Cross launches Christmas collection

Luxury brand Cross has launched its new pen collection for Christmas, and TT is the first market in the region experience the new products.

“Trinidad is my number one market in the Caribbean. We’ve been here for 55 years and in that time there’s been high demand,” Wuysvaldo Luna, sales manager for travel retail told Business Day at a launch event at Jaffa, Queen’s Park Oval.

Among the new styles will be a revamped Ferrari collection, moved to Cross from its sister brand, Shaeffer, as well as ever-popular Star Wars designs, Chinese zodiac featuring 2019’s year of the pig, and technology-enabled pieces outfitted with Bluetooth and GPS. The pens are available in a wide selection of colours, price points and girth.

“We hope to have the collections available by the end of November, at least by December,” said Bissondath Sham Maharaj, managing director of Primary Distributors Ltd, Cross’s local agents.

Despite the economic slump in the country, Cross still remains a popular gift.

“We have two markets—retailers, like jewellery stores, stationers and bookshops, and business gifts. Business gifts, where companies can engrave names, for example, on to the pens, have worked well for us over the years,” Maharaj said.

Since taking over the brand in January, Maharaj said he’s seen an increase in demand — a good sign. “It’s not like we’ve seen inventory just sitting on a shelf. It’s actually moving,” he said.

Luna noted that while some people might just see Cross as a pen, it transcends that narrow definition.

“Cross is more than a pen. It’s a status symbol and a gift. When people want to give a unique gift, they give our pen with an engraved name. That’s what sets us apart,” he said.