Annual Report 1999 - Fiskarsgroup.com

GARDEN PRODUCTSFiskars is a major force as a supplier of garden productsboth in the United States and Europe. Fiskarsoffers innovative solutions for gardening and is aleader in garden cutting products. The most recent gardenproduct which has received wide acclaim by the trade andend-users is the Universal Cutter. It follows the recentsuccess in the gear pruning tools and loppers.The acquisitions in 1999 of Richard Sankey & Son,American Designer Pottery and Syroco were brought intoFiskars Garden business. Sankey is a market leader in theUK in garden planters, American Designer Pottery a fastgrowingUS manufacturer and marketer of decorativeplanters, and Syroco is the market leader in the UnitedStates in resin outdoor furniture. All these three companiesare expected to provide solid growth potential in the nextyears.Fiskars garden products are distributed in major homecenters, mass merchants and garden centers throughoutEurope and the United States. Garden products are acceptedworldwide and are a major part of Fiskars’ geographicalmarket expansion activities, such as growth in LatinAmerica.Innovation is a key factor of operations. Extensiveresearch and development efforts are made in the Gardencategory in the Consumer Products Group. A good exampleof this is the European Design Award for the gear pruners.Also consumers have accepted the new product very positively.14