Item 1. Business
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
The terms “the Company,” “we," “our,” and "SBH" as used in this report, refer to Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries, unless otherwise indicated.
Our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to reports filed pursuant to Sections 13(a) and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), are available free of charge through our website at www.spectrumbrands.com as soon as reasonably practicable after such reports are filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. The SEC also maintains a website that contains our reports, proxy statements and other information at www.sec.gov. In addition, copies of our (i) Corporate Governance Guidelines, (ii) charters for the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, (iii) Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and (iv) Code of Ethics for the Principal Executive Officer and Senior Financial Officers are available on our website at www.spectrumbrands.com under “Investor Relations.” Copies will also be provided to any stockholder upon written request to Spectrum Brands, Inc. at 3001 Deming Way, Middleton, Wisconsin 53562 or via electronic mail at investorrelations@spectrumbrands.com, or by telephone at (608) 278-6207.
General Overview
We are a diversified global branded consumer products and home essentials company. We manage the business in three vertically integrated, product focused segments: (i) Global Pet Care (“GPC”), (ii) Home and Garden (“H&G”) and (iii) Home and Personal Care (“HPC”). The Company manufactures, markets and distributes its products globally in the North America (“NA”), Europe, Middle East & Africa (“EMEA”), Latin America (“LATAM”) and Asia-Pacific (“APAC”) regions through a variety of trade channels, including retailers, wholesalers and distributors. We enjoy strong name recognition under our various brands and patented technologies across multiple product categories. Global and geographic strategic initiatives and financial objectives are determined at the corporate level. Each segment is responsible for implementing defined strategic initiatives and achieving certain financial objectives and has a president responsible for sales and marketing initiatives and the financial results for all product lines within that segment. The segments are supported through center-led shared service enabling functions consisting of finance and accounting, information technology, legal and human resources, supply chain and commercial operations. The following is an overview of the consolidated business showing net sales by segment and geographic region sold (based upon destination) as a percentage of consolidated net sales for the year ended September 30, 2024.
Our operating performance is influenced by a number of factors including: general economic conditions; foreign exchange fluctuations; trends in consumer markets; consumer confidence and preferences; our overall product line mix, including pricing and gross margin, which vary by product line and geographic market; pricing of certain raw materials and commodities; energy and fuel prices; and our general competitive position, especially as impacted by our competitors’ advertising and promotional activities and pricing strategies. See Item 7 - Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations , for further discussion of the consolidated operating results and segment operating results.
6
Table of Contents
Global Pet Care (GPC)
The following is an overview of GPC net sales by product category and geographic region sold by destination for the year ended September 30, 2024.
Product Category
Products
Brands
Companion Animal
Rawhide chews, dog and cat clean-up, training, health and grooming products, small animal food and care products, rawhide-free dog and cat treats, and wet and dry pet food for dogs and cats.
Good’n’Fun®, DreamBone®, GOOD BOY®, SmartBones®, IAMS® (Europe only), EUKANUBA® (Europe only), Nature’s Miracle®, FURminator®, Dingo®, 8IN1® (8-in-1), Meowee!®, and Wild Harvest™.
Aquatics
Consumer and commercial aquarium kits, stand-alone tanks; aquatics equipment such as filtration systems, heaters and pumps; and aquatics consumables such as fish food, water management and care
Tetra®, Marineland®, Instant Ocean®, GloFish®, and OmegaSea®.
We sell primarily to large retailers, pet superstores, online retailers, food and drug chains, warehouse clubs and other specialty retail outlets. International distribution varies by region and is often executed on a country-by-country basis. Our sales generally are made through the use of individual purchase orders. In addition to product sales within the United States, we also perform installation and maintenance services on commercial aquariums. Live fish under our GloFish® brand are produced, marketed, and sold by an independent third-party breeder through a supply and licensing agreement with the Company. A significant percentage of our sales are attributable to a limited group of retailer customers, including Walmart and Amazon, each of which exceed 10% of segment sales and represent approximately 33.8% of segment sales for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024.
