Bruno Bich, Chairman of the Board (left), and Mario Guevara, CEO (right).



How did the BIC Group perform in the 2007 business environment?

Mario Guevara: Despite a challenging second half, our teams achieved sales growth of 4.7 percent at constant currencies for the year, with strong consumer takeaway in all three categories. As planned, normalized income from operations grew slower than sales as a result of increased brand support linked to the launch of our first shaver with cartridge refills, the BIC® Soleil® System/Clic shaver.
In stationery, net sales growth and market share gains in Europe were offset by net sales declines in North America. This soft performance was due to customer inventory reductions, even though consumer point of sale purchases were positive for the year.
The acquisition of PIMACO in Brazil allowed BIC to strengthen its presence in the office supply segment and to extend its distribution network. The BIC Graphic promotional products business remained slow. For lighters, BIC experienced growth in almost every region, with good performance in North and Latin America and slight growth in Europe. In shavers, the strong performance of our triple-blade one-piece product more than offset the decline of our classic single-blade products.

Bruno Bich: We are facing a very difficult time in the world economy, especially in the US, where we do a large part of our business. Nonetheless, the fundamentals, which for over 50 years have underpinned the BIC business model, remain true: this includes our classic products and our continuous efforts to improve their quality. We also continue to focus on value-added innovations that enable us to respond to hanging consumer expectations.
Moreover, we are strengthening our world presence, regularly reducing our costs, and pursuing a targeted “bolt-on” acquisition strategy. An example was the 2007 acquisition of Atchison Products, Inc., a supplier of promotional bags, in the USA.


How did the transition to child-resistant lighters in Europe proceed?

Mario Guevara: Since March 11, 2008, pocket lighters sold to consumers have to be child resistant and novelty lighters are forbidden. BIC has never sold novelty lighters.
For the BIC Group, the transition to child resistant lighters progressed throughout the year without any major disruptions to our business. However, we continue to be proactive with a marketing and advertising program aimed at informing and educating retailers, distributors and consumers about lighter safety and the new regulations.

Bruno Bich: When BIC launched its first lighter, over 30 years ago, we intentionally made the pusher red so that consumers would be reminded that the lighter produced a flame and they should be cautious. The quality and safety of BIC® lighters has always been our first priority, right from the very start and today, all BIC® lighters conform with, or exceed, the requirements of the now mandatory international safety standard ISO 9994. In each of our four lighter factories, employees spend more than 25 percent of their time checking quality.
Furthermore, BIC has always supported initiatives throughout the world that aim to strengthen the application of legislation for lighter safety. Child-resistant regulations currently exist in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. BIC has been manufacturing child-resistant lighters for 15 years for these countries. We support the new European regulations and we are working with the European Commission to ensure that these regulations are respected by all of the stakeholders in the marketplace, in order to ensure safety for consumers and a better spirit of fair trade in the business.


BIC has recently started to offer refillable shavers. Is this a long-term strategy?

Mario Guevara: Triple-blade shavers were again the main growth drivers in Europe and North America. At the end of December 2007, sales of one-piece triple-blade shavers accounted for 41 percent of total sales for BIC® shavers.
In March 2007, leveraging the success of the BIC® Soleil® brand, we launched our first shaver with cartridge refills, the BIC® Soleil® System/Clic for women in the US and UK. This new product was well received by the trade, and sales of shaver handles were in line with our early forecasts. However, competition in the second half of 2007 was intense.

Bruno Bich: We have manufactured shavers for more than 30 years and our current portfolio includes a range of one-piece triple-blade shavers. We have a strong market share within the male segment thanks to the BIC Comfort 3® range, and an even stronger market share within the female segment with our BIC® Soleil® brand and we continue to strengthen these segments. Shavers with refills account for the majority of the wet-shave market and have their own market dynamics.
Despite slower than expected sales of the BIC® Soleil® System/Clic shaver, we continue to develop our business within this particular segment.


What are the major accomplishments of your sustainable development program?

Mario Guevara: More than three years ago, we launched our sustainable development program and in 2007 we made significant progress, notably in the measurement of the environmental impact of our products. We also strengthened the Carbone footprint method for assessing greenhouse gas emissions for our sites and our transport activities. Furthermore, we are proud to announce our participation in the Carbon Disclosure Project, as well as the acceptance of BIC into the French index, CDP Leadership. Also in 2007, there were relevant product initiatives, including the launch by BIC Graphic USA of its BIC® Ecolutions™ line of writing instruments and sticky notes made from recycled materials.

Bruno Bich: Our products are designed to serve a very precise function – draw a colored line on paper, produce a flame, or shave hair. In keeping with this concept, our classic products are functional, reliable, excellent value for money and use the least amount of materials possible. As a result, they meet the growing and legitimate concerns of users who wish to protect the environment. However, in the more developed countries, a growing number of consumers increasingly request more sophisticated, value-added products which require more raw materials; as with our classic products, we systematically maximize the environmental performance of these new products as well. In this way, BIC offers consumers a choice.
From the start, we have always placed our BIC Values (ethics, responsibility, teamwork, simplicity and ingenuity) at the center of day-to-day interactions with our employees (whose training and development is our constant goal), shareholders, customers and consumers. We thank them once again for their trust.