School supplies such as notebooks, pencils, pens, mechanical pencils, erasers and pencil cases fill the backpacks of students as they trudge off to class. Among these stationery supplies, one special brand stands out. Actually, the brand can be found in household items, too, like cushions, slippers, stuffed toys, key rings and even umbrellas. The brand is Morning Glory, and it has been Korea’s top maker of stationary since 1987 when it produced its first notebook.
The name Morning Glory comes from the name of a flower. The company took its first steps into the Korean stationary market in 1987 when it produced its first notebook. At the time, most students used white, lined notebooks. The notebooks were a little inconvenient because when you tore off one page, the next page tore easily. Morning Glory fixed such poor designs with its range of notebooks.
The firm also applied various cartoon characters to the covers, like Blue Bear, Pink Bear, Miss Rabbit and illustrations inspired from fairy tales, attracting the eyes of the customer. Morning Glory developed a special paper that offered better texture when writing and applied the unique green-tinted “eye-soft zone” paper to its notebooks in order to not strain the student's eyesight. Their notebooks won explosive popularity, recording more than 700 million units sold in its first year.
Morning Glory also improved upon the existing spiral notebooks with its "twin-ring" notebooks. It developed the SP notebooks by removing the spirals from the binding of the notebook, as some users complained about bumping into the spiral ring when writing.
Morning Glory became the top stationery brand for students shopping for school supplies every semester. The company gradually expanded its product range to include memo pads, envelope and letter sets, ballpoint pens and other types of pen. In the case of writing instruments, Morning Glory developed the Mach Pen in 2009. Thanks to its softer writing texture, vivid colors and long durability, the pen took off and more than 15 million units have been sold since.
Morning Glory put a top priority onto identifying customer demand. In order to analyze the tastes and demands of its customers, staff at the firm headed to schools to ask students in various age groups directly about their tastes, ranging from elementary schools up to universities. Their efforts paid off. For 14 consecutive years, Morning Glory has come in at the top of the Korea Brand Power Index survey (K-BPI) released by the Korea Management Association Consulting (KMAC).
Morning Glory is also winning popularity overseas. The company opened its first shop in LA in 1994. Since then, the firm exports its products, notebooks, writing instruments and lifestyle supplies to over 20 countries across Asia, Europe and the Americas, including the U.S., Australia, China and France.
Its mascot, Blue Bear, won particular popularity in 1997 when Morning Glory opened a shop in Hawaii. The senior manager of Morning Glory's Design Institute, Choi Yong-shick, recalls, “Stationary and household goods with Blue Bear's image on it sold out immediately when we opened our Hawaii store.”
Choi is in charge of Morning Glory's Design Institute, which the firm established in 1996. In this institute, more than 30 designers create stationary, office supplies and various lifestyle products. He says, “Since our establishment, Morning Glory has been concentrating on improving the quality and design of our products by making good investments. The key to Morning Glory’s long success is to make high quality goods with fresh designs at a reasonable price.”
“Endless research and development and ceaseless efforts to improve our designs are the reasons why Morning Glory has been winning unwavering trust from our customers, despite office automation and the influx of imported writing instruments,” said Choi.
He cited the process of making a notebook as an example. In order to make a new notebook, more than 30 designers at the company create more than 1,000 design proposals. After testing and benchmarking both in and outside the firm, fewer than 100 drafts will remain at the end. The company then conducts market research by asking students about their design ideas. It takes more than 8 months to make an end product at the company’s plant in Osan, Gyeonggi-do (Gyeonggi Province). A new product has to go through a painstaking test procedure before production can begin.
“Morning Glory maintains its international competitiveness thanks to our efforts to reflect the tastes and demands of our customers through such market research and benchmarking,” said Choi, expressing his strong confidence in the firm’s expertise and experiences in quality and design.
By Yoon Sojung
Photos: Jeon Han
Korea.net Staff Writers
arete@korea.kr
Morning Glory has placed itself as Korea’s leading stationery maker since 1987 when it made its first notebook. The above photo shows some of its signatory products: Blue Bear, a Mach Pen and a spiral note pad.
