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Add Texture to GoogleA highlighter is used to highlight certain words on a page. Set with Swarovski crystals, it also aims to stand out. With its limited-edition “Jewel” collection, Stabilo gives tangible form to its new ambition: to move color beyond the strictly utilitarian realm and imbue it with desirability. The arrival of Mika as the first guest creative director continues this trend. Behind the convergence of stationery and pop culture, a question emerges: how can a brand become a lifestyle brand without losing what made its products so familiar?
The Highlighter as an Object of Desire
Stabilo has a solid starting point: approximately three Boss highlighters are sold worldwide every second. This figure reflects a presence in daily habits, but not yet an embrace of a cultural universe. The entire challenge of this shift lies in this gap. Buying a tool for its function and choosing an accessory for what it expresses are not the same act.
The collaboration with Kiko Milano and the “Jewel” edition explore two bridges. The first draws a parallel between writing and makeup—two activities where color is applied using a handheld tool. The second applies an ornamental vocabulary to the highlighter. The projects announced in the areas of design and lifestyle are intended to broaden this scope. The value of these connections will depend on their ability to enrich the user experience, rather than simply dressing up the product.
To tie these initiatives together, Stabilo draws on its global “Highlight What Matters” platform. The name maintains a direct link to the act of highlighting, while allowing for a more personal interpretation: what each person chooses to remember, show, or stand up for. It serves as a coherent foundation for a brand that wants to speak to individual expression without straying from its core business.
Mika, the first guest on a cultural program
This ambition takes the form of Stabilo Icons, a platform designed to endure, with its launch to be announced shortly. Four areas have been defined: pop culture, music, fashion, and a category combining art and education. This last connection is significant. It maintains an element of knowledge transfer within the project, while music and fashion open the door to collaborations and collective imaginations.
The program includes products, as well as community initiatives, brand storytelling, and cultural experiences. Stabilo thus seeks to create more opportunities for connection beyond the purchase of a pen or highlighter. The risk here is that the effort could become too scattered. The promise, however, is to provide continuity to initiatives that might otherwise remain isolated.
Mika is launching this initiative as a guest creative director, with a mission focused on developing dedicated projects and products. The announced role is therefore not limited to simply serving as the face of a campaign. However, no further details about these creations have been provided. This is where the partnership’s true impact will be felt: in the products and initiatives resulting from this collaboration, rather than solely in the prestige of the associated name.
From Fluorescent Highlights to Artificial Intelligence
Perhaps the most tangible change does not lie in the collaborations themselves. With the Stabilo Highlight app, a mark made on paper becomes a gateway to digital content. Highlighted passages in a printed or handwritten text can be transformed into elements to organize and explore. The action remains manual; what it enables, however, shifts to the screen.
The system recognizes four colors and provides access to AI-powered features that translate, explain, or summarize the selected passages. It also allows users to save quotes. Color thus takes on an additional function: it helps trigger information processing. For Stabilo, this approach remains closely aligned with the highlighter’s original purpose, which was to prioritize what one reads.
The expansion into digital accessories is broader: styluses, chargers, adapters, power banks, and accessories for carrying a smartphone. These categories place the brand in an environment distinct from that of writing. They also require legibility. Between an app that extends a familiar action and a charger, the connection to Stabilo isn’t as obvious.
Travel: A New Meeting Place
This expansion of the product line calls for new retail spaces. In late September, at the TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes, Stabilo presented a concept designed to pave the way for its entry into travel retail and began discussions with partners in the sector. This is indeed a stage of presentation and dialogue, not the announcement of a network that has already been rolled out.
For Michele Molon, CEO of the Schwan-Stabilo Group, this channel should make it possible to reach audiences from different cultures and generations. This choice underscores the brand’s lifestyle ambition: in a travel context, the brand aims to be discovered for reasons beyond the mere need for writing supplies. Italy also plays a strategic role in this international expansion, both for the group’s European operations and for Stabilo’s growth.
A transformation funded by a diversified group
This initiative is not based solely on stationery. In the 2025–2026 fiscal year, Schwan-Stabilo generated approximately 781 million euros in consolidated net revenue, up 3%. Writing instruments account for 24% of the business. The largest contributor is Schwan Cosmetics, with approximately 51% of sales: this division develops and manufactures cosmetics for more than 700 client companies.
The remaining 25% comes from the outdoor segment, which includes deuter, Ortovox, Maier Sports, and Gonso. Each business unit is following its own trajectory. The cosmetics division aims to accelerate product development and increase flexibility, from formulation to responsible production. The outdoor division is strengthening its digital capabilities and selectively developing direct relationships with consumers, without abandoning its established partnerships with retailers.
The “Forward2030” plan is designed to give the entire group greater agility and a stronger international foothold. Its financial rationale is clear: first, improve operational efficiency and productivity in order to free up resources for brands, innovation, teams, and markets. Value creation takes precedence over growth for its own sake. Behind Stabilo’s cultural initiatives, therefore, lies a disciplined management approach—not merely a visibility strategy.
Sharing expertise, preserving differences
Founded in 1855, the family-owned group is now in its sixth generation. From its headquarters in Heroldsberg, near Nuremberg, it oversees a workforce of approximately 5,200 employees spread across 38 locations. The initiative, dubbed “platforming,” is designed to facilitate the sharing of expertise in digital commerce, consumer insights, and technology, while preserving the entrepreneurial autonomy of each business unit. Molon also plans to promote internal mobility and the flow of knowledge across divisions.
Stabilo is embarking on this transformation with a presence in more than 150 countries, over 1,500 employees, and three manufacturing facilities—in Weissenburg, Germany; Český Krumlov, Czech Republic; and Johor Bahru, Malaysia. The next step will be to see what dedicated products emerge from the collaboration with Mika. Their design will need to balance two scales: that of a signature creative offering and that of a brand whose Boss product continues to sell at a rate of three units per second.