Primary competitors of our GPC segment are Mars Corporation, Nestle Purina, and the Central Garden & Pet Company, each of which sells a comprehensive line of pet products that competes across our product categories. The pet supplies (non-food) product category is highly fragmented with no competitor holding a substantial market share and consists of small companies with limited product lines, including private label products and suppliers.
Sales remain mostly consistent throughout the year with slight variations during holiday periods. Our sales by quarter as a percentage of annual net sales during the year ended September 30, 2024' are as follows:
2024
First Quarter
24 %
Second Quarter
25 %
Third Quarter
25 %
Fourth Quarter
26 %
Chews products are produced at third-party suppliers in the APAC region and Mexico. Certain other aquatics equipment and companion animal hard goods are also produced at third-party suppliers in the APAC region. We maintain ownership of most of the tooling and molds used by third-party suppliers. Product purchased from third-party suppliers are susceptible to fluctuations in transportation costs, government regulations and tariffs, and foreign currency exchange rates. We continuously monitor and evaluate our supplier network for quality, cost, and manufacturing capacity.
Aquatics and certain other companion animal products are produced in various manufacturing plants located in the U.S. and Germany, including the production of glass aquariums in in our Noblesville, Indiana facility, shampoos and aquarium salt in our Blacksburg, Virginia facility, OmegaSea® fish food with bird and other small animal products manufactured in our Bridgeton, Missouri facility, and aquatics nutrition and care products manufactured in our Melle, Germany facility. We continually evaluate capacity at our manufacturing facilities and related utilization. In general, we believe our existing facilities are adequate for our present and foreseeable future operating needs.
Our research and development strategy is focused on new product development and performance enhancements of our existing products. We plan to continue to use our brand names, customer relationships and research and development efforts to introduce innovative products that offer enhanced value to consumers through new designs and improved functionality.
7
Table of Contents
Home and Garden (H&G)
The following is an overview of H&G net sales by product category and geographic region sold by destination for the year ended September 30, 2024.
Product Category
Products
Brands
Household
Household pest control solutions such as spider and scorpion killers; ant and roach killers; flying insect killers; insect foggers; wasp and hornet killers; and bedbug, flea and tick control products
Hot Shot®, Black Flag®, Real-Kill®, Ultra Kill®, The Ant Trap® (TAT), and Rid-A-Bug®.
Controls
Outdoor insect and weed control solutions, and animal repellents such as aerosols, granules, and ready-to-use sprays or hose-end ready-to-sprays
Spectracide®, Garden Safe®, Liquid Fence®, and EcoLogic®.
Repellents
Personal use pesticides and insect repellent products, including aerosols, lotions, pump sprays and wipes, yard sprays and citronella candles
Cutter® and Repel®.
Cleaning Household surface cleaning, maintenance, and restoration products, including bottled liquids, mops, wipes, and markers. Rejuvenate®
We sell primarily to large retailers, home improvement centers, mass merchants, dollar stores, hardware stores, lawn and garden distributors, food and drug retailers, and e-commerce. We sell primarily in the U.S. with some distribution in LATAM. Our sales generally are made through the use of individual purchase orders. A significant percentage of our sales are attributable to a limited group of retailer customers exceeding 10% of net sales, including Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Walmart, each of which exceed 10% of segment sales and represent approximately 61.8% segment sales for the year ended September 30, 2024.
Primary competitors of our H&G segment include The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (Ortho, Roundup, Tomcat), S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. (Raid, OFF!), Central Garden & Pet (AMDRO, Sevin), SBM Company (BioAdvanced), Henkel AG & Co. KgaA (Combat), Bona AB (Bona), and Procter & Gamble (Swiffer, Zevo).
