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29-687: The Parker Pen Company is an American manufacturer of luxury writing pens, founded in 1888 by George Safford Parker in Janesville, Wisconsin , United States. In 2011 the Parker factory at Newhaven, East Sussex , England, was closed, and its production transferred to Nantes , France. George Safford Parker , the founder, had previously been a sales agent for the John Holland Gold Pen Company . He received his first fountain pen related patent in 1889. In 1894, Parker received

58-505: A LEED Gold certification in September 2010. The company's portfolio of brands includes Ativa, TUL, Foray, Realspace, and DiVOGA. In January 2005, Office Depot became a partner of NASCAR , with the title "Official Office Products Partner of NASCAR". In the same year, the company signed on as the primary sponsor of the #99 Ford Fusion , owned by Roush Fenway Racing and previously driven by Carl Edwards . They sponsored Edwards until

87-664: A cash and stock deal worth approximately $ 6.3 billion. However, the Federal Trade Commission voted to block the merger in December 2015. The United States District Court for the District of Columbia granted the FTC a preliminary injunction against the merger on May 10, 2016, resulting in the proposed merger's termination. In January 2017, Gerry Smith was named as the company's new CEO, effective February 27. Smith

116-1089: A copyright dispute with Rotring , and surviving examples are very sought after. A striking feature of all Parker 25s is the square plastic tassie logo on the clip. The earliest Mark I Parker 25 fountain pens dating from the first year of production feature a distinctive breather hole in the nib. While the original models had a flat plastic circle on top of the cap, Mark III and IV pens have a round ridge on this inner cap. Pens manufactured from 1980 feature letter date codes which were changed every quarter. Those manufactured from 1990 are stamped 'Made in UK'; earlier pens were inscribed 'Made in England'. Pens without any manufacture stamps, or inscribed 'Made in Aust', are very rare. Parker 25s were all assembled in Britain by hand – unlike Jotters, Vectors and other mass market pens – and were very minimalist, comprising between 9 and 11 components. The 25

145-470: A favorite choice of President John F. Kennedy for signing legislation and to give as gifts. Indeed, successive presidents from Kennedy to Clinton used Parker pens for these purposes, and Parker retained a special representative, John W. Gibbs, to handle White House orders. In one of his early years in office, Lyndon Johnson ordered no less than 60,000 Parker pens. LBJ would use up to 75 pens to sign each important document and bill, writing different strokes of

174-577: A federal district court in Washington, D.C. granted their request for a preliminary injunction, blocking Office Depot and Staples from merging as one company. In December 2001, Viking Direct expanded to Central America with new retail stores in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Costa Rica through a joint licensing agreement. Office Depot sold Office Depot Europe (Viking Direct's parent) to an investment firm in September 2017. On February 20, 2013, it

203-631: A further 153 manufacturing jobs). The company press release stated: "This decision is a response to structural issues accelerated by market trends and is in no way a reflection on the highly valued work performed by our Janesville employees over the years." Newell Rubbermaid offered 'transitional employment services' along with severance pay in compensation to the dismissed workforce. Subsequently, Parker has abandoned its traditional retail outlets in North America. While some of its former staple Jotter pens may be found in retailers such as Office Depot ,

232-576: A patent on his "Lucky Curve" fountain pen feed, which was claimed to draw excess ink back into the pen barrel when the pen was not in use. The company's first successful pen, released in 1899, was the Parker Jointless . The Lucky Curve feed was used in various forms until 1928. From the 1920s to the 1960s, before the development of the ballpoint pen , Parker was either number one or number two in worldwide writing instrument sales. In 1931, Parker created Quink (quick drying ink), which eliminated

261-434: A result. In July 2009 Newell Rubbermaid Inc. in response announced that it had decided to close down the Parker production factory at Newhaven in England, with the dismissal of 180 employees from the facility, and relocate production to France. The following month, Newell Rubbermaid Inc. announced that the factory in Janesville, Wisconsin , was also to close the remaining operation there producing Parker Pens (which eliminated

