Graco 2008 Annual Report Download - page 6

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4
CLEAR GOALS IN 2009
There is no question that the year at
hand will test our brands, businesses
and management as never before.
While our long-term strategy remains
intact, we will give increased attention
to short-term tactical measures that
will maneuver us through this economy.
Our focus will be on fewer, bigger
and better initiatives that deliver the
greatest return. We will operate as
lean and nimble an organization
as possible. Reduced costs in all
nonessential areas will enable us to
maintain spending in areas that create
brand awareness and demand.
Our goals are straightforward. We
intend to weather these economic
challenges and emerge from the
recession stronger, leaner and more
competitive. We seek to gain market
share – a metric that we can grow
even in a contracting market. We will
aggressively manage costs to protect
earnings, maximize cash flow and
fortify the balance sheet. We will do
whatever is necessary to adapt our
business to new realities.
Much of my confidence in our future
rests with the thousands of Newell
Rubbermaid men and women who
have accomplished so much since we
began this journey of transformation
together. I thank our employees for
what they have accomplished in
recent years, and for the strength and
perseverance that will be required
to achieve our 2009 objectives.
I also extend my appreciation to
our customers and shareholders for
their support. Our journey continues,
and we are committed to making it a
rewarding one for each of you.
Sincerely,
Mark D. Ketchum
President and Chief Executive Officer
April 3, 2009
Transformation Timeline
•฀ Mark Ketchum, named interim president
and CEO, introduces a strategy of consumer-
driven innovation and marketing to create
Brands That Matter ™
• Acquired Dymo, a global leader in providing
innovative labeling solutions
• Launched Project Acceleration, a global,
multi-year restructuring initiative to achieve
best cost in manufacturing and supply chain
•฀ Achieved฀“growth฀trifecta”฀of฀increases฀in฀
sales, gross margin and EPS for the first
time in four years
•฀ Streamlined฀portfolio฀and฀divested฀several฀
non-strategic businesses
•฀ Consolidated฀key฀administrative฀functions฀
and expanded shared services initiatives to
optimize efficiency and reduce costs
•฀ ฀Increased฀marketing฀and฀R&D฀investments฀
by 50%
•฀ Continued฀“growth฀trifecta”฀with฀top-line฀
growth,฀gross฀margin฀expansion฀and฀
earnings฀growth
•฀ Successfully฀implemented฀the฀rst฀phase฀
of SAP, a key enabler of best-in-class
business processes
•฀ Acquired฀Endicia,฀a฀leading฀provider฀of฀online฀
postage solutions, and Teutonia, a top-selling
European premium stroller provider
•฀ Introduced฀a฀global฀business฀unit฀(GBU)฀
structure to leverage innovation and accelerate
growth฀across฀all฀regions
•฀ Acquired฀Aprica®
, a leading Japanese brand
of premium strollers and car seats, and
Technical Concepts, a leading global provider
of commercial touch-free and automated
restroom hygiene systems
•฀ Successfully฀implemented฀second฀phase฀
of SAP
•฀ Initiated฀a฀comprehensive฀portfolio฀rational-
ization plan to reduce commodity exposure
and improve profitability
•฀ Implemented฀cost-savings฀program฀to฀
reduce฀structural฀SG&A฀expenses฀by฀
more than $100 million
2005 2006 2007 2008
4