The name Morning Glory comes from the name of a flower. The company took its first steps into the Korean stationary market in 1987 when it produced its first notebook. At the time, most students used white, lined notebooks. The notebooks were a little inconvenient because when you tore off one page, the next page tore easily. Morning Glory fixed such poor designs with its range of notebooks.
The firm also applied various cartoon characters to the covers, like Blue Bear, Pink Bear, Miss Rabbit and illustrations inspired from fairy tales, attracting the eyes of the customer. Morning Glory developed a special paper that offered better texture when writing and applied the unique green-tinted “eye-soft zone” paper to its notebooks in order to not strain the student's eyesight. Their notebooks won explosive popularity, recording more than 700 million units sold in its first year.
The Morning Glory logo
Morning Glory also improved upon the existing spiral notebooks with its "twin-ring" notebooks. It developed the SP notebooks by removing the spirals from the binding of the notebook, as some users complained about bumping into the spiral ring when writing.
Morning Glory became the top stationery brand for students shopping for school supplies every semester. The company gradually expanded its product range to include memo pads, envelope and letter sets, ballpoint pens and other types of pen. In the case of writing instruments, Morning Glory developed the Mach Pen in 2009. Thanks to its softer writing texture, vivid colors and long durability, the pen took off and more than 15 million units have been sold since.
Morning Glory put a top priority onto identifying customer demand. In order to analyze the tastes and demands of its customers, staff at the firm headed to schools to ask students in various age groups directly about their tastes, ranging from elementary schools up to universities. Their efforts paid off. For 14 consecutive years, Morning Glory has come in at the top of the Korea Brand Power Index survey (K-BPI) released by the Korea Management Association Consulting (KMAC).
Accumulated sales of Morning Glory’s Mach Pen have recorded more than 15 million units since its release in 2009. Customers enjoy its soft texture when writing, its vivid colors and its durability.
Morning Glory notebooks can be bought in over 20 countries around the world.
Morning Glory makes not only stationary and office goods, but also produces a range of lifestyle products, such as cups, umbrellas, socks, cushions, slippers and tote bags.
Morning Glory is also winning popularity overseas. The company opened its first shop in LA in 1994. Since then, the firm exports its products, notebooks, writing instruments and lifestyle supplies to over 20 countries across Asia, Europe and the Americas, including the U.S., Australia, China and France.
Its mascot, Blue Bear, won particular popularity in 1997 when Morning Glory opened a shop in Hawaii. The senior manager of Morning Glory's Design Institute, Choi Yong-shick, recalls, “Stationary and household goods with Blue Bear's image on it sold out immediately when we opened our Hawaii store.”
(From right) Blue Bear, Pink Bear and Coney Bear, Morning Glory's mascots, mark their 20th birthday. They have been enjoying lasting popularity since their release in 1994.
Senior Manager Choi Yong-shick says that the goal of Morning Glory is to maintain good quality, design and price at the same time.
Choi is in charge of Morning Glory's Design Institute, which the firm established in 1996. In this institute, more than 30 designers create stationary, office supplies and various lifestyle products. He says, “Since our establishment, Morning Glory has been concentrating on improving the quality and design of our products by making good investments. The key to Morning Glory’s long success is to make high quality goods with fresh designs at a reasonable price.”
“Endless research and development and ceaseless efforts to improve our designs are the reasons why Morning Glory has been winning unwavering trust from our customers, despite office automation and the influx of imported writing instruments,” said Choi.
He cited the process of making a notebook as an example. In order to make a new notebook, more than 30 designers at the company create more than 1,000 design proposals. After testing and benchmarking both in and outside the firm, fewer than 100 drafts will remain at the end. The company then conducts market research by asking students about their design ideas. It takes more than 8 months to make an end product at the company’s plant in Osan, Gyeonggi-do (Gyeonggi Province). A new product has to go through a painstaking test procedure before production can begin.
“Morning Glory maintains its international competitiveness thanks to our efforts to reflect the tastes and demands of our customers through such market research and benchmarking,” said Choi, expressing his strong confidence in the firm’s expertise and experiences in quality and design.
By Yoon Sojung
Photos: Jeon Han
Korea.net Staff Writers
arete@korea.kr
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