Regional operating model expected to add $300 to $500 million of incremental sales
MARYSVILLE, Ohio, Aug. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE: SMG), the world's leading marketer of branded consumer lawn and garden products, announced today it has named the leaders of its regional operating offices in Florida, Texas and California. The offices have been formed as part of a strategy to drive long-term growth in its core consumer business.
To be located in West Palm Beach, Houston and Orange County, the offices will house cross-functional teams focused on driving market share by improving local consumer intimacy. The offices will be responsible for developing and implementing sales and marketing strategies for the Southeast, Southwest and West Coast respectively. Currently, the Company's market share in these regions is roughly 40 percent, more than 10 points lower than the rest of the United States. By improving market share in these regions to a level that is consistent with the rest of the country, ScottsMiracle-Gro believes it can drive incremental sales of $300 to $500 million over the next several years.
"We are not simply opening sales offices, but beginning a fundamental shift in how we operate our core consumer business," said Mark Baker, president and chief operating office. "Historically, a centralized approach to operating our business was appropriate as our largest retailers were aggressively growing their store base. As the growth of new retail stores has declined, we must more proactively drive category growth, which requires us to further improve our intimacy with the consumer.
"The establishment of these regional teams allows our business to better meet the local needs of lawn and garden consumers. From demographics, to product needs to the length of the growing season, our business varies greatly across the United States. We are now better positioned to leverage local market opportunities, and I am confident the leaders of each of our operating offices will succeed in driving a new level of profitable growth."
The Company has named the following executives to lead the regional operating offices, each of whom will report directly to Barry Sanders, executive vice president of North American operations:
Mike Lukemire, Southeast Region, is a 14-year veteran of the Company with more than 30 years of operational experience. He was most recently executive vice president of Global Technologies and Operations for ScottsMiracle-Gro and previously senior vice president of Supply Chain. He will be responsible for Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and the Carolinas.
Jim Tates, Southwest Region, joined ScottsMiracle-Gro in 2005 and most recently was vice president of store operations, overseeing the Company's in-store field sales force. He previously led the Home Depot business development team office in Atlanta. His region includes Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming.
Phil Jones, West Coast Region, joined ScottsMiracle-Gro in 2007 and recently led the Roundup business. His affiliation with the Company dates back to 1998 when he was employed with Monsanto. His region includes California, Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington.
"This leadership team is both strong and diverse and embodies the talents we believe will be necessary as this initiative moves forward," Sanders said. "While each will be responsible for driving growth within their respective region, they also will work as a team, allowing us to fully benefit for their collective strengths and experiences."
Each regional office also will include a leader for field sales, who will focus on executing plans for the Company's largest national retail partners. The offices will also include lead roles for independent garden center sales, marketing, business development, finance and human resources. The staffing for the regional offices is expected to be neutral to the organization as responsibilities are being shifted from Marysville to the field. However, the Company will continue to maintain business development offices in the headquarter city of each of its major national retail partners.
About ScottsMiracle-Gro
With approximately $3 billion in worldwide sales and more than 6,000 associates, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, The Scotts Company LLC, is the world's largest marketer of branded consumer products for lawn and garden care, with products for professional horticulture as well. The Company's brands are the most recognized in the industry. In the U.S., the Company's Scotts(R), Miracle-Gro(R), Ortho(R) brands are market-leading in their categories, as is the consumer Roundup(R) brand, which is marketed in North America and most of Europe exclusively by Scotts and owned by Monsanto. In Europe, the Company's brands include Weedol(R), Pathclear(R), Evergreen(R), Levington(R), Miracle-Gro(R), KB(R), Fertiligene(R) and Substral(R). For additional information, visit us at www.scotts.com
Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995: Certain of the statements contained in this press release, including, but not limited to, information regarding the future economic performance and financial condition of the Company, the plans and objectives of the Company's management, and the Company's assumptions regarding such performance and plans are forward looking in nature. Actual results could differ materially from the forward-looking information in this release, due to a variety of factors, including, but not limited to:
-- Adverse weather conditions could adversely affect the Company's
sales and financial results;
-- Public perceptions regarding the safety of the Company's products,
and/or compliance with heightened environmental and other public health
regulations, could increase the Company's cost of doing business
and/or negatively impact sales;
-- Costs associated with the Company's previously announced product
recalls and product registration issues and the corresponding
governmental investigation, including legal expenses, and potential
fines, penalties and/or judgments could adversely affect the
Company's financial results;
-- The loss of one or more of the Company's top customers could
adversely affect the Company's financial results because of the
concentration of the Company's sales with a small number of retail
customers; and
Additional detailed information concerning a number of the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information contained in this release is readily available in the Company's publicly filed quarterly, annual and other reports.
SOURCE The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company
Jim King, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Affairs of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, +1-937-578-5622
