Sunbeam 2007 Annual Report Download - page 22

Customers
We sell our small kitchen appliances, including home vacuum packaging machines, and personal care and
wellness products through a diverse group of leading wholesale and retail customers in North America and
distributors around the world. Our vacuum sealing products have penetrated traditional retail channels including
mass merchants and specialty retailers in the United States and select international locations and are also sold
through direct-to-consumer channels, primarily infomercials. Small kitchen appliances are sold worldwide,
including in Latin America and Europe, through retail channels including mass merchants, specialty retailers and
department stores. Our leading retail customers in the Consumer Solutions segment include Costco, Kohl’s,
Sam’s, Target and Wal-Mart, among others.
Sales and Marketing
Our vacuum packaging sales efforts are led by our internal sales force, which manages house accounts and
oversees independent manufacturer representatives. We also sell directly to the consumer through television
infomercials, the Internet and other direct-to-consumer promotions. In addition to generating direct sales, the
infomercials serve as an advertising tool creating awareness and demand at retail stores for the product line. Our
marketing and sales departments work closely together to develop customized product lines and pricing strategies
to meet our customers’ specialized needs. Our marketing department is implementing a strategy designed to drive
sustained growth over the next few years. Advertising and brand-building programs will extend beyond
infomercials. We believe that new product innovation will increasingly capitalize on consumer segmentation
opportunities in vacuum packaging and in other food preservation categories. We believe that our retail position
will be reinforced by channel marketing initiatives that optimize category volume and profitability for retailers.
We intend to expand direct marketing activities to reinforce the brand loyalty and usage rates for storage bags
and accessories.
Small kitchen appliances, household and personal care and wellness products have an internal sales force
and marketing department that focus their efforts in those markets that require high levels of precision, quality
and engineering expertise. The team dedicates resources across the organization to focus on developing brands.
The sales force is allocated by geographic region: United States, Canada, Latin America and Europe with
sub-groups to sell different product lines. We operate in an integrated model with the business and operational
teams to ensure consistency and fulfillment of marketing strategy and establish direction for the growth priorities
of the brands. Advertising and brand building activities include public relations impressions, television, radio and
print advertisements, direct to consumer marketing, mobile marketing activities, online marketing, consumer
promotions, consumer contests and sweepstakes, demonstrations and educational events at trade shows.
In addition to brand development, we have an extensive licensing strategy to extend the reach of the brands
across categories, geographies and strategic product extensions. We believe that utilizing licensing generates
high value consumer impressions that are aligned with the strategic objectives of the brands and enhances
emotional relevance of the product. Sunbeam®is among the leading licensed housewares brands in the consumer
products industry.
Distribution and Fulfillment
We utilize a combination of third-party and owned warehouses in China, the United States, Canada, Latin
America and Europe to distribute our Consumer Solutions’ products.
Manufacturing
Our research and development department designs and engineers many of our products, collaborates with
our manufacturing operations, sets strict engineering specifications for the third-party manufacturers and ensures
our proprietary manufacturing expertise despite outsourced production for those products we do not manufacture
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