Analyst's Diary: The writing is on the wall

Almost all of us have used Linc pens during our school and college days. The writing instrument manufacturing company has a presence in over 40 countries today. Its products are sold under various brands (owned and others) including Linc, Pentonic, Uniball, Deli and Markline. But the company had its bad days before the good ones. It stagnated for years with little to no growth between FY12 and FY21. This was primarily due to its negligible brand recognition in a market dominated by many other renowned competitors. The poor brand recall, in part, was because of the absence of a robust marketing and distribution strategy and having a crowded product portfolio. However, its fortunes changed after FY21. In the last three years, it almost doubled its revenue and sharply improved profit margins thanks to the launch of its Pentonic brand in FY19. How did this sudden improvement come about, and is it sustainable? Let'