So we finally made it to the point of no return. Its a strange feeling to finally be here. We are very excited yet humbled by the many challenges we see ahead of us. We have many balls in the air at the given moment. These are all huge opportunities that if managed right can lead us to the “promised land”.  The flip side to this is that if any one of these balls falls or goes sideways on us it can have a major impact on our efficiency as a business, which just happens to be our main asset. To date we are now in Wal-Mart, Walgreens and OfficeDepot along with about 5,000 independent retailers. As far as we can tell it looks like most of the other big players will be on board in 07′.  So far so good, if they all hit we are looking at some 50,000 stores in the US alone.  Its a good problem to have yet you still have to look at it with some degree of worry. 

Some recent updates.

We just got back from China a few weeks ago where we finalized the details of starting a joint venture with our factory. This is a big step for Bobby and I. This will allow us to apply what we have learned these past few years to grow another brand in conjunction with Penagain. The picture above was taken in Hong Kong harbor just after we concluded the details of the company’s charter.

We have also been busy getting our higher end metal Penagain ready to launch. It will be called the “ErgoSleek” (picture above) and will made in a unique metal body with a high gloss finish. It will also have soft “gel” pads where your fingers rest for added comfort.  At best we hope to have this available in limited quantities by Dec. 1 on our website. We will then be pushing this into our independent retail channel the beginning of the year. 

The final work on the childs pencil version is almost done and we hope the finished product will also be available by December. We will be calling it the “Twist N’ Write”.  They will be sold in a multi-pack of 5 pencils, all in #2 lead. The image above is a sample of the packaging. We are open to suggestions.

The last two pictures from above are from our visit to Wal-Mart headquarters in good ol’ Bentonville, Arkansas. They will be carrying the above holiday display in 800 stores.  Hits stores end of November.