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This past week CNBC ran a pretty detailed feature on the Penagain. The link is below along with another segment that ran May 30th. Have a great 4th of July Holiday.
http://www.penagain.com/video_public/OTM_NSF71122_02.wmv
CNBC “Morning Call” May 30th.
http://www.penagain.com/video_public/MC_NSF71122_01.wmv
We decided it would be cool to get some pictures of people using the Penagain in action to post on the site. So heres the deal; we will send out a free Ergo marker or highlighter to anyone that sends in a picture of themselves using a Penagain. The more creative the better. Just send an email with attached picture to colinroche@penagain.com with your return address. The above pictures are a few to kick it off. From left to right–>Brandi Chastain holding the Penagain. Storm Trooper guy with Silver Ergo-Sof Penagain. Mt. View,Ca Elementary School Inventors Club. Websters Pen shop in Heathrow Airport with Penagains at the counter. Penagain Booth Frankfurt, Germany. Penagain Shipping Dept.
Why might you ask did we decide to do this? I have always been a fan of walking into those restaurants that have pictures of people on the wall wearing the restaurant sweatshirt or t-shirt in far off places like Angkor Wat or Antartica. Seems like a good marketing tactic and makes it kind of fun at the same time. Having said that I also thought it would be a good way to see if anyone really reads this blog.
We have learned that without a big advertising and marketing budget to support a roll-out of your product in the mass market you need to rely on whatever tools you have at hand. In this area the story behind the invention is our biggest asset to get exposure in the media (that coupled with a pretty cool product we think). Basically I was told early on that you need to have a “hook” to “hang” your story on if you want the media to accept it. In addition someone once told me we need to knock on everydoor, chase every opportunity and make as much noise as possible if we are going to try and make this product a global success. Well, this week we went all out; On Monday the San Francisco Examiner did a nice spread, followed up with 5 minutes on QVC, then the San Mateo Times and all affiliated papers ran the story below, tonight at 5:25 pm ABC news will be doing a little feature, then next week CNBC is running a well documented story on the Penagain. When I asked the reporter if this is a regional story or maybe hopefully a National one she spooked me a little bit by saying..”Colin, this is not only National, but Global.” Needless to say, we are hoping this translates into a grand slam for our test trial in the Mass Market.
Wal-Mart to test out novel ergonomic pen
SAN MATEO COLIN ROCHE feels like he’s on a business survivor TV show, facing a huge challenge.A year and a half ago, he asked a Wal-Mart buyer to give his unique pen a trial run with the nation’s biggest retail chain.He got what he asked for: a 30-day test run in 500 Wal-Mart stores for his wishbone-shaped, ergonomically designed pen.Now he has to sell 85 percent of the 48,000 pens Wal-Mart ordered — by the end of this month.If they sell, the product will be considered for full-time shelf space.”We’re nervous as hell about the test, but the pens are selling well in local stores,” said Roche, whose San Mateo-based Pacific Writing Instruments Inc. is just starting to hit its stride.”Let the great pen wars begin,” deadpanned the energetic former high-tech sales executive. It won’t be the end of the world if the product called PenAgain doesn’t make the Wal-Mart cut. Office Depot just started a rollout of the pens last week, and they will go in 1,049 stores. But the Wal-Mart deal would really establish the company and product, Roche said.He dreamed up the pen while sitting in high school detention in 1987. The invention was aimed at relieving his bad habit of squeezing pens so hard they hurt his hand. Roche, 34, has been pushing hard lately for sales. The pen will sell for just under $4 in Wal-Mart and Office Depot stores. Distribution has been limited until now for Roche and his partner, Bobby Ronsse, an old college fraternity brother.”It’s very difficult to get a Wal-Mart to even try your product,” said George Whalin, president and chief executive of Retail Management Consultants in San Marcos. “So he’s fortunate to go that far.”Whalin said thousands of new products from small inventors and entrepreneurs hit the market every year. “Success could depend on if he gets a good spot in the store. “Roche is getting an “Side Kick,” located at the end of an aisle in Wal-Mart. Whalin called it a prime spot. The question is: Is there enough mass appeal for the product to stay on Wal-Mart’s shelves? And is it going to be a big seller at Office Depot? The pens are popular with people who suffer from arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome, but they also appeal to people who like something different.The writer’s index finger sits in the saddle of the Y-shaped pen.
