Hero Pen relaunched in 2016 to rule Tmall pens

Hero was born in Shanghai in the 1930s and became 'China's pride' — the pen that wrote the revolution era's letters, the national champion against Parker. Then the ballpoint and digital age shrank the category, the state firm diversified into gas plants, pianos and real estate, debts mounted, and the main business lost money from 1999; Hero's stock was delisted and by 2006 its once-strong gold-nib share had fallen to about 3%.

The 2016 relaunch, announced at the brand's 85th anniversary, attacked in order. First, credibility: Hero sued three counterfeiting retailers in Qingdao over trademark infringement and assigned about 20% of operating expenses a year to anti-fake work. Second, product: a new range of 10k and 14k gold-nib pens — and domestic gold-nib sales rose 72.07%.

Third, fame: Hero collaborated with Swarovski-style crystal pens for young women at ¥200–500, made the official writing implements for the 2016 Hangzhou G20 summit, and in 2019 launched a '国潮' ink-meets-liquor collection with RIO — 20,000 units sold out on Tmall as they appeared, with resale prices at 5–10x the sticker.

The numbers confirmed the strategy: sales grew 12.31% and 26.17% in the first five months of 2016, e-commerce compounded at 50–100% a year, and in the 2019 6·18 sale Hero ranked No.1 pen brand on Tmall, ahead of Pilot, Mary and Parker. By 2026 the heritage play had become institutional — a 95th-anniversary immersive writing space in Shanghai's Wukang Mansion, with fans queuing for a 'Wukang-red' limited ink.

Gold-nib sales rose 72.07%; e-commerce grew 50-100% yearly; by 2019 Hero was Tmall's No.1, ahead of Pilot and Parker

Anti-counterfeiting came before premium relaunch — the brand had to clear shelf pollution before asking customers to pay more for authenticity

The 85th-anniversary story and 'catch up with Parker' legacy gave middle-aged consumers a reason to buy Hero again as an object, not a tool

RIO and crystal-pen collaborations carried the logo into young, aesthetic-first shopping, while G20 official-pen status lent national legitimacy

E-commerce rebuilt the category's distribution after malls had stopped stocking pens, giving Hero national reach at zero rent

Revival order matters: kill fakes, relaunch premium, borrow pop-culture fame; nostalgia alone cannot rebuild trust

Hero stabilized as China's domestic fountain-pen champion and the template for state-owned heritage-brand relaunch — anti-fake, premium product, IP collabs, e-commerce. The cautionary tail is the same as every Chinese old-brand story: the category is small, the nostalgia demographic ages, and growth beyond the gift-and-collector niche requires keeping young consumers after the meme fades. Still, by 2026 the 95-year-old pen maker was selling content-driven experiences, not just nibs.