Stationery and Office Supplies Limited (SOS) has signed an agreement with international pen brand Pilot to distribute its stationery products locally.

SOS chairman and sales and marketing director, Stephen Todd, in detailing the terms of the agreement, said his company, under the new partnership, will receive discounted distributor pricing and a marketing budget to help with promoting Pilot’s products to its customers.

“As a stationery and office supplies company, this partnership with Pilot aligns with our goals. We were able to make the connection because Pilot needed a representative in Jamaica to help build its brand and gain market share, and SOS is seen as a company with a great track record of distributing quality products efficiently,” he said.

SOS, which continues to go after new opportunities to grow its business, said the latest partnership with Pilot allows it to further expand its reach in international markets. The company’s growing portfolio of distributor partnerships also includes the 3M and Office Authority brands.

Pilot, which comes as another world-renowned brand and one of the largest pen manufacturers, currently sells a wide range of writing instruments and products in more than 100 countries worldwide. With its retractable, refillable gel ink, Pilot G2 and FriXion line of erasable ink pens, the company said it seeks to offer top-quality solutions and innovative handwriting solutions. Boasting more than 100 years of operations, the Japan-based manufacturer earned approximately €777 million in revenues up to the end of 2022.

SOS, having already welcomed the first shipment of Pilot products in April, is now looking to welcome additional shipments this month and in October.

“We see where this partnership will help us add to our line of products and to increase the volume sold into our market. People in Jamaica respect Pilot as a reliable brand, so we’re very interested to see how this partnership grows,” Todd said.

The company’s management, in remaining focused on plans to grow all aspects of its business, said that the continued retooling of factory space and the build-out of additional warehousing to boost output for its SEEK products, along with the inking of the new dealerships, positions it on the right track to surpass its 2023 financial year, which sits as the best to date.

“Along with SEEK, we will continue to focus on our regional expansion that saw a significant increase in export containers and we will also be looking at appointing new dealers throughout the Caribbean. Other avenues that we intend to focus on to achieve higher revenue figures in 2024 are the continued push of 3M products that we were appointed the local distributor for at the end of 2023, as well as our recent agreement to be the local distributor for Pilot Corporation,” a report signed by Managing Director Allan McDaniel attached to the company’s last reported financials stated.

“Distribution for both of these brands can and will have a positive effect on the bottom line for SOS,” he added.

Continuing its streak of historic revenue and profit performance, the 58-year-old company, up to the end of the first quarter period ended March, delivered increased sales of $524.8 million following total yearly out-turns of $1.9 billion in 2023. Profit for the quarter also grew to $95.6 million.

Following delayed filings, second-quarter results for the company are expected to be posted by next Monday (August 26), a report to the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) noted.