For example, luxury brand Montblanc which successfully operates nineteen retail points across first, second and

d third tier cities in India has regionalised all their marketing material.

There is a clear distinction in customer values between [Indian] states, says Tanya Kapinda of ID8 Media Solutions, an agency which works with Montblancs marketing division in India. Any time a letterhead, invitation or a newsletter is produced, we customise [it] according to the local language and other aesthetic considerations such as colours used and the amount of decoration. When creating invitations for potential consumers in the Punjab in northern India, for example, the invitations are more lavish and the language more boisterous than those sent to consumers in southern India. It ensures you are connecting personally to your consumer and customers respond to this, she adds.
On why Mont Blanc chose India for launching its jewellery salon, Mr Handke said, We are testing the concept now. While worldwide we have a strong pen history, in India, we are perceived more as a luxury brand. So it was easier to use that brand perception and move onto a jewellery salon in India than elsewhere in the world.

Problem
Another ''challenge'' facing local consumers, or better to say frustration, is the limited availability from the collections of each brand.

Mont Blanc has the tagline " A story to Tell" . This is a positioning that takes the brand from a functional perspective to a higher level positioning. The brand talks about pen as a power to write one's own destiny. This is one of the best positioning statement I have seen in recent times. In India, Mont Blanc is trying to tell stories of successful personalities who had achieved success not because of heritage but hard work.

Montblanc, one of the first luxury brands to be sold in India through the organized retail format in the post liberalization period, is evaluating steps to wrest control of its Indian operations from Dilip Doshi-promoted Entrack International, its Indian distributor. Montblanc is expected to take over the operations of the 17 stores that Entrack runs in India and enter this time through a majority-owned subsidiary. If all goes well, this could happen well before the Diwali season kicks in. Sources in the know say that Dilip Doshi, may get anywhere between $25 and $50 million to cede control.

Doshi, however, is expected to continue his relationship with Montblanc either through a minority stake or as an advisor. The details are currently being finalized. Doshi brought in the brand more than a decade ago and popularized the German luxury brand in India through stores in 5 star hotels. Though largely known for its pens, Montblanc also sells an entire range of products and accessories which include watches, eye wear, cuff links and leather products like belts and wallets. Mont Blanc, the classic pen makers, is launching a limited edition pen Mahatma Gandhi Limited Edition 241. Gandhijis image on a hoarding conveying message that the pen is mightier than the sword. Gandhiji who stood for simple living and high thinking will be endorsing a luxury pen which cost 11 lakh rupees. The company is thinking that none other than the Father of the Nation, a voracious writer, is better as a global icon to communicate the values of the company to the world. Can we use Mahatma to make profit? Tushar Gandhi, the great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, says "This is not a brand of guns or alcohol. Its a pen which Gandhiji always associated with, it was his greatest tool. Also the donation is for an Indian trust, which is for the good of the society," The Mont Blanc company made a donation of 70 lakh rupees to Kolhapur Charitable Trust, which encouraged the great grandson of Gandhiji to co-operate with the brand. Mont Blanc also was in limelight in India as a part of a controversy. The brand launched a limited edition Pen inspired by Mahatma Gandhi. The pen which was priced at around Rs 12 lakh generated enough controversy for the brand ( worth millions of dollars of free publicity). The limited edition pen had Gandhiji's image engraved in the nib and also the top of the cap and cone was inspired by the spindle which Gandhiji used to spin cotton. The limited edition pen with its huge price tag quickly captured the imagination of media and politicians who began a high profile debate on " commercialization of Gandhiji". As an individual , I was happy that Mont Blanc chose to celebrate one India's finest son with a special edition product. I was more happy because they chose to price this special product with an exorbitant rate. I believe that Gandhiji is not cheap. He lived a humble life does not mean that everything about him should be cheap or priced low. If politicians can choose to use Gandhiji for furthering their goals, why can't brands ? And marketers are not fools to mess with a highly revered icon like Mahatma. Mont Blanc is a brand that changed the way pens were looked at. The classic white flowershaped symbol that adored the cap of this pen is considered an ultimate symbol of success. Mont Blanc does not need someone to make it a success it is the other way around.
The Taj and Dilip Doshi (that famous Indian spinner who left the team to spin larger dreams) had tied up to bring Mont Blanc to India. A marriage made in heaven you could say, as the Taj had the prime locations needed to retail a super-premium

brand like Mont Blanc. Also in those days, a customer who could afford a Rs 10,000 pen (at the lower-end) was the only one who could afford to stay at a Taj-kind-ofplace, or afford to eat at a Taj-kind-of-place. This customer was the one who travelled abroad once every few months and was therefore, familiar with the brand and the equity associated with it, saw that these pens were now available at the same price as in Europe (with the company absorbing some costs like customs duties if need be), at convenient Taj properties in Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai (Mont Blanc counter in the lobby), and decided to come to us and buy a pen. Since this market was limited, repeat custom became very important and only happened when the same customer who bought the Meisterstuck 149 initially, saw the newly introduced the Oscar Wilde Writers Edition in London, and demanded it immediately on arrival.

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