Rayovac 2013 Annual Report Download - page 20

retailers sell these private label offerings at prices below competing name-brands. The main barriers to entry for
new competitors are investment in technology research, cost of building manufacturing capacity and the expense
of building retail distribution channels and consumer brands.
In the U.S. alkaline battery category, the Rayovac brand is positioned as a value brand, which is typically
defined as a product that offers comparable performance at a lower price. In Europe, the VARTA brand is
competitively priced with other premium brands. In Latin America, where zinc carbon batteries outsell alkaline
batteries, the Rayovac brand is competitively priced. Our primary competitors in the portable lighting product
category are Energizer and Mag Instrument, Inc.
Competition within the hardware and home improvement industry varies based on location and product
segment. The main source of competition for residential locksets includes other third party manufacturers such as
Schlage, a division of Ingersoll-Rand, and private label import brands such as Defiant and Gatehouse. Major
competitors for hardware include The Hillman Group, Hampton Hardware, Crown Bolt and private label
competitors. In plumbing, Pfister’s major U.S. competitors are Masco, Fortune Brands, Kohler, and American
Standard, as well as Glacier Bay and AquaSource, The Home Depot and Lowe’s private label brands,
respectively.
The pet supplies product category is highly fragmented with over 500 manufacturers in the U.S. alone,
consisting primarily of small companies with limited product lines. Our largest competitors in this product
category are Mars Corporation (“Mars”), The Hartz Mountain Corporation (“Hartz”) and Central Garden & Pet
Company (“Central Garden & Pet”). Both Hartz and Central Garden & Pet sell a comprehensive line of pet
supplies and compete with a majority of the products we offer. Mars sells primarily aquatics products.
Products we sell in the home and garden product category face competition from The Scotts Miracle-Gro
Company (“Scotts Company”), which markets lawn and garden products under the Scotts, Ortho, Roundup,
Miracle-Gro, and Tomcat brand names; Central Garden & Pet, which markets garden products under the
AMDRO and Sevin brand names; and Bayer A.G., which markets home and garden products under the Bayer
Advanced brand name.
Products we sell in the household insect control product category face competition from S.C. Johnson &
Son, Inc. (“S.C. Johnson”), which markets insecticide and repellent products under the Raid and OFF! brands;
Scotts Company, which markets household insect control products under the Ortho brand; and Henkel KGaA,
which markets insect control products under the Combat brand.
Our primary competitors in the electric shaving and grooming product category are Norelco, a division of
Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV (“Philips”), which sells and markets rotary shavers, and Braun, a division of
Procter & Gamble, which sells and markets foil shavers. Through our Remington brand, we sell both foil and
rotary shavers.
Primary competitive brands in the small appliance category include Hamilton Beach, Proctor Silex,
Sunbeam, Mr. Coffee, Oster, General Electric, Rowenta, DeLonghi, Kitchen Aid, Cuisinart, Krups, Braun, Rival,
Europro, Kenwood, Philips, Morphy Richards, Breville and Tefal. The key competitors of Russell Hobbs in this
market in the U.S. and Canada include Jarden Corporation, DeLonghi America, Euro-Pro Operating LLC, Metro
Thebe, Inc., d/b/a HWI Breville, NACCO Industries, Inc. (Hamilton Beach) and SEB S.A. In addition, Russell
Hobbs competes with retailers who use their own private label brands for household appliances (for example,
Wal-Mart).
Our major competitors in the electric personal care product category are Conair Corporation, Wahl Clipper
Corporation and Helen of Troy Limited (“Helen of Troy”).
Some of our major competitors have greater resources and greater overall market share than we do. They
have committed significant resources to protect their market shares or to capture market share from us and may
continue to do so in the future. In some key product lines, our competitors may have lower production costs and
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