BIC manufactures and sells 22 million stationery and pen products every day around the world. BIC is the number one manufacturer of ballpoint pens in the world and a leader in stationery products.
In France, in 1945, a man named Marcel BICH, who had been the production manager for a French manufacturer of ink, bought a factory outside Paris and set up business as the maker of parts for fountain pens and mechanical lead pencils with his partner Edouard BUFFARD.
While his writing instruments parts business began to grow, the development of the ballpoint was advancing in both United States and Europe and Marcel BICH saw the enormous potential for this new writing instrument.
After obtaining the patent rights to a ball pen created by Hungarian inventor, Marcel BICH introduced his own ball pen in December 1950. Touting his product as a reliable pen at an affordable price, he called it "BIC" a shortened and easy to remember version of his own last name. The famous BIC CRISTAL ballpoint pen was born!
He supported its launch with effective, memorable advertising and its sales surpassed even his own expectations.
The company then expanded its product range and began to enter the foreign markets by creating subsidiaries, acquiring control of foreign companies or through agents. Since 1950, Bic pens have revolutionized ease of writing for millions of consumers all around the world, who continue to value them for their affordable price and quality.
Learn the History of Writing Instruments
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