As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 23, 2010

Registration No. 333-165452

 

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

 

 

Amendment No. 1

to

Form S-1

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

 

 

PRIMO WATER CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

104 Cambridge Plaza Drive

Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27104

(336) 331-4000

 

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number,

including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

 

 

 

 

Mark Castaneda

Chief Financial Officer

Primo Water Corporation

104 Cambridge Plaza Drive

Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27104

(336) 331-4000

 

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number,

including area code, of agent for service)

 

 

 

 

Please send copies of all communications to:

 

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public:  As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.

 

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box.  o

 

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  o

 

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  o

 

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  o

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

 

(Do not check if a smaller reporting company)

 

 

 

 

The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to Section 8(a), may determine.

 

 

SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED APRIL 23, 2010

 

IPO PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS

 

 

          Shares
Common Stock
$      per share

 

 

Primo Water Corporation is selling           shares of common stock. We have granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional           shares from us to cover over-allotments, if any.

 

This is an initial public offering of our common stock. We currently expect the initial public offering price to be between $      and $      per share. We have applied for approval to list our common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “          ”.

 

 

INVESTING IN OUR COMMON STOCK INVOLVES RISKS. SEE “RISK FACTORS” BEGINNING ON PAGE 11.

 

 

 

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

 

Thomas Weisel Partners LLC

 

BB&T Capital Markets

 

Signal Hill

 

 

The date of this prospectus is          , 2010.

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus. We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized anyone to provide you with information that is different from that contained in this prospectus. This prospectus is not an offer to sell, nor is it seeking an offer to buy, these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted. The information in this prospectus speaks only as of the date of this prospectus unless the information specifically indicates that another date applies, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or of any sale of our common stock.

 

Primo^®, Taste Perfection^®, Zero Waste. Perfect Taste^tm, www.primowater.com, the Primo logo and other trademarks or service marks of Primo Water Corporation appearing in this prospectus are the property of Primo Water Corporation. Trade names, trademarks and service marks of other companies appearing in this prospectus are the property of the respective owners.

 

Industry and Market Data

 

We obtained the industry and market data used throughout this prospectus through our research, surveys and studies conducted by third-parties and industry and general publications. While we believe the data is reliable, we have not independently verified this industry and market data from third-party sources. Some data are also based on our good faith estimates, which are derived from our review of internal surveys, as well as independent industry publications, government publications, reports by market research firms or other published sources. None of the independent industry publications referred to in this prospectus were prepared on our behalf or at our expense. The foregoing discussion does not, in any manner, disclaim our responsibilities with respect to the disclosures contained in this prospectus.

 

Dealer Prospectus Delivery Obligation

 

Until          , 2010 (25 days after the date of this prospectus), all dealers that effect transactions in these securities, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the dealers’ obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters and with respect to their unsold allotments or subscriptions.

 

PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

	•	Environmental Awareness. Our water bottle exchange service incorporates reuse of existing bottles, recycles water bottles when their lifecycle is complete and reduces landfill waste and fossil fuel usage compared to alternative methods of bottled water consumption.

	•	Value. We provide consumers the opportunity for cost savings when consuming our bottled water compared to both single-serve bottled water and typical home and office delivery services. Our water dispensers are sold at attractive retail prices in order to enhance consumer awareness and adoption of our water bottle exchange service, increase household penetration and drive sales of our bottled water.

	•	Convenience. Our water bottle exchange service and water dispensers are available at major retail locations nationwide. In addition, our water bottle exchange service provides consumers the convenience of exchanging empty bottles and purchasing full bottles at any participating retailer. We offer three- and five-gallon water bottle options to address different consumer volume preferences.

	•	Taste. We have dedicated significant time and effort to develop our water purification process and formulate the proprietary blend of mineral ingredients included in Primo purified water. We believe that Primo purified water has a silky smooth taste and in an independent taste test that we commissioned, four out of five participants preferred Primo purified water over municipal tap water and three out of four participants preferred Primo purified water over their region’s market-leading bottled water.
	•	Health and Wellness. As part of a desire to live a healthier lifestyle, we believe that consumers are increasingly focused on drinking more water relative to consumption of other beverages. As we raise our brand awareness, we believe consumers will recognize that our water bottle exchange service is an effective option for their purified water consumption needs.

