Tom Harrington Intends to Retire
as Primo Water CEO
Will Continue to Serve as CEO Until a
Successor is Appointed
Board Commences Search to Identify
Company's Next CEO
TAMPA,
Fla., May 31, 2023 /CNW/ - Primo Water
Corporation (NYSE: PRMW) (TSX: PRMW) (the "Company" or "Primo
Water"), a leading provider of sustainable drinking water
solutions in North America and
Europe, today announced that
Tom Harrington, Chief Executive
Officer ("CEO") and a member of the Company's Board of Directors
("the Board") since January 2019, has
informed the Board that he intends to retire as the Company's CEO,
with a target effective date of December 31,
2023. To ensure a smooth transition, Mr. Harrington will
continue to serve as CEO and on the Board until the Board has
identified and appointed a successor.
"On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Tom for his significant
contributions and dedicated years of service to Primo Water," said Jerry
Fowden, chairman of the Board. "Since his appointment as CEO
in 2019, Tom has played an instrumental role in transforming
Primo Water into a leading pure-play
water company, leading our response to the COVID-19 pandemic and
meaningfully engaging with our stakeholders, shareowners,
customers, communities and associates. It has been a privilege to
work with Tom and we wish him nothing but the best in his
retirement."
"It has been an honor to lead Primo
Water's talented team through a critical and transformative
period during my tenure as CEO," said Harrington. "Our strategy is
clearly working, we're pleased with our past accomplishments and
we're even more excited about our future. With our strategy in
place and exciting prospects for the future, now is the right time
to begin the transition to Primo
Water's next phase of leadership. Together, we have built a
powerful pure-play water platform that benefits from a large and
growing revenue base. I am confident in our team's ability to build
on our momentum to drive long-term growth and value creation."
The Board has initiated a search to identify the Company's next
CEO and has engaged a leading executive search firm to assist in
the process. In order to facilitate a comprehensive process, the
Board will evaluate both internal and external candidates.
Mr. Fowden continued, "The Board and management team are
committed to ensuring a smooth transition, and we are grateful that
we'll continue to benefit from Tom's experience and perspective
throughout this process. As the Board conducts its search for Tom's
successor, we are focused on identifying a strong leader with a
proven track record of operating successfully at scale while
defining and executing a growth strategy driven by operational
excellence and world-class talent development."
ABOUT PRIMO WATER
CORPORATION
Primo Water is a leading
pure-play water solutions provider in North America and Europe and generated approximately
$2.2 billion in annual revenue in
2022. Primo Water operates largely
under a recurring revenue model in the large format water category
(defined as 3 gallons or greater). This business strategy is
commonly referred to as "razor-razorblade" because the initial sale
of a product creates a base of users who frequently purchase
complementary consumable products. The razor in Primo Water's revenue model is its industry
leading line-up of innovative water dispensers, which are sold
through approximately 10,000 retail locations and online at various
price points. The dispensers help increase household and business
penetration which drives recurring purchases of Primo Water's razorblade offering or water
solutions. Primo Water's razorblade
offering is comprised of Water Direct, Water Exchange, and Water
Refill. Through its Water Direct business, Primo Water delivers sustainable hydration
solutions across its 21-country footprint direct to customers,
whether at home or to businesses. Through its Water Exchange
business, customers visit retail locations and purchase a
pre-filled bottle of water. Once consumed, empty bottles are
exchanged at our recycling center displays, which provide a ticket
that offers a discount toward the purchase of a new bottle. Water
Exchange is available in approximately 17,500 retail locations.
Through its Water Refill business, customers refill empty bottles
at approximately 23,500 self-service refill drinking water
machines. Primo Water also offers
water filtration units across its 21-country footprint.
Primo Water's water solutions
expand consumer access to purified, spring, and mineral water to
promote a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle while
simultaneously reducing plastic waste and pollution. Primo Water is committed to its water
stewardship standards and is proud to partner with the
International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) in North America as well as with Watercoolers
Europe (WE), which ensure strict adherence to safety, quality,
sanitation and regulatory standards for the benefit of consumer
protection.
