EL PASO, Texas, Sept. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Helen of Troy Limited (Nasdaq: HELE) designer, developer and worldwide marketer of brand-name personal care and household consumer products, today announced that the Company's OXO Housewares Division launched its full line of baby and toddler products, branded OXO tot, at the 2009 ABC Show in Las Vegas. The line is expected to be available at retail by January 2010 and capitalizes on the company's Universal Design expertise of creating products that are user friendly and comfortable for as many users as possible, even those as young as six months old.
In development for nearly two years, the line is the result of extensive user-based research conducted before and during the development process. During the process, many families were surveyed and visits to homes and day care centers conducted. The company focused on opportunities for improvement that would be the most meaningful to parents and children, including creating products that would be adjustable as a child grows. These include the OXO tot Sippy Cup that contains handles that can be removed when toddlers are learning to drink from a cup. The OXO tot high chair transforms from a chair for a six-month old into a toddler chair for children up to five years of age. All of the products are intuitive and easy to use, a cornerstone of OXO's product development process, which includes features that improve the products' performance, while also appealing aesthetically to both children and parents.
Gerald J. Rubin, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President said, "We are proud of the efforts of everyone involved in the launch of this exciting line of baby products and look forward to another successful product category for OXO. OXO continues to be an award winning consumer products innovator in every consumer category it enters."
Alex Lee, OXO President, commented, "At OXO, one of the keys to success is user experience. All of our products are developed by active users of those products, giving them insight into specific issues and problems in the categories in which we play. The development of the OXO tot line is a natural brand extension and one we've wanted to do for quite some time. In fact, we have recently gained a lot of experience with baby and toddler products. In the past five years, 26 babies have been born to OXO's 50 employees, making for a critical mass of collected insights and pet peeves about everything from sippy cups to high chairs. Safety and quality were also of the utmost importance. All materials used are of the highest quality and all products were thoroughly tested to uphold and surpass the strictest safety standards. All products are BPA, phthalate and PVC free."
Founded in 1990 on the concept of Universal Design, OXO's mission is to create consumer products that ease the tasks of everyday life for the widest range of users possible. Since the original 15 items were introduced, the OXO collection has grown to more than 850 strong covering cooking, cleaning, gardening, storing, organizing, lighting, and the office. Today OXO Good Grips products are sold in 50 countries and are included in the permanent collections of numerous museums. The company has won more than 100 design and business awards worldwide.
Helen of Troy Limited is a leading designer, producer and global marketer of brand-name personal care and household consumer products. The Company's personal care products include hair dryers, curling irons, hair setters, shavers, brushes, combs, hair accessories, home hair clippers, mirrors, foot baths, body massagers, paraffin baths, liquid hair styling products, body powder and skin care products. The Company's household products include kitchen tools, cutlery, bar and wine accessories, household cleaning tools, tea kettles, trash cans, storage and organization products, gardening tools, kitchen mitts and trivets, barbeque tools, and rechargeable lighting products. The Company's products are sold to consumers by mass merchandisers, drug store chains, warehouse clubs and grocery stores under licensed trademarks including Vidal Sassoon(R), licensed from The Procter & Gamble Company, Revlon(R), licensed from Revlon Consumer Products Corporation, Dr. Scholl's(R), licensed from Schering-Plough HealthCare Products, Inc., Sunbeam(R), and Health o meter(R) licensed from Sunbeam Products, Inc., Sea Breeze(R), licensed from Shiseido Company Ltd., Vitapointe(R), licensed from Sara Lee Household and Body Care UK Limited, Toni & Guy(R) outside of the Americas, licensed from Mascolo Limited, Bed Head(R) and TIGI(R) in the Americas licensed from MBL/TIGI Products, LP, and Toni&Guy(R) in the Americas licensed from MBL/TONI&GUY Products, LP. Helen of Troy's owned brands include OXO(R), Good Grips(R), Candela(R), Brut(R), Infusium 23(R), Vitalis(R), Final Net(R), Ammens(R), Condition(R) 3-in-1, SkinMilk(R), Dazey(R), Caruso(R), Karina(R), DCNL(R), Nandi(R), Isobel(R) and Ogilvie(R). The Company markets hair and beauty care products under the Helen of Troy(R), Hot Tools(R), Hot Spa(R), Salon Edition(R), Gallery Series(R), Wigo(R), Fusion Tools(R),( ) Belson(R), Belson Pro(R), Gold 'N Hot(R), Curlmaster(R), Profiles(R), Comare(R), Mega Hot(R), and Shear Technology(R) owned brands to the professional beauty salon industry.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements, which are subject to change. The forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any or all of the forward-looking statements may turn out to be wrong. They can be affected by inaccurate assumptions or by known or unknown risks and uncertainties. Many of these factors will be important in determining the Company's actual future results. Consequently, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Actual future results may vary materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by a number of risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical or anticipated results. Generally, the words "anticipates", "estimates", "believes", "expects" and other similar words identify forward-looking statements. The Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company intends its forward-looking statements to speak only as of the time of such statements, and does not undertake to update or revise them as more information becomes available. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release should be read in conjunction with, and are subject to and qualified by, the risks described in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended February 28, 2009 and in our other filings with the SEC. Investors are urged to refer to the risk factors referred to above for a description of these risks.
SOURCE Helen of Troy Limited
Robert D. Spear, Senior Vice President and CIO of Helen of Troy Limited, +1-915-225-4748