The Hindu Business Line : Diaries just don't go out of fashion

"THIS is one industry that won't die out so soon, like greeting cards," says a retailer. "It has kept up with the times and innovated suitably so consumers are still interested in it." And electronic versions have not really affected usage as most users prefer to have it written down in black and white.

Diaries are no longer the bland records of appointments and meetings that they were once. They are now available in a profusion of varieties and customised to a range of needs based on profession and pastime. There are diaries to suit every pocket, from Rs 10 pocket diaries to custom-made editions that cost over Rs 50,000. They are available in a choice of formats and done up in an array of materials. They contain a wealth of information from various sources — it could be important timings from the almanac, it could be drawn from the Vedas, contain cartoons, sketches, paintings from the masters, esoteric quotes and more.

Despite the increasingly electronic world we live in, diaries have managed to survive and flourish. The industry is growing by about 15 per cent every year but this year's growth is at 20 per cent, says Mr Pratap Singh, Managing Director, Eagle Press, which makes the Eagle brand of diaries. "Unless you write it down, your programme won't be perfect," he says, explaining their popularity. The page-a-day diaries are the most popular, say manufacturers and retailers, adding that planners come next in preference.

Diaries will stick around as long as pens exist, Srinivasa Fine Arts (SFA), maker of the Nightingale brand of diaries seems to say. "In spite of all technology, you still have a pen, right? You have to do something with it," says Mr Sanjay Kumar, General Manager (Sales and Marketing), SFA.

Nightingale operates mostly in the top-end segment — its prices range from Rs 120 to Rs 57,000 (for the Silver Oak diary where the silver oak motif and bookmark are made of genuine silver, the edges are gilded in gold and the paper mixed with cotton to give it a very long life). However, the Rs 120-Rs 200 segment is the most popular. Eagle offers diaries ranging from Rs 10 to Rs 1,000 for a Chairman's special edition.

The market at the bottom rung is static, remarks Mr Kumar, adding that there is not much change or development year-on-year and that this is the reason the gap between the segments exists.

This year, diary sales have gone up, say retailers, attributing it to the economy doing well and the better choice. While Ms Hemu Subramaniam, Partner in the Chennai-based store Landmark says both the complimentary and `own use' categories did well, Mr T.S. Ashwin, Managing Director of another Chennai-based store, Odyssey, says the recent trend has been to buy a diary only when the hope of receiving a complimentary one fades.

However, sales have grown by 25 per cent to 30 per cent over last year, he says.

Diaries are doing well because they are "reacting to what is happening in the market - for instance, diaries earlier would allot space for appointments only up to 6 p.m. but now go on up to 8 p.m."

This is reflected in other stationery, he adds, pointing out that even notebooks, which used to be standard ruled/unruled 192-page drab affairs earlier are being produced in altogether new and colourful versions.

Srinivasa Fine Arts plans chain of shop-in-shops

SRINIVASA Fine Arts is planning to set up 100 shop-in-shops by March to promote its products.

The manufacturer of the Nightingale brand of diaries and other stationery will look at malls and other upmarket retail outlets across the country to sell its products, which fall in the top-end and niche segments. Nightingale has a range of diaries, some undated, in various finishes, paper, cover material and themes.

Selling these special diaries "is an issue," acknowledges Mr Sanjay Kumar, General Manager (Sales & Marketing), adding that the expensive ones have to be sold as "write-ons" rather than as mere diaries. "They will sell if they are pitched and sold well," he said. The market will take a couple of years to evolve, he added.

However, selling premium products as an experience rather than as a diary is difficult in a store which stocks many brands, hence the shop-in-shops, which will give SFA the opportunity to market its products better with the aid of staff, pamphlets and point-of-purchase material. SFA has also started stocking its diaries and other stationery in duty-free shops at airports abroad.

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