Sales typically peak during the first six months of the calendar year (the Company’s second and third fiscal quarters) and are lowest in the last three months of the calendar year (the Company’s first quarter) due to customer purchasing patterns, and timing of promotional activities. Seasonal sales may also be impacted by changes in weather conditions during the peak season. Our sales by quarter as a percentage of annual net sales during the year ended September 30, 2024, are as follows:
2024
First Quarter
12 %
Second Quarter
28 %
Third Quarter
37 %
Fourth Quarter
23 %
H&G produces the majority of its products in one facility in Vinita Park, Missouri, with production primarily consisting of liquids and aerosols, and the remaining portion of products being produced by various third-party manufacturers, consisting of granulates, candles, baits & traps, wipes and Rejuvenate® cleaning products. The main raw materials purchased are plastic bottles, steel aerosol cans, corrugate, active ingredients, and bulk chemicals. The prices of these raw materials are susceptible to fluctuations due to supply and demand trends, energy costs, transportation costs, inflation, government regulations, and tariffs. We continuously monitor and evaluate our supplier network for quality, cost, and manufacturing capacity.
Our research and development strategy is focused on new product development and performance enhancements of our existing products. We plan to continue to use our brand names, customer relationships, and research and development efforts to introduce innovative products that offer enhanced value to consumers through new designs and improved functionality.
8
Table of Contents
Home and Personal Care (HPC)
The following is an overview of net sales by product category and geographic region sold by destination for the year ended September 30, 2024.
Product Category
Products
Brands
Home Appliances
Small kitchen appliances including toaster ovens, coffeemakers, slow cookers, air fryers, blenders, hand mixers, grills, food processors, juicers, toasters, irons, kettles, and bread makers, cookware, and cookbooks.
Black+Decker®, Russell Hobbs®, George Foreman®, PowerXL®, Emeril Legasse®, Copper Chef ®, Toastmaster®, Juiceman®, Farberware®, and Breadman®
Personal Care
Hair dryers, flat irons and straighteners, rotary and foil electric shavers, personal groomers, mustache and beard trimmers, body groomers, nose and ear trimmers, women’s shavers, and haircut kits.
Remington®
We have a trademark license agreement (the “B+D License Agreement”) with the license holder, Stanley Black+Decker (“SBD”) which terminated the previous agreement and has an effective date of January 1, 2024, pursuant to which we license the Black + Decker® brand (“B+D”) in North America, South America (excluding Brazil), Central America, and the Caribbean (excluding Cuba) for primarily four core categories of home appliances: beverage products, food preparation products, garment care products and cooking products. The B+D License Agreement has an initial four-year term ending December 31, 2027, with two subsequent four-year renewal rights each based upon meeting certain sales metrics, potentially extending the total contract term to December 31, 2035. The License Agreement may not renew if these targets are not satisfied. Under the terms of the License Agreement, we agreed to pay SBD royalties based on a percentage of sales, with a minimum annual royalty payment of $11.7 million for the first year in the initial term, with decreases in subsequent years of the initial term down to $10.2 million in the fourth year, and is subject to adjustment with each renewal period. The B+D License Agreement also requires us to comply with maximum annual returns rates for products and promotional spending commitments. See Note 5 – Revenue Recognition included in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further detail on revenue concentration from B+D branded products.
The Emeril Legasse® brand is subject to a trademark license agreement (the “Emeril License Agreement”) with the license holder, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc., pursuant to which the HPC segment can license the Emeril Legasse® brand within the U.S., and its territories and possessions, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and the United Kingdom for certain designated products categories of home appliances, including small kitchen food preparation products, indoor and outdoor grills, grill accessories and cookbooks. The agreement is set to expire effective December 31, 2024, with an option to renew through December 31, 2025, subject to meeting certain sales metrics. Under the terms of the Emeril License Agreement, we are obligated to pay the license holder a percentage of net sales, with minimum annual royalty payments of $1.7 million, increasing to $1.8 million in the 2025 renewal period. The Farberware® tradename brand is also subject to a trademark license agreement (the “Farberware License Agreement”) with the license holder, Farberware License Company, LLC, pursuant to which the HPC segment licenses the Farberware® brand on a worldwide basis for certain designated product categories of household appliances, including coffeemakers, juicers, toasters and toaster ovens. The Farberware License Agreement is set to expire December 31, 2210. The Company and HPC segment do not have a material concentration of branded products exceeding 10% of consolidated or segment revenue from either the Emeril Legasse® or Farberware® brands.
