Joshua, it would have been better if they had timed this between releases, not in the middle of some of their most anticipated (Art Series, Metal Sleeve, and the new Matte Black).
It is a conundrum. Wage growth has slowed and lags behind inflation. The cost of just about everything has gone up. This hobby is a luxury and not a necessity. Pelikan is certainly risking pricing themselves out of the market. People will simply turn to more affordable alternatives. I’m not sure how retailers in the US are handling the price changes when pre-orders were taken under an initial price that is no longer in effect. Certainly puts retailers in a tough position.
I hope Pelikan doesn’t go the way of Visconti, but it seems like the prices are headed in that stratosphere. I’m baffled by the latest releases (of single colors), but it confirms the old news that Pelikan is no longer doing transparent stripes because of the cost of the material. It seems like they are doing very few stripes at all, which is what I loved about the brand. Makes me wonder if they’ve changed for good. I’m glad I bought the pens I wanted over the last decade and now have enough of a collection to stop.
They are still making the standard striped models, without transparency of course. It’s just that the special and limited editions are coming without stripes which is not necessarily surprising. I don’t believe the company has abandoned them all together. I think they are just trying out new designs to try and engage a broader base and range of taste. There are many who find the stripes boring so it goes both ways.