Evenflo Mother and Baby Care
There are few players in the market today, that can boast of continued domination in the US in the sector of mother- and baby- care. Established in 1920, and with the highest recall amongst its target customers; Vandalia, Ohio-based Evenflo is one of those few, revered ones. The company came out with its first fully integrated baby bottle system in 1935, and hugely benefitted from this product by patenting it. Grandmothers recall throwing away their antiquated devices when the Evenflo bottles flooded the market!
Not unlike other key companies, Evenflo does not have the breastpump product range as a sole line of business. Its product range is as follows - "On the Go" products, including car seats, strollers, travel systems and carriers;"Play Time" products, such as stationary activity products, swings, gates and doorway jumpers; and "Bed and Bath" products which include items such as cribs, portable play yards, monitors, mattresses, bath items and toilet trainers. It is the fourth category, viz. "Feeding Time" products, that has reusable and disposable nurser systems, high chairs, oral development items (teethers, pacifiers, etc.), and where breastfeeding aids such as breastpumps come into the picture. These categories sell under well-established brand names - Exersaucer, Gerry, Snugli and Evenflo. In almost all these categories, the company is numero uno - or atleast amongst the top five - in the U.S. market.
As is the norm in business, Evenflo went public during its long history, and at one time joined hands with Lisco, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Spalding Holdings Corporation. The two parted ways in 1998, and control came in the hands of the investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR). Evenflo witnessed marginal decline in its sales in the period between 1998 to 2003, when, finally, KKR initiated talks with Harvest Partners, another private equity investment firm based in New York. In July 2004, Harvest Partners took over the ownership of Evenflo.
Evenflo's products today are well-entrenched in the markets of about 61 countries across the world. The company has strong tie-ups with national-level retailers for all its products, which ensures that its products always get shelf-space in all its markets.
In the breastpumps range, Evenflo markets both manual as well as electrically operated pumping devices. The manual pumps are sold under the brand names of "Comfort Care" and "Comfort Ease", while the automatic machines are branded as "Comfort Select".
Both the manual as well as electric pumps are quite useful for breastfeeding mothers who are unable to nurse their baby - either because they have to be away for a duration that is longer than the nursing time, or because the baby is ill or premature. When mothers do not have to work and stay at home during the post-natal period, time is usually not an urgent issue. The mother can easily breastfeed the child, and can make do with a manual pump only in situations when she has to be away - say for an evening out, perhaps - when the time to return might not be certain. On the other hand, when the mother is a career woman, and has to report to work every day of the week, an electric pump becomes a must; for the time required to express and collect milk is at a premium.
With an innovative and continuous-improvement mindset, Evenflo is remembered by grandmothers of yore as a great company - that cares.