Consumer Products CEO Focuses on Importance of Innovation

The need for more innovation is clear to manufacturing CEOs, with business chiefs in a recent KPMG survey identifying innovation as the key differentiating factor to improve year-over-year growth and profitability.

And when you’re in a business like Jarden, CEO Jim Lillie—whose company fields products across dozens of consumer brands in the U.S. and global markets—innovation becomes even more important. Lillie’s brands include Nuk baby pacifiers, Ball jars, First Alert smoke alarms, Bicycle playing cards, Coleman lanterns, Holmes air purifiers, Marmot outdoor wear, Rawlings sporting goods, Sunbeam irons and Mr. Coffee beverage makers.

“The best time to pick up share is during a down economy. We’ll cut back on spending, but not on product innovation and development.”

Lillie told Manufacturing CEO Briefing that he sees Jarden’s business picking up across most of its brands these days and that one reason for the surge is that the company didn’t curtail its spending on product innovation, research and development during the Great Recession.

“The best time to pick up share is during a down economy,” Lillie said. “We’ll cut back on spending, but not on product innovation and development. We believe our competitors do cut back on product development during those times, and we saw that most recently. Now with the economy having evolved, we are seeing our competitors reinvesting.”

And that, he said, makes it even more important for Jarden to stay ahead with launches of new products and features that were nurtured during the downturn.

For example, he said, Jarden is expanding the array of products in its Marmot apparel business, which is “very exciting” for the brand, he said. And the company just released a product called Draftmark, a home beer-kegging system, with Anheuser-Busch.

“The rise of craft brews and the more refined palate that consumers have as it relates to beer has created a desire to have more of that at home,” Lillie explained. He said that the company test-marketed Draftmark in Houston and other cities and “consumer acceptance has been pretty big.”

Target has picked up the product across most of its stores, Lillie said. And the brewer, owned by AB InBev, “is putting a lot of advertising” behind Draftmark, with a big push planned for the fourth quarter and through the Super Bowl in February.

Draftmark may be one case where timely innovation helps Jarden establish a whole new business. Even for a company that’s already in dozens of verticals, Draftmark could well demonstrate the value for manufacturers of emphasizing innovation no matter what the economic backdrop.


MORE LIKE THIS

  • Get the CEO Briefing

    Sign up today to get weekly access to the latest issues affecting CEOs in every industry
  • upcoming events

    Roundtable

    Strategic Planning Workshop

    1:00 - 5:00 pm

    Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process

    Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:

    1. Lack of systematic approach (70%)
    2. Laundry lists without prioritization (68%)
    3. Decisions based on personalities rather than facts and information (65%)

     

    Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns.  They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning.  Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process.  This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented.  If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form.  The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.

    To sign up, select this option in your registration form. Additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.

    New York, NY: ​​​Chief Executive's Corporate Citizenship Awards 2017

    Women in Leadership Seminar and Peer Discussion

    2:00 - 5:00 pm

    Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations. 

    Limited space available.

    To sign up, select this option in your registration form. Additional fee of $495 will be added to your total.

    Golf Outing

    10:30 - 5:00 pm
    General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
    Sponsored by UBS

    General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.

    The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.

    To sign up, select this option in your registration form. Additional fee of $295 will be added to your total.