WeightWatchers 2007 Annual Report Download - page 23

10.5 million of Artal’s shares at a purchase price of $54.00 per share pursuant to our prior agreement with Artal.
In January 2007, we amended and supplemented our revolving credit facility to finance these repurchases.
Regulation
A number of laws and regulations govern our advertising, operations and relations with consumers,
employees and other service providers in the countries in which we operate. The Federal Trade Commission, or
FTC, and certain states and foreign jurisdictions regulate advertising, disclosures to consumers, privacy,
consumer pricing or billing arrangements, and other consumer matters.
During the mid-1990s, the FTC filed complaints against a number of commercial weight management
providers alleging violations of federal law in connection with the use of advertisements that featured
testimonials, claims for program success and program costs. In 1997, we entered into a consent order with the
FTC settling all contested issues raised in the complaint filed against us. The consent order requires us to comply
with certain procedures and disclosures in connection with our advertisements of services and products.
Since we operate our meetings business both in the United States and internationally, we are subject to
many distinct employment, labor, benefits and tax laws in each country in which we operate, including
regulations affecting our employment practices and our relations with our employees and service providers.
Laws and regulations directly applicable to communications, operations or commerce over the Internet such
as those governing intellectual property, privacy, libel and taxation, are becoming more prevalent and remain
unsettled.
Employees and Service Providers
As of December 29, 2007, we had approximately 49,000 employees and service providers. We consider our
relations with our employees and service providers to be satisfactory.
Financial Information About Segments and Financial Information About Geographic Areas
Information concerning our operating segments and our geographic areas is set forth in Note 14 of our
consolidated financial statements, contained in Part IV, Item 15 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
NYSE and SEC Certifications
On June 5, 2007, we filed with the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE, the Annual CEO Certification
regarding our compliance with the NYSE’s Corporate Governance listing standards as required by
Section 303A.12(a) of the NYSE Listed Company Manual. In addition, we filed as exhibits to this Annual Report
on Form 10-K the applicable certifications of our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer
required pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, regarding the quality of our public
disclosures.
Available Information
Corporate information, press releases and our periodic reports (e.g., our Annual Reports on Form 10-K,
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K) and amendments thereto are available free
of charge at www.weightwatchersinternational.com as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is
electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC (i.e., generally the same day as the filing). Moreover, we also
make available free of charge at that site the Section 16 reports filed electronically by our officers, directors and
10 percent shareholders. Usually these are publicly accessible no later than the business day following the filing.
Shareholders may request a free copy of our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and our Corporate
Governance Guidelines at: Weight Watchers International, Inc., Attn: Corporate Secretary, 11 Madison Avenue,
17th Floor, New York, NY 10010, [phone].
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