We own the right to use the Remington® trademark for electric shavers, shaver accessories, grooming products and personal care products; and Remington Arms Company, Inc. (“Remington Arms”) owns the rights to use the trademark for firearms, sporting goods and products for industrial use, including industrial hand tools. The terms of a 1986 agreement between Remington Products, LLC and Remington Arms provides for the shared rights to use the trademark on products which are not considered “principal products of interest” for either company. We retain the Remington® trademark for nearly all products which we believe can benefit from the use of the brand name in our distribution channels.
HPC products are sold primarily to large retailers, online retailers, wholesalers, distributors, warehouse clubs, food and drug chains and specialty trade or retail outlets such as consumer electronics stores, department stores, discounters and other specialty stores. HPC products are also sold direct-to-consumer through direct response television, brand websites, and other online marketplaces. International distribution varies by region and is often executed on a country-by-country basis. Our sales generally are made through the use of individual purchase orders. A significant percentage of our sales are attributable to a limited group of retailer customers, including Walmart and Amazon, each of which exceed 10% of segment sales and represent approximately 41.5% of segment sales for the year ended September 30, 2024.
Primary competitors for the home appliances product category within our HPC segment include Newell Brands (Sunbeam, Mr. Coffee, Crockpot, Oster), De’Longhi America (DeLonghi, Kenwood, Braun), SharkNinja (Shark, Ninja), Hamilton Beach Holding Co. (Hamilton Beach, Proctor Silex), Sensio, Inc. (Bella), SEB S.A.(T-fal, Krups, Rowenta), Whirlpool Corporation (Kitchen Aid), Conair Corporation (Cuisinart, Waring), Versuni (Philips), Donlim (Morphy Richards), Gourmia, and private label brands for major retailers. Primary competitors for the personal care product category within our HPC segment include Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Norelco), The Procter & Gamble Company (Braun), Conair Corporation, Wahl Clipper Corporation, Helen of Troy Limited, SharkNinja (Shark), and Dyson Limited (Dyson).
9
Table of Contents
Sales from electric personal care product categories tend to increase during the December holiday season (the Company’s fiscal first quarter), while small home appliance sales typically increase from July through December primarily due to the increased demand by customers in the late summer for “back-to-school” sales (the Company’s fiscal fourth quarter) and in December for the holiday season.
Our sales by quarter as a percentage of annual net sales during the year ended September 30, 2024, are as follows:
2024
First Quarter
28 %
Second Quarter
22 %
Third Quarter
23 %
Fourth Quarter
27 %
Substantially all of our home appliances and personal care products are manufactured by third-party suppliers that are primarily located in the APAC region, the prices of which may be susceptible to changes in transportation costs, government regulations and tariffs, and changes in currency exchange rates. We maintain ownership of most of the tooling and molds used by our suppliers.
We continuously monitor and evaluate our supplier network for quality, cost, and manufacturing capacity. Our research and development strategy is focused on new product development and performance enhancements of our existing products. We plan to continue to use our brand names, customer relationships and research and development efforts to introduce innovative products that offer enhanced value to consumers through new designs and improved functionality.
Human Resources
Employee Profile
At Spectrum Brands, we are led by our values of trust, accountability, and collaboration to serve others through this common mission: We Make Living Better at Home. We strive to live our core values of trust, accountability and collaboration every day by serving our customers, consumers, and communities. Our workplace culture is centered around practices that support our communities and promote sustainable practices and a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce.
