William Penn operates seven retail stores currently and ten more stores are expected to be launched by the end of the year. William Penn retails more than 20 brands of premium writing instruments from around the world, like 'Sheaffer', 'Retro51', 'Fisher Space', 'Conway Stewart', and 'Cross' - from USA, 'Aurora', 'Visconti' and 'Tibaldi' - Italy, 'Sailor'-from Japan, 'Montblanc', 'Lamy' and 'Pelikan'-from Germany, 'Waterman' - from France. Apart from pens, William Penn retails unique men's accessories and desktop accessories like 'Rubinato' feather quill pens - from Italy, 'El Casco' gold-plated stationery and Dalvey men's accessories - from Scotland. 'Colibri' lighters - from UK and 'Zippo' complete the range for the lighter savvy male.

We spoke to Mr. Nikhil Ranjan, CEO & President of William Penn, who re-emphasised the company's devotion towards innovation process and also gave us a brief picture on the various brands, which they are associated with. When asked about Sheaffer, which is represented by William Penn, Mr. Ranjan explained that "'Sheaffer' is a 100 year old brand which is synonymous with fine writing. 'Sheaffer' pens are renowned for their quality of writing and manufacturing. The brand is available in more than 100 countries around the world." Furthermore, Mr. Ranjan adds that "William Penn also imports and markets the premium Scottish brand called 'Dalvey', which is known for their men's accessories for personal and businessneeds. The brand is renowned for its highly polished stainless steel range that encompasses clocks, card cases, golf accessories and office essentials."

Mr. Ranjan then goes about talking to us on his exclusive gifting division, which is called 'Gifts@Work'. "Gifts@Work is a brand that exemplifies style and sophistication across the range of corporate gifts. The company knows that getting the right gift for your occasion is important, whether it is an expensive writing instrument or an award or trophy, gifts for corporate hospitality, customer loyalty programme or to recognise and reward your employees, it is essential that it is memorable." William Penn works closely with all their clients to help them realise their perfect corporate gift idea. They have a wide range of unique gifts to suit all budgets; importantly William Penn also provides assistance of knowledgeable personnel to select and personalise the right gift for the right occasion! ' www.giftsatwork.net"

Mr. Ranjan adds, "The company is constantly developing new products based on the feedback it receives from its customers. It has a set of vendors and associates world over who constantly source and create new products relevant to the market. The company also dedicates up to 5% of revenue on development, design and sampling." Clearly, the company considers this an investment for the future of their business. Also, according to him, the company's ideas on innovation come out from carrying out regular research and feedback.

When asked whether he was proud of any of his highly competitive products, Mr. Ranjan very cleverly emphasised that he was proud of the entire portfolio, which includes the range of options for gifting whether it is fine writing instruments or men's accessories.

With the corporate gifting sector, now focusing its attention towards eco-friendly products, we are seeing a lot of novelty products, which will also aid in sustaining the environment. Mr. Ranjan said, "This trend is going to catch on. We expect a major drive towards 'going-green' in the years to come. We are also consciously trying to develop an alternative range of products that are less polluting (less plastic) and more eco-friendly."

Mr. Ranjan's focus then shifted to the overall scenario of the corporate gift sector. "The corporate gifting industry is growing and there is a definite focus on good quality products and high service standards. Customers today are very demanding - they need a high quality product and superior service. Gone are the days when a customer would accept a mediocre product."

William Penn's contribution towards corporate gifting has been undoubtedly priceless and Mr. Ranjan stresses the point when he says, "We as a company are focused on exclusive and innovative product offering to our customers. We want to develop, source and put-together an un-matched product portfolio that will be appreciated by our customers. Needless to say, we want to ensure that our customers are delighted with our service too."

- As told to Gaurav Bhat