OXO International Proposed Portfolio Plan, USA Institute of Design Fall 2005 Zachary Jean Paradis

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1 OXO International Proposed Portfolio Plan, USA Institute of Design Fall 2005 Zachary Jean Paradis

2 COMPANY OVERVIEW company history OXO began with a few simple questions - Why do ordinary kitchen tools hurt your hands? Why can t there be wonderfully comfortable tools that are easy to use? The man who asked these questions was Sam Farber. Sam, who had recently retired as the founder of the successful housewares company Copco, first questioned the effectiveness of kitchen gadgets in response to his wife Betsey s difficulty in gripping ordinary kitchen tools, due to a slight case of arthritis in her hands. Seeing an opportunity to help not only people with arthritis but also to create more comfortable kitchen tools for everyone to use, Sam came out of retirement and approached the design firm Smart Design with that challenge. As part of the initial research that included talking with consumers, chefs and retailers, Patricia Moore, a noted gerontologist, was brought on board to help understand the needs of the users with special needs. expectation for comfort and performance. Since then, the line has grown to more than 500 innovative products covering many areas of the home. The OXO Good Grips line has been recognized by several national and international organizations for superior design and today is regarded as one of the icons of Universal Design. Since Sam sold the company and retired from OXO in 1995, the company was purchased in 1999 by World Kitchen,Inc., a housewares company based in Reston, Virginia, and then again in 2004 by Helen of Troy Limited. Today, OXO continues to be focused on creating innovative solutions for problems that users experience in their everyday tasks. the challenge OXO International has been growing at a torrid pace with annual sales growth of more than 35% on average from 1991 to To continue this phenomenal growth rate, it must continue to grow it s market and continue to release award winning new products. Now that it is part of a public company and under more scrutiny, this may be difficult to accomplish. OXO facts 500+ Total Products 41 Number of US Employees OXOnians Nickname for OXO Employees 31.8 Average Age of OXOnians 16 Languages Spoken by OXOnians Ox-Oh. Official Pronounciation of OXO After hundreds of models, dozens of design iterations, and extensive manufacturing research, OXO was born. In 1990, the first group of 15 OXO Good Grips kitchen tools was introduced to the U.S. market. These ergonomically - designed, transgenerational tools set a new standard for the industry and raised the bar of consumer OXO International is dedicated to providing innovative consumer products that make everyday living easier. - the OXO mission Portfolio Plan Institute of Design Zachary Jean Paradis 2

3 CURRENT PORTFOLIO product lines Cutlery p Kitchen/Serving p Spice Grinders p Storage p Hardware $ SKU s $ SKU s $ SKU s $ SKU s $ SKU s $ SKU s $ SKU s $ SKU s Cleaning $ SKU s Gardening $ SKU s obervations OXO s current portfolio has expanded from just one 15 item GoodGrips product line in 1992 to over 7 lines with more than 5 sub-brands in the form of over 500 products today in It is clear that Universal Design can be applied to all hand tools whether kitchen or not and that OXO s mission and brand is translating into sales. The company has made some smart decisions by moving into cleaning, gardening and hardware and introducing the higher priced Steel line. That said, it seems like OXO is developing some fairly supercilious sub-brands like GrindIt and the i-series. Neither are clearly differentiated from GoodGrips. Portfolio Plan Institute of Design Zachary Jean Paradis 3

4 US CUSTOMER SEGMENTS seniors and the impaired the design savvy foodies Demographic The population of those 65 and older in 2002 in the US was over 35 million according the national census bureaux. OXO s mission around Universal Design certainly appeals to this group as well as those younger and physically impaired in some way. Of this older age group, mostly women cook meals, clean and purchase related products. Psychographic brand loyal values good deals values comfort concerned about health Behavioral stay home long hours prepare many of their own meals take medication Demographic Consumers in the US are becoming more savvy and aware of design. Many are trading up. Designers like never before are stars and there is a growing part of the population that follow them with dollars. Demographically, this is a varied group of both men and women aged They have more education and make more money. It is difficult to get exact numbers of this group but anyone who shops at DWR, the MOMA store, et. als., might be a part of this segment and would most likely buy the OXO Steel line. Psychographic values quality values ergonomics values aesthetics willing to spend more Behavioral looks for designer products trading up displays their objects much like a museum goes to designed restaurants Demographic The foodie segment is a bit easier to grasp demographic than the design savvy. In looking at just one popular cooking magazine, Gourmet, there is a total audience of nearly 7 million with an average age in the mid-40 s and a median salary of nearly $74K per year. Nearly 70% of this group is female and nearly the same amount is married. The total foodie population could reasonably be estimated to be 20 million or more. Psychographic values quality values effective kitchen tools values the home willing to spend on kitchen related items Behavioral cook often has dinner parties buys cook books and magazines shops at multiple grocery stores Portfolio Plan Institute of Design Zachary Jean Paradis 4

5 CURRENT COMPETITION increasing competition When OXO launched in the early 1990 s, they were essentially the only producer of Universally Designed consumer products for the kitchen. While they had considerable competition more generally, this unique take on the category combined with affordable pricing produced phenomenal sales for more than a decade. Competition has been relatively slow to react but is clearly ready to put up more of a fight. Wüstof paring knives Farberware professional kitchen knives J.A. Henckels specialized slicer Global Copco Emerilware Chicago Cutlery consumer kitchen knives Chroma Mundial Generic blenders Ecco lunch Shun food processors mandolines zester precut vegetables vegetable cutting solutions restaurants oven mitt dish towels mixing bowl(s) pepper grinder scrub brush tong set peeler graters candles spatula juicer skimmer form category generic budget Portfolio Plan Institute of Design Zachary Jean Paradis 5