290-633: The West Coast . In 1995, Office Depot entered the Mexican marketplace in a joint venture with Grupo Gigante , making it the retailer's first international expansion. Office Depot then entered the European and Australian direct mail market, after acquiring Viking Direct in May 1998. In 1997, Office Depot and Staples attempted a merger. On July 18, 1997, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that

319-555: The "Parker RB1". In 1984, Parker added the FP1 ("Fountain Pen 1"), with essentially the same design. The RB1 and FP1 models were produced until 1986, at which time Parker revised the pen by lengthening the cap and shortening the barrel and renaming the new pen the "Vector Standard". Presently, there are four models available (in plastic and steel): the fountain pen, capped rollerball, pushbutton ballpoint, and pushbutton pencil. Parker Jotters were

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348-479: The Parker line has been moved to upscale "luxury" retailers in an abandonment of its former business model of quality manufacture combined with mass market appeal and pricing. With this commercial strategic move Parker also altered its traditional product warranty on its high end pens, changing the former lifetime guarantee to a two-year warranty limitation. Parker Pen Co. was an aviation pioneer. The interest of Parker Pen Co. in aircraft came from Kenneth Parker, son of

377-488: The company introduced its Liquid Lead pencil, which used liquid graphite to write like a pen. However, the Scripto company had introduced a similar product called Fluidlead a few months prior. To avoid a costly patent fight, the companies agreed to share their formulas with each other. The company bought retailer and catalog company Norm Thompson in 1973, and then sold it in 1981. In 1976 Parker acquired Manpower just as

406-699: The company's chairman and chief executive officer, the president, and executive vice president respectively. All three were formerly associated with Mr. HOW Warehouse, a home improvement company that Sher sold to Service Merchandise in 1983. The first store, located at the Lakes Mall in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida , opened in October 1986. The company announced its initial public offering of stock, and went public in December 1988. In April 1991, it merged with Office Club, which provided an expansion to

435-600: The company's history include: The Parker 25 was a pen introduced by the Parker Pen Company in 1975. Created by the renowned designer Kenneth Grange based on a detailed brief, it was manufactured in Newhaven , England and produced in a variety of different versions until 1999. An eye-catching, contemporary-looking pen, with mainly steel components, the Parker 25 was intended to revive the company's fortunes. As The Guardian wrote, '(Grange's) classic Parker pen had

464-609: The end of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. In December 2008, Office Depot announced that it would become the co primary sponsor for Tony Stewart and the No. 14 Chevrolet at Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009. In September 2012, Office Depot announced it would not renew sponsorship with Tony Stewart or Stewart-Haas Racing. In November 2012, Office Depot partnered with the Born This Way Foundation to sell limited edition office supplies and give 25% of earnings to

493-506: The founder; he enlisted in the fledgling air service and, after flight training at Miami Air Base, he was assigned to officer training in tactical maneuvers at Pensacola Naval Air Station, Florida. From their first company business plane, the Parker Duofold Fairchild, they used it as an innovative advertising weapon inviting his dealers. Between the 1920s and 1960s, Parker maintained a considerable air fleet. Key models in

522-445: The letters of his name with different pens, and giving them all away to allies and supporters with little typed certificates. After Parker ceased to be an American-owned company, later presidents switched to using A. T. Cross Company pens. Products offered by the Parker Pen Company as of 2012: George Safford Parker George Safford Parker (November 1, 1863 – July 19, 1937) was an American inventor and industrialist. Parker

551-730: The machined lustre of a bullet. In fact, its tapering barrel was inspired by an American space rocket, a form that enabled the lid to be the same diameter as the pen no matter which end it was attached to.' It was affordable enough to become a staple entry-level pen for both work and leisure uses – and for secondary school students at a time when fountain pens were still obligatory in many British schools. Advertising slogans used to market Parker 25s included 'Modern as Tomorrow', 'Space Age Design, Space Age Performance', 'European Styled' and 'Contemporary, Highly Functional Design'. Parker 25s were issued in several variants: initially, fountain pen, ballpoint, fibre point and mechanical pencil. A rollerball model

