Classic to Fantastic

by Nancy Olson

The classic style and rich history of a Cross pen have made it the perfect choice for everyday use, as well as for gift giving—or receiving. These days, the company is making its mark as a writing instrument for the style-conscious consumer, while retaining its reputation for authenticity and value. Chad Mellen, president of the Cross Accessory Division, talks about what the future holds for Cross.

Stylus: How has Cross stayed current while maintaining its classic heritage?
Chad Mellen: I think we’ve done a good job of taking our classically designed styles and brand and making them more contemporary. Cross has to continue to be more relevant to the consumer, and my sense is to appeal to style rather than functional needs. We’ve done a good job in making the brand more diverse, and we’ve done that by expanding resources and looking outside the industry for trends.

In your opinion, which of your current collections best represents Cross? Why?
The collection I feel best represents us is Apogee. It has a clear Cross design, with a modern take on the conical top. However, we’ve added a wide center ring, a contemporary extended clip and new finishes, with rich lacquers and engraving. And I believe the quality at that price point cannot be touched anywhere in
the marketplace.

What new products will be introduced within the next few months?
In 2010 we are increasing our focus on women. We believe that females are still an untapped audience, and I believe that the best way to attract women is to be more thoughtful than simply slapping pink on a product. For example, we are updating our female-focused Sauvage line with a new textured stingray pattern finish. We are also focusing on our core consumer with the launch of a new classic silhouette, Cross Advantage, which features a complimentary Switch-it™—our new pen to pencil converter. The Switch-it will be available on its own later in the spring and will allow consumers to have the flexibility to convert many of their favorite Cross ballpoint pens to a mechanical pencil. We also have great updates to our leather goods coming out this spring. About 10 percent of our sales come from categories other than pens, so we’ll continue to launch additional leather and stationery products in the second half of the year. Color will continue to
be important.