There aren’t many success stories in the Pen Industry in the past 15 years. Digitalization and a disfunctional way of communication has hit the industry hard. But things are definitely changing and a lot of people feel the need of analog tools to use in their daily life and look for a tactile experience. In this article I’m going to point out some reasons why i think Otto Hutt is having such a big success and is growing so fast.
This article is meant to give you an idea of what i think are the ingredients for a successful brand and truly hope it can be an inspiration also for other brands, small and big ones. I think the way Otto Hutt is going deserves a spotlight and to be taken as a reference for future upcoming new brands.
Otto Hutt is a 100 year old brand founded by Mr. Otto Hutt himself. Since around four years, the Frei Family has decided to invest and believe into the growth of their very own brand. I’ve personally known Otto Hutt since more than 14 years since my father was distributing the brand in the swiss market. Only four years ago it started getting my attention. This was definitely due to a whole new branding and therefore visual experience the brand had prepared.
It’s now more than a year that i retail Otto Hutt Pens at Style of Zug and what i can tell you is that it has been the most successful new brand, in terms of volume and turnover, that has entered my store since the founding in 2008. The feedback i get from the final customer is astonishing. The perception people have from the brand is great and their satisfaction after months of owning the pieces is definitely there.
I have myself fallen in love with the design08 and the designC and there is a hidden, non official, designC Club growing all around Instagram. This shows me that there is definitely a hype around the brand and that surely isn’t casual.
Let’s discover a few of the reason i see behind Otto Hutts success.
Product
A Brand simply cannot exist if the product doesn’t meet certain criteria of design and most of all of quality. This is a great point on favor of Otto Hutt. Their Products look well made, they feel well made and they are well made. Starting from an entry level product such as the design01 up until the limited and beautiful designC. Otto Hutt has invested into hiring and working with an international acclaimed designer like Mark Braun, which brings his strokes and know-how into the making of successful products and that requires a certain kind of approach from the brand.
Otto Hutt has been highly invested into creating product “out-of-the-comfort-zone” that would really differ to anything else available in the Market. A product like the design08 shows what kind of mentality the brand works with and where they’re trying to go.
Production
If i connect to the point above about the collaboration between Otto Hutt and Mark Braun i can guarantee you that this collaboration would have never happended if Mark wouldn’t have been astonished by Otto Hutts production facilities. That shows how stunning the Otto Hutts Manufacture is. Yes, having an own Manufacture brings a lot of credibility to the brand, but more than that it brings flexibility when it comes to improving the pens, controlling the quality and making sure the products are as they have to be. The manufacturing skills of the german Maison can be seen best with the design08 and the designC. Two refined models for the way they are built and for their features such as the Pull&Twist mechanism.
Marketing
I think Marketing is key when it comes to Otto Hutt success and it definitely is where 80% of the brands of the industry lack. Most of the brands are pretty much without visions when it comes to communication of their items and what sometimes really scares me is that they seem not having the desire of creating a storytelling around the product. Yes, a lot of brands think that the product is enough to make people wanting it. Well, the thing is that this is not the truth.
The truth is that once you have created a product you have done only 20% of your job as a brand. Hard work starts right after you have created the product. The big deal is actually creating the story to be told around the product. Otto Hutt seems to have understood this extremely well. They create beautiful pens and they want people to know they create beautiful Pens. I see a lot of efforts from their side when it comes to working with people that can enhance the awareness of the brand Otto Hutt. No wonder then that people ask about it, that people are aware of the brand, that people want to purchase from the brand.
They’re also very open when it comes to opening their doors and letting people understand what is going on behind the making of an Otto Hutt Pen. You have experienced this in my Youtube Manufacture Video.
Customer appreciate this kind of efforts and approach from a brand cause they feel valued and they feel like the brand understands their needs. That is even how i feel, even if i’m part of the industry, when i have to interact and work with Otto Hutt.
People
There is no brand and no company without great people behind it. We can start by the owners Nicole Klingel and Marco Frei, which are very kind and open minded persons always looking to improve themselves and their surroundings, to Norbert Glasnowitsch the Sales and Marketing Manager of the Company. The approach the people have inside the company simply shows what the brand is trying to do. It’s very easy to understand if a company is humble and will therefore grow and improve even more or if it thinks that it doesn’t need anyone. Everyone at Otto Hutt appreciates the business happening around the brand and really values people involved into the project that are inside or outside the company.
Mentality
This is definitely the chapter that i’m looking forward to write. Mentality. I’ve often said that if we want the Pen Industry to flourish “we must be the change we want to see”. I’ve also said that having a winner mentality will allow any brand to flourish and do much more, in each sense, than it’s doing right now. The Frei Family definitely has the winner mentality. They want to win and they want to do what it takes to win. That is a game changing attitude. There is a vision behind Otto Hutt and there is a strategy how to get there. Yes it doesn’t come easy. It comes with great efforts and sacrifices but the results are already showing. The community is growing, the brand is growing and the perception around the brand has grown drastically in the last year. I would wish to see more brand with this kind of vision and winner mentality. This would definitely make a huge change in the Pen Industry.
As a last commentary i’d like to say that i’m happy to have written this article. I think it was necessary and it will be helpful to customer and brand owners of the industry. When good work is being done it has to be recognized and respected and that is why i felt i had to do such an article about Otto Hutt as a company more than a brand. I can’t wait to see the growth of the Brand in the upcoming years and i’m definitely looking forward to seeing even more brands jumping on the chariot of the winner mentality.
Incredible