Primo Water is headquartered in
Tampa, Florida (USA). For more
information, visit www.primowatercorp.com.
Safe Harbor Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 conveying
management's expectations as to the future based on plans,
estimates and projections at the time Primo
Water makes the statements. Forward-looking statements
involve inherent risks and uncertainties and Primo Water cautions you that several important
factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those
contained in any such forward-looking statement. The
forward-looking statements contained in this press release include,
but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company's
succession plan for the chief executive officer position and plans
for a smooth transition to a new chief executive officer, and
related matters. The forward-looking statements are based on
assumptions regarding management's current plans and estimates.
Management believes these assumptions to be reasonable, but there
is no assurance that they will prove to be accurate.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those described in this press release include, among others:
financial condition and results of operations; Primo Water's ability to compete successfully in
the markets in which it operates; fluctuations in commodity prices
and Primo Water's ability to pass on
increased costs to its customers or hedge against such rising
costs, and the impact of those increased prices on its volumes;
Primo Water's ability to maintain
favorable arrangements and relationships with its suppliers;
Primo Water's ability to manage
supply chain disruptions and cost increases related to inflation;
Primo Water's ability to manage its
operations successfully; currency fluctuations that adversely
affect the exchange between currencies including the U.S. dollar,
the British pound sterling, the Euro and the Canadian dollar; the
impact on Primo Water's financial
results from uncertainty in the financial markets and other adverse
changes in general economic conditions, including inflation and
interest rates; any disruption to production at Primo Water's
manufacturing facilities; Primo
Water's ability to maintain access to its water sources; the
impact of climate change on Primo
Water's business; Primo
Water's ability to protect its intellectual property; the
seasonal nature of Primo Water's
business and the effect of adverse weather conditions; the impact
of national, regional and global events, including those of a
political, economic, business and competitive nature; the impact of
COVID-19, related government actions and Primo Water's strategy in response thereto on
our business; Primo Water's ability
to fully realize the potential benefit of transactions or other
strategic opportunities that it pursues; Primo Water's ability to realize cost synergies
of its acquisitions due to integration difficulties and other
challenges; Primo Water's exposure
to intangible asset risk; Primo
Water's ability to meet its obligations under its debt
agreements, and risks of further increases to its indebtedness;
Primo Water's ability to maintain
compliance with the covenants and conditions under its debt
agreements; fluctuations in interest rates, which could increase
Primo Water's borrowing costs;
Primo Water's ability to recruit,
retain and integrate new management; Primo
Water's ability to renew its collective bargaining
agreements from time to time on satisfactory terms; compliance with
product health and safety standards; liability for injury or
illness caused by the consumption of contaminated products;
liability and damage to Primo
Water's reputation as a result of litigation or legal
proceedings; changes in the legal and regulatory environment in
which Primo Water operates;
Primo Water's ability to adequately
address the challenges and risks associated with its international
operations and address difficulties in complying with laws and
regulations including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and
the U.K. Bribery Act of 2010; the impact on Primo Water's tax obligations and effective tax
rate arising from changes in local tax laws or countries adopting
more aggressive interpretations of tax laws; disruptions in
Primo Water's information systems;
Primo Water's ability to securely
maintain its customers' confidential or credit card information, or
other private data relating to Primo
Water's employees or the Company; Primo Water's ability to maintain its quarterly
dividend; or credit rating changes.
The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Readers are
urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures,
including but not limited to risk factors contained in Primo Water's Annual Report on Form 10-K and its
quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, as well as other filings with the
securities commissions. Primo Water
does not undertake to update or revise any of these statements
considering new information or future events, except as expressly
required by applicable law.
Website: www.primowatercorp.com
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SOURCE Primo Water Corporation