WeightWatchers 2010 Annual Report Download - page 25

While having strong local leadership has always been a cornerstone of our strategy, we have also bee
n
investing in building our global corporate management team. Our management team plays a critical role i
n
driving and facilitating the global coordination necessary to optimize our international assets and share best
p
ractices across geographies
.
C
om
p
et
i
t
i
on
The weight management market includes self-help weight management regimens and other self-help weight
management products and publications such as books, tapes and magazines; commercial weight managemen
t
p
rograms; Internet weight management approaches; dietary supplements and meal replacement products; weigh
t
management services administered by doctors, nutritionists and dieticians; surgical procedures; th
e
p
harmaceutical industry; government agencies and non-profit groups that offer weight management services; and
f
itness centers
.
Competition among commercial weight management programs is largely based on program recognition an
d
r
eputation and the effectiveness, safety and price of the program. In the United States, we compete with several
o
ther companies in the commercial weight management industry, although we believe that the businesses are no
t
comparable. For example, many of these competitors’ businesses are based on the sale of pre-packaged meals
and meal replacements. Our meetings use group support, education and behavior modification to help ou
r
members change their eating habits, in conjunction with flexible food plans that allow members the freedom to
choose what they eat. There are no significant group education-based competitors in any of our major markets
,
except in the United Kingdom. Even there, we believe we possess the largest share of the market
.
We believe that food manufacturers that
p
roduce meal re
p
lacement
p
roducts are not com
p
arable
competition because these businesses’ meal replacement products do not engender behavior modification throug
h
education in conjunction with a flexible, healthy food plan.
We also compete with various self-help diets, products and publications, such as low-carbohydrate diets,
which gained in popularity and media exposure beginning in 2003
.
Trademarks, Patents and
O
ther Propr
i
etary R
i
ghts
We own numerous domestic and international trademarks, patents and other proprietary rights that are
valuable assets and are important to our business. Depending upon the jurisdiction, trademarks are valid as lon
g
as they are used in the regular course of trade and/or their registrations are properly maintained. Patent protection
extends for varying periods according to the date of patent filing or grant and the legal term of patents in the
j
urisdiction in which the patent is granted. The actual protection afforded by a patent may vary from country t
o
country depending upon the type of patent, the scope of its coverage and the availability of legal remedies in the
country. We believe the protection of our trademarks, copyrights, patents, domain names, trade dress and trade
secrets is important to our success. We aggressively protect our intellectual property rights by relying on a
combination of trademark, copyright, patent, trade dress and trade secret laws, and through the domain nam
e
dispute resolution system
.
H
i
stor
y
E
arly Development
I
n 1961, Jean Nidetch, our founder, attended a New York City obesity clinic and took what she learned from
her personal experience at the obesity clinic and began weight-loss meetings with a group of her overweight
f
riends in the basement of a New York apartment building. Under Ms. Nidetch’s leadership, the group members
supported each other in their weight-loss efforts, and word of the group’s success quickly spread. Ms. Nidetch
and Al and Felice Lippert, who all successfully lost weight through these efforts, formally launched our busines
s
9