Sent this to TLWN, who should partner with them:
(BSNS WIRE) U.S. Home & Garden Announces Initial Launch of Business-to-B
U.S. Home & Garden Announces Initial Launch of Business-to-Business Online
Auction; Don Rutishauser Appointed as Chief Financial Officer
Business Editors
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 5, 1999--U.S. Home & Garden
Inc. (Nasdaq: USHG) today announced that E*Garden, its lawn and garden
web site www.egarden.com, has initiated a soft launch of its
business-to-business 'Auction Forum' web site. The site expects to
begin generating transaction commissions in January. The `Auction
Forum' site will be open to growers, landscapers, garden centers,
manufacturers, and businesses. E*Garden is expected to soft launch its
`Wholesale Store' web site for non-auction, business-to-business
transactions in January.
E*Garden is the first business-to-business electronic marketplace
specifically for the lawn and garden industry. The E*Garden electronic
marketplace will help meet the existing needs of lawn and garden
manufacturers, distributors and retailers by creating new channels for
product distribution, affording manufacturers new opportunities to
efficiently sell surplus inventory, and providing buyers with greater
access to product offerings. E*Garden intends to capitalize on the
growing business-to-business market for all categories of products and
services sold over the Internet, which Forrester Research, Inc.
estimates will increase from approximately $109 billion in 1999 to
$1.3 trillion by 2003, significantly outpacing the estimated retail
e-commerce market.
Robert Kassel, Chairman and CEO of U.S. Home & Garden, commented,
"We are very excited about our `Clicks and Mortar Initiative'. The
response we have received from our industry has been overwhelming.
E*Garden provides USHG the advantage of globalizing sales at its
Auction and Wholesale web sites. The `Auction Forum' gives USHG access
to broader distribution channels and better inventory management,
while sales through our `Wholesale Store' are expected to generate
higher margins. We are particularly excited about the `Wholesale
Store' opportunity due to the size of the market it will address.
There are approximately 65,000 independent hardware, lawn and garden
retailers, and specialty stores that purchased an estimated $10
billion of products; and building contractors, landscape architects,
municipalities, and others who purchased an additional $9 billion of
lawn and garden products in 1998. This represents approximately 40% of
the total lawn and garden industry, which is estimated by the National
Gardening Association to be in excess of $46.8 billion. We believe
that this combination of auction and wholesale transactions on a
business-to-business basis provides the greatest opportunity for
success in growing e-commerce sales and increasing overall margins for
USHG."
Separately the Company announced that, effective November 8,
1999, it has named Don Rutishauser Chief Financial Officer. Mr.
Rutishauser will be based in Bradley, MI and will report directly to
Mr. Kassel. Mr. Rutishauser will be responsible for the Company's
Finance, Treasury, Tax Audit and Accounting functions. In addition,
Mr. Rutishauser will play a strategic role as part of the senior
management team to help oversee its ongoing cost saving and expense
reduction program, and to better position the Company for future
expansion and earnings growth.
In announcing the appointment, Mr. Kassel said, "Mr. Rutishauser
will be a valuable addition to our management team. His wealth of
multi-industry experience and his broad financial and strategic
background will be a valuable asset to the company."
From 1997 to 1999, Mr. Rutishauser was Vice President - Corporate
Development of Miller Energy, Inc., where he was responsible for
acquisitions, development projects, marketing and public relations.
From 1987 to 1997, Mr. Rutishauser was Vice President and Treasurer of
Belden & Blake Corporation. At Belden & Blake, Mr. Rutishauser was
part of a management team that took the company public in 1992 at a
total capitalization of $20 million. Five years later, the company was
taken private in a leveraged buyout at a total capitalization
exceeding $400 million. Prior to joining Belden & Blake, Mr.
Rutishauser held a variety of financial management positions at W.R.
Grace & Co. and Texas Instruments. Mr. Rutishauser has an MBA in
accounting and finance from the University of Michigan and a BA in
economics from Dartmouth College.
U.S. Home & Garden Inc. is a leading manufacturer and marketer of
a broad range of consumer lawn and garden products including weed
preventative landscape fabrics, weed trimmer replacement heads,
fertilizer spikes, decorative landscape edging, shade cloth and root
feeders which are sold under various recognized brand names including
Weedblock(R) , Jobe's(R), Weed Wizard(TM), Emerald Edge(R), Shade
Fabric(TM) Ross(R), and Tensar(R). The Company markets its products
through most large national home improvement and mass merchant
retailers. The Company's Internet subsidiary, E*Garden
(www.egarden.com), is an electronic marketplace and portal for the
lawn and garden industry.
To learn more about U.S. Home & Garden Inc. business, visit its
website at www.easygardener.com/ushg.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995: Certain statements contained in this press release that
are not historical facts are forward looking statements that involve a
number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors
that could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of
the Company to be materially different from any future results,
performance or achievement expressed or implied by such forward
looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not
limited to, statements involving the ability of the Company to
successfully integrate any future businesses or product lines acquired
into existing operations, the Company's growth strategy, customer
concentration, outstanding indebtedness, dependence on weather
conditions, seasonality, expansion, and other activities of
competitors, changes in federal or state environmental laws and the
administration of such laws, protection of trademarks and other
proprietary rights, the general condition of the economy, uncertainty
relating to the Company's Year 2000 compliance efforts and the
possible failure of key suppliers and customers to be Year 2000
compliant, and other risks detailed in the Company's Securities and
Exchange Commission filings. The words "anticipate" and "intend" and
similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements which speak only as of the date the statement was made.
--30--jl/ny*
CONTACT: U. S. Home & Garden Inc.
Robert L. Kassel, President
415/616-8111
or
Cameron Associates
Kevin McGrath, 212/245-8800 |