580-725: The need for blotting. In 1941, the company developed the most widely used fountain pen model in history, the Parker 51 , which led to over $ 400 million in sales during its 30-year history. Manufacturing facilities were set up over the years in Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark, France, Mexico, USA, Pakistan, India, Germany (Osmia-Parker), Brazil and Argentina. In 1954, Parker released the Parker Jotter ballpoint pen with its original nylon body and inverted "V" clip. The Jotter would go on to sell over 750 million units during its history. In 1955,

609-524: The storied Parker 51 . But in recent years they have been enjoying a revival, their space age look evoking nostalgia for the final quarter of the twentieth century. The Parker 25 was even given the accolade of an exhibition stand at the Victoria and Albert Museum . The precursor to the Parker Vector was introduced in 1981. It was a simple cylindrical plastic cap and barrel roller-ball pen called

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638-493: The temporary staffing market was surging. In time Manpower provided more revenue than the pen business. A 1982 spinoff, Sintered Specialties, Inc., became SSI Technologies, a manufacturer of automotive sensors. A management buyout in 1986 moved the company's headquarters to Newhaven, East Sussex , England, which was the original location of the Valentine Pen Company previously acquired by Parker. In 1993 Parker

667-408: Was an extremely successful pen for Parker commercially, especially during its first decade or so of production. A number of promotional versions were made up to order, featuring company logos on the barrel (the matte black and white versions were often branded in this way), clip or cap. Some pen fans are rather disparaging about the Parker 25, which lacks the status of the legendary Parker Duofold or

696-422: Was announced that Office Depot and OfficeMax would combine in an all-stock deal, pending regulatory approval and stockholder approval. The merger was completed on November 5, 2013. In May 2014, Office Depot announced the closure of four hundred stores, due to declining sales and customer migration to e-retailers. On February 4, 2015, it was announced that rival Staples had agreed to purchase Office Depot, in

725-839: Was born in Shullsburg, Wisconsin in November 1863, and graduated from Upper Iowa University in Fayette, Iowa . He worked as a telegraphy instructor in Janesville, Wisconsin , and had a sideline repairing and selling fountain pens . Dismayed by the unreliability of the pens, he experimented with ways to prevent ink leaks. In 1888 he founded the Parker Pen Company and the next year he received his first fountain pen patent. By 1908, his factory on Main Street in Janesville

754-409: Was introduced in 1981, and fibre tips were phased out a couple of years later. While the great majority of Parker 25s were 'flighters', with a brushed steel finish, matte black and later white versions were issued between 1978 and 1987. The pens had four different trim colours – blue (the most common), black, green, and most rarely of all, orange. Orange trim Parker 25s were discontinued in 1976 following

783-875: Was purchased by the Gillette Company , which already owned the Paper Mate brand – the best-selling disposable ballpoint. In 2000 Gillette sold its writing instruments division to the company Newell Rubbermaid , whose Sanford Stationery Division became the largest writing instrument manufacturers in the world at that time, simultaneously owning such brand names as Rotring , Sharpie, Reynolds as well as Parker, PaperMate, Waterman , and Liquid Paper . After Parker's unique design patent for its Jotter classic metal ink refill cartridge expired, low cost generic copies produced in China led to increased commercial competition. Parker's sales began to see drastic adverse effects as

812-495: Was reportedly the largest pen manufacturing facility in the world. Parker eventually became one of the world's premier pen brands, and one of the first brands with a global presence. George S. Parker High School in Janesville is his namesake. Office Depot Office Depot was founded in October ;1986 (38 years ago)  ( 1986-10 ) by F. Patrick Sher, Stephen Dougherty, and Jack Kopkin, who became

841-514: Was the chief operating officer at Lenovo Group. Office Depot bought technology services firm CompuCom in 2017 to position the company to provide technology services. In January, 2021, Office Depot acquired enterprise procurement software provider BuyerQuest. Office Depot built a LEED Gold-certified retail store in Austin, Texas , in April 2008. The Boca Raton headquarters was also awarded

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