6 AN EVOLVING MARKET & COMPETITION a changing market As was noted on page 4, the population of those 65 and older in 2002 in the US was over 35 million according the national census bureaux. It is important to realized that this demographic is growing rapidly and is expected to top 70 million by In addition, US consumers overall are becoming more design and health savvy. This should provide for a naturally increasing number of potential OXO customers. Thus, it would seem competition is the variable which is of most concern to OXO. aggregate factors When evaluating aggregate factors, it is important to realize that OXO somewhat reinvented the game with regards to kitchen and household products. Universal Design as a product needs to be evaluated separately than individual products but each measure is valuable to consider. paring knifes vs. Universal Design flat growth increasing growth slim profits larger profits maturity stage growth stage little seasonality little seasonality little cycliaty may trade up to competition taking aim OXO s success has certainly not gone unnoticed by others in the kitchen and household products industry. They will face increasing competition as traditional leaders in the space make moves to compete more directly on the basis of Universal Design. One particularly illustrative example is of Zyliss partnership with IDEO in 2003 for the creation of their new line of kitchen gadgets. As noted on the IDEO website, Each tool in the new line has been carefully considered to optimize ergonomics, cleanability, and functionality. This could have easily been pulled directly from the OXO website. Low - end competition Copycat competition will be fast and furious from lower end competitors as products are made to look ergonomic with little to no real benefit. Current low - end competitors include EZ-grip and Chef n Kitchen. High - end competition Competition will also come from higher end with professional brands including Global, Henckels, Wüstof, Mundial, et. als. sales Universal Design paring knifes goals & strategy OXO will have to capitalize on past success and continue to clearly differentiate themselves in brand as the leader in Universal Design. Specifically, OXO will aim to continue it s market leader position in sales of Universally Designed consumer products and gain 5% more of total share of the category more generally. time Portfolio Plan Institute of Design Zachary Jean Paradis 6

7 PORTFOLIO OPTIONS world - class customer intimacy OXO started because of one simple reason: Sam Farber had a deep empathy for his wife s arthritic pain. This empathy has carried through in most of what OXO produces and allows OXOnians to have a level of customer intimacy which few companies can match. The mission itself supports empathy. In terms of Universal Design, OXO has a leadership position in its products. Being so good in both of these areas, it can not be quite as good in terms of operational excellence but is certainly no slouch either. OXO should continue in its history of world - class customer intimacy and strong product leadership. product leadership operational excellence required level customer intimacy CORE COMPETENCIES the few portfolio problems OXO has very few problems in their current portfolio but they do exist. In particular, the problems are follows: unclear differentiation with their i-series line unclear differentiation with their GrindIt line few high - price, high margin products sold existing products new markets existing products existing markets new products new markets new products existing markets a variety of generic options Simplify Product Lines While generally focused, there are several product lines, most notably the i-series, GrindIt and Gel - e which don t seem to be clearly differentiated from GoodGrips or Steel. Paring these lines and aligning around moderately priced and more expensively priced brands would preserve brand value. Aggressively Attack New Markets While general trends in the US should translate into more sales for OXO, the company could take a more aggressive approach to penetration of its lines within the US and internationally. Resources would be spent more in marketing and marketing communications as well as setting up the infrastructure ot deliver sales globally than investing in new products. Go For Broke OXO could make its goal to be the number one consumer kitchen and cleaning products brand globally. To do so, it would require a huge investment in global infrastructure, vast R&D in products designed specifically for a variety of markets, and a commitment to the 10 emerging markets outpacing average international growth. Extend the Brand: Release New Product Lines OXO could use leverage its brand and manufacturing expertise to release any number of new hand tools, office products, etc. Another bold move would be to enter the more higher priced and more profitable small kitchen appliances market. Portfolio Plan Institute of Design Zachary Jean Paradis 7

8 RECOMMENDATIONS: A GOAL TO SHOOT FOR specific options evaluation 1. simplify product lines new US markets new international markets consumer electronics power tools existing products existing markets new products existing markets final recommendations OXO is in a phenomenal position to continue the growth they have established and there are three actions which will support their goals. Simplify Brands / Product Lines Cut all product lines which do not neatly fit under GoodGrips or Steel brands. Specifically, cut the GrindIt, i - Series and Gel - e brands. Place current grinder products under GoodGrips and develop a new high end Steel grinder. Small Kitchen Appliances & Office Tools Universal Design can easily be extended to electric kitchen appliances and office tools. With assistance from a noted design shop and current experties with their customers, OXO should introduce a line of staplers, hole - punches, blenders, food processors, toasters, coffee grinders, makers and the like. The electric items are generally higher cost and margin than current offerings and would be a natural purchase for current OXO customers. 6. office hand tools small kitchen appliances strategic fit implementation ease brand impact OXO s market is naturally growing, so a focus on new and higher margin product lines seems appropriate. risk reward total Portfolio Plan Institute of Design Zachary Jean Paradis 8