	•	We have incurred operating losses in the past and may incur operating losses in the future.
	•	We depend on a small number of large retailers for most of our consumer sales. Our arrangements with these retailers for our bottled water exchange services and sales of our water dispensers are nonexclusive and may be terminated at will.
	•	The success of our business depends on retailer and consumer acceptance of our water bottle exchange service and water dispensers.
	•	In our bottled water business, we depend on independent bottlers, distributors and suppliers for our business to operate.
	•	In our bottled water business, if our distributors do not perform to our retailers’ expectations, if we encounter difficulties in managing our distributor operations or if we or our distributors are not able to manage growth effectively, our retail relationships may be adversely impacted and our business may suffer.
	•	We operate in a highly competitive industry, face competition from companies with far greater resources than we have and could encounter significant competition from these companies in our niche market of water bottle exchange services and related products.
	•	If our bottled water became contaminated, our business could be seriously harmed.
	•	While many members of our senior management have experience as executives of a products and exchange services business, there can be no assurances that this experience and past success will result in our business becoming profitable.

	•	Interruption or disruption of our supply chain, distribution channels or national network could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

	•	In our water dispenser business, because all of our dispensers are manufactured by two manufacturers in China, a significant disruption in the operations of these manufacturers or political unrest in China could materially adversely affect us.

	•	If we lose key personnel, in particular our Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Billy D. Prim, or are unable to recruit qualified personnel, our ability to implement our business strategies could be delayed or hindered.

	•	We depend on key management information systems.

 

THE OFFERING

Issuer		Primo Water Corporation
Common stock offered by us		shares (           shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full)
Common stock to be outstanding after this offering		shares (          shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full)

Use of proceeds		We estimate that the net proceeds to us from this offering will be approximately $      million (or approximately $      million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), assuming an initial public offering price of $      per share, the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus. We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering to redeem a portion of our outstanding Series B preferred stock, to repay our 14% subordinated convertible notes due March 31, 2011 and for working capital and general corporate purposes. See “Use of Proceeds.”

Dividend policy		We currently do not intend to pay any cash dividends on our common stock.
Risk factors		You should carefully read and consider the information set forth under “Risk Factors,” together with all of the other information set forth in this prospectus, before deciding to invest in shares of our common stock.

Proposed Nasdaq Global Market symbol		We have applied to list our common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “          ”.

	•	reflects a     -for-      reverse stock split of our common stock that will occur immediately prior to the closing of this offering;
	•	reflects the conversion of our Series A convertible preferred stock and our Series C convertible preferred stock into common stock immediately prior to the closing of this offering;

	•	reflects the conversion of 50% of our Series B preferred stock into common stock immediately prior to the closing of this offering at a ratio of  :  , which is calculated by dividing the liquidation preference of the Series B preferred stock by 90% of an assumed initial public offering price of $     per share, which is the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus;

	•	reflects the redemption of the remaining 50% of our Series B preferred stock immediately following this offering;

	•	excludes           shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants to purchase common stock issued in connection with our Series B preferred stock and Series C convertible preferred stock that will expire           days after the closing of this offering;
	•	excludes          shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants to purchase common stock issued to a third party that will expire      days after the closing of this offering;
	•	excludes           shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants to purchase common stock issued in connection with our 14% subordinated convertible notes due March 31, 2011 that will expire December 30, 2019;
	•	excludes an aggregate of           shares of common stock issuable under our 2004 Stock Plan;
	•	excludes an aggregate of           shares of common stock issuable under our 2010 Omnibus Long-Term Incentive Plan, which we have adopted in connection with this offering;
	•	excludes an aggregate of           shares of common stock issuable under our 2010 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, which we have adopted in connection with this offering; and
	•	assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option to purchase up to      additional shares of our common stock.

