Primo Water Corporation (NYSE: PRMW) (TSX: PRMW), a leading provider of sustainable drinking water solutions in North America and Europe, today announced that Tom Harrington, Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Company’s Board of Directors since January 2019, has informed the Board that he intends to retire as the Company’s CEO, with a target effective date of December 31, 2023. To ensure a smooth transition, Mr. Harrington will continue to serve as CEO and on the Board until the Board has identified and appointed a successor.
“On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Tom for his significant contributions and dedicated years of service to Primo Water,” said Jerry Fowden, chairman of the Board. “Since his appointment as CEO in 2019, Tom has played an instrumental role in transforming Primo Water into a leading pure-play water company, leading our response to the COVID-19 pandemic and meaningfully engaging with our stakeholders, shareowners, customers, communities and associates. It has been a privilege to work with Tom and we wish him nothing but the best in his retirement.”
“It has been an honor to lead Primo Water’s talented team through a critical and transformative period during my tenure as CEO,” said Harrington. “Our strategy is clearly working, we’re pleased with our past accomplishments and we’re even more excited about our future. With our strategy in place and exciting prospects for the future, now is the right time to begin the transition to Primo Water’s next phase of leadership. Together, we have built a powerful pure-play water platform that benefits from a large and growing revenue base. I am confident in our team’s ability to build on our momentum to drive long-term growth and value creation.”
The Board has initiated a search to identify the Company’s next CEO and has engaged a leading executive search firm to assist in the process. In order to facilitate a comprehensive process, the Board will evaluate both internal and external candidates.
Mr. Fowden continued, “The Board and management team are committed to ensuring a smooth transition, and we are grateful that we’ll continue to benefit from Tom’s experience and perspective throughout this process. As the Board conducts its search for Tom’s successor, we are focused on identifying a strong leader with a proven track record of operating successfully at scale while defining and executing a growth strategy driven by operational excellence and world-class talent development.”
Primo Water is a leading pure-play water solutions provider in North America and Europe and generated approximately $2.2 billion in annual revenue in 2022. Primo Water operates largely under a recurring revenue model in the large format water category (defined as 3 gallons or greater). This business strategy is commonly referred to as “razor-razorblade” because the initial sale of a product creates a base of users who frequently purchase complementary consumable products. The razor in Primo Water’s revenue model is its industry leading line-up of innovative water dispensers, which are sold through approximately 10,000 retail locations and online at various price points. The dispensers help increase household and business penetration which drives recurring purchases of Primo Water’s razorblade offering or water solutions. Primo Water’s razorblade offering is comprised of Water Direct, Water Exchange, and Water Refill. Through its Water Direct business, Primo Water delivers sustainable hydration solutions across its 21-country footprint direct to customers, whether at home or to businesses. Through its Water Exchange business, customers visit retail locations and purchase a pre-filled bottle of water. Once consumed, empty bottles are exchanged at our recycling center displays, which provide a ticket that offers a discount toward the purchase of a new bottle. Water Exchange is available in approximately 17,500 retail locations. Through its Water Refill business, customers refill empty bottles at approximately 23,500 self-service refill drinking water machines. Primo Water also offers water filtration units across its 21-country footprint.
Primo Water’s water solutions expand consumer access to purified, spring, and mineral water to promote a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle while simultaneously reducing plastic waste and pollution. Primo Water is committed to its water stewardship standards and is proud to partner with the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) in North America as well as with Watercoolers Europe (WE), which ensure strict adherence to safety, quality, sanitation and regulatory standards for the benefit of consumer protection.
Primo Water is headquartered in Tampa, Florida (USA). For more information, visit www.primowatercorp.com.