As of September 30, 2024, we have approximately 3,100 full-time employees worldwide. Approximately 30% of our total labor force is covered by collective bargaining agreements, of which approximately 50% is subject to regular and ongoing negotiations as an ordinary course of business with our work councils. We have one collective bargaining agreement applicable to our Australian operation that is scheduled or expected to expire within 12 months which is not substantive to our total employee count. We believe that our overall relationship with our employees is good.
Employee Wellness
We encourage our employees to “Speak Up,” “Be Accountable,” “Take Action,” and “Grow Talent,” all in the efforts to promote innovation, trust, accountability and collaboration. The result is a work environment that encourages the well-being of our employees wholistically - mind and body.
Employee Health and Safety
We are committed to the Environmental Health and Safety (“EHS”) safety of our employees. We continuously strive to maintain our strong safety performance as we continue to grow our business around the globe. The keys to our EHS success are a workforce that is engaged, a management team who supports and invests in employee safety, regular employee trainings on EHS topics, and the leadership of our skilled EHS team. In the last several years, the team has added dedicated EHS professionals to individual sites to train employees and ensure compliance with applicable safety standards and regulations. The team hosts regular meetings to share information and discuss best practices across plants.
Environmental, Social and Governance
Spectrum Brands is committed to further enhancing our environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) efforts and recognizes the impact our business has on our communities and the world. We believe in making a positive difference in the communities in which we live and work and strive to discharge our corporate social responsibilities from a global perspective and throughout every aspect of our operations, consistent with our focus on creating value for all of our stakeholders over the long term. Our decisions regarding business strategy, operations and resource allocation are guided by this purpose and are rooted in our core values. Our Board recognizes the negative effect that poor environmental practices and human capital management may have on us and our returns. Accordingly, our Board considers and balances the impact on the environment, people and the communities of which we are a part in deciding how to operate our business. Our Board receives periodic reports regarding our risk exposure and risk mitigation efforts in these areas.
We are committed to operating our business with all stakeholders in mind and with a view toward long-term sustainability and value creation, even as our business and society face a variety of existing and emerging challenges. We leverage our expertise, along with external partners, to help address these challenges. While our corporate social responsibility commitments address many areas, we focus on five key priorities: product and content safety, environmental sustainability, human rights and ethical sourcing, employee safety and well-being and diversity and inclusion.
Talent Development
Spectrum Brands is committed to developing our future leaders at every level. Our talent processes start with understanding what current and future talent is needed to deliver business goals, followed by a talent review process to assist managers with evaluating talent.
Learning and development is a critical part of creating Spectrum Brands’ culture of high performance, innovation, and inclusion. We believe on-the-job experience is an outstanding way to learn, and performance and development plans ensure that managers and employees have conversations about career aspirations, mobility, developmental goals and interests.
Employee Communication and Feedback
In an ongoing effort to understand our employees' needs, and deliver on our values of trust, accountability and collaboration, we listen. We regularly host company-wide and business unit town halls to offer employees an opportunity to ask questions about Company activities and policies that impact them. We solicit and receive questions and feedback from our employees through this process.
10
Table of Contents
Diversity and Inclusion
Spectrum Brands is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace for employees of every race, color, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental ability and background. At Spectrum Brands, we strive to make our employees feel valued and respected and given the opportunity to thrive as their authentic selves. To further that objective, we have:
• Engaged the services of a third-party consultant with expertise in diversity and inclusion (“D&I”) to help us create long-lasting change;
• Implemented a D&I program;
• Created a U.S. D&I Advisory Counsel, made up of our employees of diverse backgrounds to help design and develop D&I-related priorities and goals, advise on ways to advance the D&I dialogue and drive meaningful cultural change at the Company ;
• Created inclusion networks for our diverse employees and developing trainings, communications and programs to further facilitate and encourage open and transparent D&I discussions among our employee populations; and
• Developed educational content and trainings to help leaders foster a more inclusive environment.