Hamelin officially acquired Pelikan (and Herlitz) on December 13th, 2023, bringing hope for a brighter future for these companies, which have faced bankruptcy, takeovers, tough market conditions, and austerity. However, for many employees, that hope has faded. Hamelin has aggressively reduced redundancies in Germany, Poland, Italy, Benelux, and Switzerland. A key change has been the closure of Pelikan Vertriebsgesellschaft (PVG), Pelikan’s German sales and distribution operations in Hannover and Falkensee, affecting around 250 employees. There have also been changes in distribution; Stone Marketing, which distributed Pelikan in the UK for over 25 years, is no longer involved as of January 1st because Hamelin has its own logistics in the UK. Eric Joan, Hamelin’s CEO, aims for growth by offering a wide range of products from a single catalog. Emphasizing the need to reduce redundancy, Mr. Joan recently summed it up like this; “We only want to run one company and not three.” Although Hamelin’s plans for Pelikan’s Peine-Vöhrum manufacturing plant are unclear, there are indications that developments are forthcoming.