| The natural weight of the writer’s hand provides enough pressure to apply ink to the paper. Since Roche was written about in this paper in 2003, he has been selling online and in smaller, independent stationery stores and gift shops. He has pushed annual sales up to $2 million.”It makes writing more comfortable and easier,” said Kent Robertson, a distribution manager at Sealed Air Corp. in Hayward. Plus, he said, it’s “a great icebreaker” in sales calls, because it’s a good conversation piece. But getting into big stores doesn’t necessarily make life easier for the budding inventor/entrepreneur. While it’s a terrific milestone, it means big changes and problems, too. Roche has to raise the money to manufacture tens of thousands of pens before they’re sold. The three-person company has four investors, mostly “executives who did very well,” Roche said. But the stress dial can climb fast when you’re trying to pay for mass manufacturing, he said. Roche and Ronsse traveled to China recently to work with a factory to produce the pens in high volume. “You can be a victim of your own success,” he said. “They want the pens right now if they accept them.”He doesn’t have a big advertising budget, only grassroots networking with friends, schools and organizations like national arthritis groups.Then there are changes in pricing. Roche’s pens are now being sold for a lower price by the mass retailers. The price will be $3.76 at Wal-Mart and $3.99 at Office Depot. That’s down from more than $6 in some smaller stores. “That’s what happens when you sell in volume,” he said.The countdown is coming fast at Wal-Mart (the retailer didn’t return phone calls for comment). Roche is trying to make sure the displays look good in the local stores, and is asking friends and customers to check the displays in stores he can’t get to. “We hope it has legs to stand on its own,” he said. “We don’t have an ad budget, so it’s got to sit there and sell itself.” | ||
The “Great Pen Wars Have begun!”. As of todays date we are in at least 400 of the 500 Wal-Mart stores. The goal is to sell thru 85% of the inventory in about 4 weeks. In some regions it is doing very well in others the jury is still out. We are glad to report that Mt. View, CA sold out in less then 10 days (hard to use as a benchmark though because the Bay Area is Penagain country.) We have been pushing as hard as possible to bring awareness that our little Penagain is in the midst of the biggest test of its life-cycle. Its make or break time.
Since the story broke in the Wall Street Journal last week we have had some interesting inquiries. The best of all probably was the guy that called asking if we were in need of any “fractional private jet ownership”. Hmmm..did he not read the part about “One month to make it”. We told him we are still in the trenches trying to simply make it to the next level of roll-out. We had fun for about 30 seconds day-dreaming of a plush private jet with PENAGAIN penned on the side.
The amount of sales calls we got from money managers, executive recruiters, copier salesman, commercial real estate agents, packaging salesman, shipping companies and lastly nice little old ladies that want to know if we sell blue or red ink was staggering. We answered them all as kindly as we could. Note to self..don’t forward your office phone to your cell phone when a big story might break. I did also take some interesting calls from other inventors trying to get their ideas off the ground. Gotta love the passion these inventors have, which by the way I have learned is probably the single most important ingredient an inventor can have.
The Pictures above show a “side-kick” display of Penagain’s the day it was put up then one in a different store 10 days later.
We are supposed to be in the stationery aisle but that is not always the case. The display might be a few aisles down or in a completely random spot. Frankly at this stage we are glad when we are simply put up and in the stream of store traffic. Our next big worry is the launch into all OfficeDepot stores timed for tomorrow June 13th. We hope we did everything right and did not mix up any labels, barcodes or make any major rookie moves that could seriously cause us pain. Cross your fingers. We will report more as it comes at us.
Welcome to the Journey of two “Pen” inventors that are shooting for the moon and dreaming big. This is a blog about an idea for an ergonomic pen I day-dreamed of back in 1987, while sitting in an all day Saturday school detention not unlike the movie “Breakfast club”. The first chapters in our journey started here http://www.penagain.com/story.shtml
Currently, we are in the midst of taking the Penagain into the mass market. We rolled into 500 Wal-Marts this week and have to make sure we sell at least 85% of the Penagains on hand before the 4 week trial is over. If we succeed we have a chance at rolling out into 3200 stores and competing head to head with the major Pen brands. I would be very appreciative if you went in and bought one if you felt the urge.The Wal-Mart store locator is here. http://www.penagain.com/locator_walmart.shtml
Going forward we will try and keep you as updated as possible about how we are doing in our big Wal-Mart Test. Feel free to write in with your ideas or comments about the Penagain and the how/who we should market to. In addition, we are open to fielding any kind of questions from just about anyone about what we have learned so far and what it is like to bring your own product to market. We are question friendly so bring it on! Just bear with us until we can get back to your comments or questions.
Our latest Media is below.
Best,
Colin Roche, Bobby Ronsse
Penagain Inventors
www.penagain.com
We’ve had overwhelming demand for our story recently, so a blog seemed like a good way to get some conversation going with people who are interested. We plan to post details of our adventures and thoughts on building this business, and we’re hoping that you will comment or send us email.
Here’s to a new chapter in the PenAgain journey!
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