Rayovac 2013 Annual Report Download - page 53

We also operate in the shaving and grooming and personal care product category, consisting of electric
shavers and accessories, electric grooming products and hair care appliances. Electric shavers include men’s and
women’s shavers (both rotary and foil design) and electric shaver accessories consisting of shaver replacement
parts (primarily foils and cutters), pre-shave products and cleaning agents. Electric shavers are marketed
primarily under our Remington brand. Our primary competitors in the electric shaving and grooming category
are Procter & Gamble, makers of Braun, and Koninklijke Phillips Electronics N.V., makers of Norelco. Electric
grooming products include beard and mustache trimmers, nose and ear trimmers, body groomers and haircut kits
and related accessories. Hair care appliances include hair dryers, straightening irons, styling irons and hair-
setters. Europe and North America account for the majority of our worldwide electric personal care product
category sales. Our major competitors in the electric personal care product category are Conair Corporation,
Wahl Clipper Corporation and Helen of Troy Limited.
The Hardware & Home Improvement segment has developed a market-leading franchise with leading
brands, making it the most desired manufacturer among top home builders and major retailers. Hardware &
Home Improvement is acclaimed as a market leader in the U.S. and Canadian lockset business. Competition
within the industry varies based on location as well as product segment. The main source of competition for
locks includes other third party manufacturers such as Schlage, a division of Ingersoll-Rand and private label
import brands such as Defiant and Gatehouse. The major U.S. competitors of Pfister, the plumbing brand sold by
our Hardware & Home Improvement segment, are Masco, Fortune Brands, Kohler, and American Standard.
Hardware & Home Improvement also competes with The Home Depot and Lowe’s private label brands.
Products in our small appliances category consist of small electrical appliances primarily in the kitchen and
home product categories. Primary competitor brands in the small appliance category include Hamilton Beach,
Procter Silex, Sunbeam, Mr. Coffee, Oster, General Electric, Rowenta, DeLonghi, Kitchen Aid, Cuisinart, Krups,
Braun, Rival, Europro, Kenwood, Philips, Morphy Richards, Breville and Tefal.
The following factors contribute to our ability to succeed in these highly competitive product categories:
•Strong Diversified Global Brand Portfolio. We have a global portfolio of well-recognized consumer
product brands. We believe that the strength of our brands positions us to extend our product lines and
provide our retail customers with strong sell-through to consumers.
•Strong Global Retail Relationships. We have well-established business relationships with many of the
top global retailers, distributors and wholesalers, which have assisted us in our efforts to expand our
overall market penetration and promote sales.
•Expansive Distribution Network. We distribute our products in approximately 140 countries through a
variety of trade channels, including retailers, wholesalers and distributors, hearing aid professionals,
industrial distributors and Original Equipment Manufacturers.
•Innovative New Products, Packaging and Technologies. We have a long history of product and
packaging innovations in each of our seven product categories and continually seek to introduce new
products both as extensions of existing product lines and as new product categories.
•Experienced Management Team. Our management team has substantial consumer products experience.
On average, each senior management team member has more than 20 years of experience at Spectrum,
VARTA, Remington, Russell Hobbs or other branded consumer product companies such as Newell
Rubbermaid and Schering-Plough.
Seasonal Product Sales
On a consolidated basis our financial results are approximately equally weighted between quarters, however,
sales of certain product categories tend to be seasonal. Sales in the consumer battery, electric shaving and
grooming and electric personal care product categories, particularly in North America, tend to be concentrated in
the December holiday season (Spectrum’s first fiscal quarter). Demand for hardware and home improvement
products increases during the spring and summer construction period (Spectrum’s third and fourth fiscal
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