WeightWatchers 2015 Annual Report Download - page 9

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Competition
The weight management industry includes commercial weight management programs; Internet, free mobile
and other weight management apps and other electronic weight management approaches; surgical procedures; the
pharmaceutical industry; self-help weight management regimens and other self-help weight management
products, services and publications, such as books, magazines, websites and social media groups; dietary
supplements and meal replacement products; healthy lifestyle services, products and publications; weight
management services administered by doctors, nutritionists and dieticians; government agencies and non-profit
groups that offer weight management services; fitness centers and national drug store chains.
Competition among commercial weight management programs is largely based on program recognition and
reputation and the effectiveness, safety and price of the program. In the United States, we compete with several
other companies in the commercial weight management industry, although we believe that their businesses are
not comparable to ours. For example, many of these competitors’ businesses are based on the sale of pre-
packaged meals and meal replacements. Our meetings use group support, interactive, member-driven discussions
to encourage learning and behavior modification to help our members move towards a healthier, more active,
happier life with healthier eating patterns, in conjunction with a flexible food plan that allows 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.
We believe that food manufacturers that produce meal replacement products are not comparable
competition because these businesses’ meal replacement products do not engender behavior modification through
education in conjunction with a flexible, healthy food plan.
We also compete with various self-help diets, products, services and publications, such as free mobile and
other weight management apps. Further information regarding our competition can be found in Part II, Item 7 of
this Annual Report on Form 10-K under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations.”
Trademarks, Patents and Other Proprietary Rights
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 long
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
jurisdiction in which the patent is granted. The actual protection afforded by a patent may vary from country to
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, trade secret and other intellectual property laws, and
through domain name dispute resolution systems.
History
Early Development
In 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
friends 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 business
in 1963. Weight Watchers International, Inc. was incorporated as a Virginia corporation in 1974 and succeeded
to the business started in New York in 1963. Heinz acquired us in 1978.
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