The Russian market for felt-tip pens and markers

Publication: “Kantselyarskoye Delo”.
Author: Arina Gerasimenko.

Today, the market for felt-tip pens and drawing markers is going through a difficult period: behind the apparent variety lies a crisis of trust. Marketplace shelves are flooded with cheap, unknown brands, while prices for truly high-quality products are rising. In the article, the authors spoke with experts about the segment’s specifics, demand and sales dynamics, global trends in the felt-tip and drawing marker market, and how to combat counterfeits.

Merlion speaker: Sergey Koval, Product Group Development Manager (Stationery).

On changes in the segment: “Based on the results of 2025, experts expect sales to fall by 8–10% in units compared to 2024, especially in the office segment. The main reasons are reduced purchasing by government institutions, price increases due to logistics and raw-material costs, and market saturation with low-margin budget analogs. As a result, many brands are revising their assortments toward simpler but more profitable product lines.”

On the state of the market: “On the Russian market for felt-tip pens and markers, demand for budget and localized products is growing, and price competition has intensified. The school felt-tip segment remains the largest, while in the premium segment (art markers) there is still niche demand with partial import substitution by Chinese analogs.”

On local production: “According to our data, less than 10% of felt-tip pens and markers are produced in Russia. The main factor behind such low figures is their cost compared to imported analogs. Producing felt-tip pens and markers in Russia is reasonable only in narrow segments, for example, to ensure import independence in education and the public sector.”

On demand trends: “Demand for felt-tip pens shows steady growth. Ahead of the school year, sales traditionally rise in July–August. Felt-tip pens are part of the basic school supplies set; large sales volumes fall in the mid-price segment (usually packs of 10–12 pieces). School supplies in general show a high concentration of purchases in the ‘economy – mid-plus’ segment. Expensive felt-tip pens (for example, art sets from 500 rubles per set) sell worse in the mass segment—their demand is more niche.”

One of the sales leaders in the ‘Felt-tip pens’ category, both in the market overall and in our company, is Deli brand products. One of the bestsellers is the Deli EC10000 12-color felt-tip pen set. The popularity of these felt-tip pens is growing thanks to a balance of price and quality, an ergonomic shape, bright colors, and they also meet school requirements.

On global trends: “Globally, trends toward eco-friendliness are strengthening in the marker and felt-tip segment. In the Russian market, these trends are developing more slowly, although Deli is already testing sales of its Urbanroot stationery series with added wheat fibers. The color palette of felt-tip pens and markers on the market is gradually expanding, especially in the ‘highlighters’ category. Earthy shades with various scents—from lavender and coffee to perfumery notes—are appearing. Packaging is becoming more practical: manufacturers emphasize protection from drying out and convenient storage, while the design is often simplified to save on printing.”

On new assortment items: “The Silwerhof brand assortment includes felt-tip pens in sets of 10, 12, 18, and 24 colors. The Silwerhof Create felt-tip line includes a classic color palette (primary and secondary colors) with an emphasis on brightness and saturation. The tip shape is a brush. It allows you to create lines of different thickness, making them convenient both for children’s drawing and for hobbies. The Silwerhof Create line includes felt-tip pens with a thickened 13 mm barrel and a compact length. They are convenient for younger children: easier to hold and reduce hand fatigue. Silwerhof Create felt-tip pens can be used for sketching—they are equipped with two different ends: a thin one for details, outlines, and fine lines; and a wide (bullet) one for fills, shadows, gradients, and quick coverage. These felt-tip pens have a medium barrel thickness (11.5 mm), which is thinner than ‘kids’ models (13 mm) but more convenient than classic 10 mm. Silwerhof Color is one of the most saturated color-wise and well-balanced form-factor felt-tip lines. These are the ‘workhorses’ for school and home: reliable, high-capacity, safe, and bright.”

On combating counterfeits: “Counterfeits of well-known felt-tip brands are widespread. But the stationery market is very price-accessible and highly competitive; a difference of 10–15 rubles can influence a buyer’s choice. In this segment, fighting counterfeits is focused on effective marketing and a well-thought-out pricing policy. In general, consumers pay attention to counterfeit products when the original product is insufficiently available.

The distributor’s task is to maintain optimal inventory levels that are accessible to partners working in retail and on marketplaces.”

On traditional retail: “Felt-tip pens and markers are one of the ‘anchor’ categories. Sales success here depends heavily on having a wide assortment ‘on the shelf’, on positioning, and on merchandising. To simplify navigation for buyers, you can split markers and felt-tip pens into clear segments: ‘school economy’, ‘for office and study’, ‘artistic and creative’, ‘special’ (paint markers, permanent markers with tips for hard-to-reach places, whiteboard markers, fabric markers)—this will help the buyer make the right choice and the seller increase the average basket.

The ability to try a felt-tip pen or marker before purchase works very well—the main advantage of retail stores that many people forget. For this, in addition to a color sample chart, you can use a demo table with product samples; this definitely lowers the barrier to purchase.

You can also organize additional product placement in the checkout area; for artistic and creative felt-tip pens use vertical displays at eye level (1.0–1.6 m); place brush markers and liners next to notebooks and sketchbooks.

You can also collect as much video information as possible about the products available for sale, create a QR code for each link, and place them on price tags. This will help the buyer get an answer to their question on their own, or help the sales consultant deliver an interesting presentation.

By the way, at Merlion we are already preparing a series of short videos using the ‘Features, Advantages and Benefits’ selling technique (for the top 150 SKUs) with QR codes that our retail partners will be able to use in their work.”

On how to sell: “For us, the ‘best tool’ to increase sales is a quality guarantee. The buyer must take the marker in their hand and understand: ‘This is the one that won’t let me down.’ The category can grow only where it is presented correctly, so our strategy as a distributor is partnership, not just wholesale supply: investing in POS materials, a program to work with new SKUs that did not show positive dynamics in the first 90 days, training sellers, and ready-made ideas and mechanics for promotions in retail stores.”

Sergey Koval, Product Group Development Manager “Stationery”, Merlion

Source: https://delo-st.ru/articles/slishkom_mnogo_nouneyma/