There are many factors that allow Mitsubishi to survive the ups and downs of the Japanese stationery (including pen-making) industry. Among them, its technological innovation provides an irreplaceable driving force for its growth.
Mitsubishi Pencil was formerly known as "Masaki Pencil Manufacturing Co., Ltd.", which was founded in 1887 by Masaki Jinroku as a small pencil manufacturing factory with only 10 people. At the 1878 Paris World Expo, Masaki Jinroku was deeply shocked when he saw a pencil for the first time. After unremitting efforts and research and development, in 1901 he successfully developed the "bureau pencil" that later became the official product of the Ministry of Communications (now the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications). ". In 1927, it began to expand overseas markets, and by 1933 it had exported products to India, Egypt, Portugal, Belgium and other countries. In 1958, the more advanced pencil "uni" was launched; in 1959, the company began to expand categories and began to independently produce ballpoint pens. After that, the company successively began to produce various writing instruments such as automatic pencils, signature pens, and markers, gradually becoming the leading brand of Japanese writing A giant in the appliance category.
In 2018, Mitsubishi achieved operating income of US$564 million, a year-on-year decrease of 7.1%. Mitsubishi's development has entered a mature stage, and fluctuations in operating income are related to factors such as the global macroeconomic environment and the Japanese yen exchange rate. In terms of revenue structure, Mitsubishi takes writing instruments as its core category, accounting for nearly 90% of its revenue. It also expands into auxiliary categories such as office supplies and OA supplies. In 2018, ballpoint pens/signature pens/Sharp Pens/pencils accounted for 50.1% of operating revenue respectively. 17.5%/ 14.3%/ 7.2%. In terms of regional composition, Mitsubishi is based in China, and its business scope covers major countries in Europe, America, and Asia. The proportion of overseas revenue is stable at around 40%. In terms of profitability, thanks to the brand and product advantages brought by the company's strong R&D and innovation capabilities, the company's profitability has increased steadily. In 2018, the gross profit margin/net profit margin were 51.2%/8.8% respectively.
Mitsubishi Corporation adheres to R&D and innovation as its orientation and leads the technological development of the writing instruments industry. Mitsubishi's early metal-tipped signature pen "UB-100", pigment ink highlighter "PROMARK USP-100", push-type gel pen "UMN-152" and other products were the world's first products. It has become a "hot item" around the world, making an important contribution to Mitsubishi Pencil's brand awareness and global expansion. In addition, as the inventor of water-based ink, Mitsubishi was the first to implement the concept of "water-based pen" into products. The company launched two products, "Uni-ball Signo UM-100" and "Uni-balleye UB-150" in 1994. It is still a best-seller and has become one of the representative products of Mitsubishi pencils. The company has always been oriented towards R&D and innovation, and constantly launches new products to ensure its competitiveness. For example, the UMN-307 product launched by the company in 2018 innovatively adds nanocellulose to the ink, and then uses patented pigment dispersion technology to Nanofibers are evenly mixed with ink, making the ink viscosity 50% lower than ordinary gel pens, improving writing smoothness and reducing ink accumulation caused by fast writing. In addition, Mitsubishi has the most advanced fine processing technology in the industry, such as pen tip grinding technology and ink guide tube fine processing technology.
For Chinese companies, to continue to develop new products and innovate like Mitsubishi, on the one hand, it requires perseverance, and on the other hand, it also requires capital and talent strength, which is relatively high for most companies in the pen industry. Big challenge. A better way may be to integrate resources, find like-minded people in the industry, concentrate on development, and achieve maximum enjoyment and maximum win.