Spectrum Brands | Germany
In the past decade Spectrum Brands, formerly known as Rayovac, developed into a corporation with several divisions, one of which is the pet division.
PETS International (PI): Where does the company stand today?
Bernd Weisser (BW): Spectrum Brands has become a global player in the pet industry, thanks to takeovers of brands such as Tetra, FURminator, Iams and Eukanuba. The company is known for delivering a full range of products to the pet market.
PI: How exactly is your pet division structured?
BW: The pet division stems from two different developments: On the one hand the aquatics business with Tetra, which still has a significant share of more than 40% of the company’s overall pet business and on the other hand the companion animal business, which used to focus on pet accessories and pet supplies. But due to the great opportunity to acquire the European branch of Iams and Eukanuba earlier this year the company has seized the chance to enter the high-potential market of cat and dog food.
Mergers and acquisitions require very delicate management of the company’s activities. Business takeovers always need a careful reevaluation and reorganisation of the activities of all companies involved.
PI: Considering the takeovers, what does this mean for your overall objective?
BW: In light of all these takeovers, synergies were and are achieved by growth. So the aim is to expand Iams and Eukanuba beyond its existing market share, taken over from P&G in Europe.
The main driver to achieve this ambition is to be focused, to act with passion and to be dedicated to pet retail and consumers. A culture which has always been a corner stone of Tetra and all the other pet brands that joined the organization over the years. And this culture works for Spectrum. Since the recent takeovers, its pet business in Europe has grown significantly.
The company’s vision for the upcoming three to five years is to achieve substantial growth in a healthy manner.
PI: How do the takeovers impact the company’s R&D activities?
BW: In order to stay focused and remain dedicated, Spectrum is integrating Iams and Eukanuba into their own sales staff. The company set up the ‘Centre of Excellence Companion Animal’ in London where the R&D Department and Marketing Department for Iams, Eukanuba, 8in1 and FURminator are situated. The ‘Centre of Excellence Aquatics’ however is still located in Melle (Germany) and is in charge of Tetra’s R&D and marketing. Furthermore, all Tetra feed and care products as well as several 8-in-1 dietary supplement tablets are produced at the company’s site in Melle.
The Iams and Eukanuba plant in Coevorden (Netherlands) is fully integrated and employs 120 staff members.
PI: What is being done on the subject of innovation?
BW: Consumer habits and market expectations are changing, which means the company has to constantly challenge its go-to-market strategies. One of the most important developments of the last few years has certainly been the growing e-commerce business. While classic marketing tools, such as displays, are still vital for point of sale (PoS) activities, e-commerce needs to be approached with completely different methods.
Spectrum’s pet division creates content value and individual tools for each brand’s e-commerce business in order to appeal to consumers in the best possible way. Tetra, for instance, launched its new Tetra Aquatics App in June which has connected the digital and real world in an innovative way.
Innovation has always been one of the company’s corner stones and the key to success for all brands. The Spectrum Brands pet division holds over 300 patents and drives open innovation. It is part of our way to protect the company from copycats. But moreover it is our way to add value to the market, to fulfil consumers’ needs and to increase the wellbeing of pets.