We are a leading manufacturer and marketer of branded consumer lawn and garden
products. Our products are marketed under some of the most recognized brand
names in the industry. In North America, key brands include Scotts® and
Turf Builder® lawn and grass seed products; Miracle-Gro®, Nature’s
Care®, Scotts®, LiquaFeed® and Osmocote®1 gardening and landscape
products; and Ortho®, Roundup®2, Home Defense® and Tomcat® branded
insect control, weed control and rodent control products. In the United Kingdom,
key brands include Miracle-Gro® plant fertilizers; Roundup®2, Weedol®
and Pathclear® herbicides; EverGreen® lawn fertilizers; and Levington®
gardening and landscape products. Other significant brands in Europe include
Roundup®2, KB® and Fertiligène® in France; Roundup®2,
Celaflor®, Nexa Lotte® and Substral® in Germany and Austria; and
Roundup®2, ASEF®, KB® and Substral® in Belgium, the Netherlands
and Luxembourg. We are the exclusive agent of the Monsanto Company (“Monsanto”)
for the marketing and distribution of consumer Roundup® non-selective herbicide
products within the United States and other contractually specified countries.
We have a presence in similar consumer branded products in Australia, the Far
East and Latin America. In addition, with our recent acquisitions of Gavita
Holdings B.V. (“Gavita”), General Hydroponics, Inc. (“General
Hydroponics”) and Bio-Organic Solutions, Inc. (“Vermicrop”),
and control of AeroGrow International, Inc. (“AeroGrow”), we are
a leading producer of liquid plant food products, growing media, advanced indoor
garden and lighting systems and accessories for hydroponic gardening. Prior
to April 13, 2016, we operated the Scotts LawnService® business (the “SLS
Business”), which provided residential and commercial lawn care, tree
and shrub care and pest control services in the United States. On April 13,
2016, pursuant to the terms of the Contribution and Distribution Agreement (the
“Contribution Agreement”) between the Company and TruGreen Holding
Corporation (“TruGreen Holdings”), we completed the contribution
of the SLS Business to a newly formed subsidiary of TruGreen Holdings (the “TruGreen
Joint Venture”) in exchange for a minority equity interest of approximately
30% in the TruGreen Joint Venture. We now participate in the residential and
commercial lawn care, tree and shrub care and pest control services segment
in the United States and Canada through our interest in the TruGreen Joint Venture.
Scotts Miracle-Gro, an Ohio corporation, traces its heritage back to a company
founded by O.M. Scott in Marysville, Ohio in 1868. In the mid-1900s, we became
widely known for the development of quality lawn fertilizers and grass seeds
that led to the creation of a new industry-consumer lawn care. In the 1990s,
we significantly expanded our product offering with three powerful leading brands
in the U.S. home lawn and garden industry. First, in fiscal 1995, through a
merger with Stern’s Miracle-Gro Products, Inc., which was founded by Horace
Hagedorn and Otto Stern in Long Island, New York in 1951, we acquired the Miracle-Gro®
brand, the industry leader in water-soluble garden plant foods. Second and third,
in 1998, we acquired the Ortho® brand in the United States and obtained
exclusive rights to market the consumer Roundup® brand within the United
States and other contractually specified countries, thereby adding industry-leading
weed, pest and disease control products to our portfolio. Today, we believe
that Scotts®, Turf Builder®, Miracle-Gro®, Ortho® and Roundup®
are the most widely recognized brands in the consumer lawn and garden industry
in the United States.
Our strategy is focused on (i) growing our core branded business, primarily
in North America where we can leverage our competitive advantages in emerging
areas of growth including organics, hydroponics, live goods, water positive
landscapes, and internet-enabled technology, (ii) maximizing the value of non-core-assets
including the divestiture of Scotts LawnService® and exploring alternatives
in Europe, and (iii) cash flow including near-term investments that will drive
long-term growth, a natural mid-term shift to integration of acquired businesses,
and a long-term plan to return increasing amounts of cash to shareholders.
0.88% 