EDGEWELL PERSONAL CARE Co (EPC)

Edgewell Personal Care Company is one of the world's largest manufacturers and marketers of personal care products in the Wet Shave, Sun and Skin Care, and Feminine Care categories. It operates in over 20 countries and its products are sold in more than 50. Incorporated in Missouri in 1999, it became an independent public company in 2000 when it was distributed by Ralston Purina. It built its portfolio through acquisitions, including Schick-Wilkinson Sword, Playtex, the Edge and Skintimate brands, American Safety Razor, the Stayfree, Carefree and o.b. brands, Bulldog, Jack Black, Cremo and Billie. In 2015 it spun off its batteries and portable lighting business as Energizer Holdings and took its current name. Its shares trade on the NYSE as EPC.

The company manages three operating segments. Wet Shave sells razor systems, disposables and shave preparation products under Schick, Wilkinson Sword, Edge, Skintimate, Billie and Shave Guard, plus private label and value razors and blades under Personna and retailer names. Sun and Skin Care includes Banana Boat and Hawaiian Tropic sun care, Wet Ones hand wipes, and men's grooming and skin care brands Bulldog, Jack Black and Cremo. Feminine Care offers Playtex and o.b. tampons and Stayfree and Carefree pads and liners. Management believes it holds the number two global wet shave position, a leading U.S. sun care position, and a top-three position in North American feminine care.

Products reach consumers through mass merchandisers, warehouse clubs, food, drug and convenience stores, military stores and e-commerce, including direct-to-consumer sites for Schick, Bulldog, Jack Black and Billie and sales in China through T-Mall. The company uses a direct sales force, with dedicated commercial organizations in the U.S., Japan and larger Western European and Latin American markets, and third-party distributors and wholesalers elsewhere. Walmart accounted for about 19.4% of net sales in fiscal 2023. Wet shave primary markets are the U.S., Canada, Japan, Germany, France and the U.K. Sun care sales are highly seasonal, peaking from late winter through mid-summer, and women's wet shave sales are moderately seasonal.

Principal raw materials include steel, plastic resins, textile fibers and non-woven fabrics, chemicals, soap-based lubricants and packaging, generally available from multiple sources. Competitors include Procter & Gamble, Bic, Dorco, Unilever, Harry's, Bayer, Johnson & Johnson, L'Oréal, Estee Lauder and Kimberly-Clark. The company relies on patents, trademarks and trade secrets, owning about 370 U.S. and 1,187 foreign patents, and is subject to FDA, EPA, TSCA and EU REACH regulation. It had about 6,800 employees as of September 30, 2023, about 2,200 of them in the U.S. Its Sustainable Care 2030 strategy sets environmental targets.