		Year Ended December 31,
		2007				2008				2009
		(in thousands, except per share data)
Consolidated statements of operations data:
Net sales		$	13,453			$	34,647			$	46,981
Operating costs and expenses:
Cost of sales			11,969				30,776				38,771
Selling, general and administrative expenses			10,353				13,791				9,922
Depreciation and amortization			3,366				3,618				4,205
Total operating costs and expenses			25,688				48,185				52,898
Loss from operations			(12,235	)			(13,538	)			(5,917	)
Interest (expense) and other income, net			65				(70	)			(2,257	)
Loss from continuing operations before income taxes			(12,170	)			(13,608	)			(8,174	)
Provision for income taxes			—				—				—
Loss from continuing operations			(12,170	)			(13,608	)			(8,174	)
Loss from discontinued operations, net of income taxes			(1,904	)			(5,738	)			(3,650	)
Net loss			(14,074	)			(19,346	)			(11,824	)
Preferred dividends and beneficial conversion charge(1)			(2,147	)			(19,875	)			(3,042	)
Net loss attributable to common stockholders		$	(16,221	)		$	(39,221	)		$	(14,866	)
Basic and diluted loss per common share:
Loss from continuing operations attributable to common stockholders		$				$				$
Loss from discontinued operations attributable to common stockholders
Net loss attributable to common stockholders		$				$				$
Basic and diluted weighted average common shares outstanding:

(1)		In 2008, we recorded a non-cash beneficial conversion charge or deemed dividend of $17.6 million on our Series C preferred stock. This was a result of the adjustment of the conversion ratio on the Series C preferred stock based upon a formula taking into account our net sales for the year ending December 31, 2008, which resulted in a final conversion ratio of 1:1.92.

As of December 31, 2009

Pro Forma

Actual

Pro Forma

As Adjusted

(in thousands)

(Unaudited)

Consolidated balance sheet data:

Cash

$

—

Total assets

22,368

Long-term debt, less current maturities

14,403

		Year Ended December 31,
		2007				2008				2009
		(in thousands, except location data)
		(Unaudited)
Other information:
Water bottle exchange locations at year end			4,700				6,400				7,000
Water bottle units sold			1,994				3,215				3,853
Water dispenser units sold			12				177				272

 

An investment in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should read and consider carefully each of the risks and uncertainties described below together with the financial and other information contained in this prospectus before you decide to invest in our common stock. Our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and prospects may be materially and adversely affected by any of these risks. As a result, the market price of our common stock could decline and you could lose all or part of your investment.

 

Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry

 

We have incurred operating losses in the past and may incur operating losses in the future.

 

We have incurred operating losses in the past and expect to incur operating losses in the future. As of December 31, 2009, our accumulated deficit was approximately $91.0 million. Our losses from continuing operations were $12.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2007, $13.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2008, and $8.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2009. We have not been profitable since our inception, and we may not become profitable in the future. Our losses may continue as we incur additional costs and expenses related to branding and marketing, expansion of operations, product development and development of relationships with strategic business partners. If our operating expenses exceed our expectations, our financial performance will be adversely affected. If our sales do not grow to offset these increased expenses, we may not become profitable. If we do not achieve sustained profitability, we may be unable to continue operations.

 

In both our bottled water and water dispenser businesses, we depend on a small number of large retailers for most of our consumer sales. Our arrangements with these retailers for our bottled water exchange services and sales of our water dispensers are nonexclusive and may be terminated at will.

 

Certain retailers make up a significant percentage of our retail sales volume, such that if one or more of these retailers were to materially reduce or terminate its business with us, our sales would suffer. For 2009, Lowe’s Home Improvement, Sam’s Club and Walmart represented approximately 33%, 19% and 15% of our consolidated net sales, respectively. While we sell a small percentage of our dispensers directly to consumers through our online store, the vast majority of our sales for both of our water bottle exchange service and of our water dispensers are made through our retail partners.

 

While we have arrangements with certain retailers for our products and services, we cannot provide any assurance of any future sales. None of our significant retail accounts are contractually bound to offer our water dispensers or bottle exchange service. As a result, retailers can discontinue our products or services at any time and offer a competitor’s products or services, or none at all. Continued positive relations with a retailer depend upon various factors, including price, customer service, consumer demand and competition. In addition, certain of our retailers have multiple vendor policies and may seek to offer a competitor’s products or services at new or existing locations. If any significant retailer materially reduces, terminates or is unwilling to expand its relationship with us, or requires price reductions or other adverse modifications in our selling terms, our sales would suffer.

 

The success of our business depends on retailer and consumer acceptance of our water bottle exchange service and water dispensers.

 

We are a consumer products and services company operating in the highly-competitive bottled water market and rely on continued consumer demand or preference for our products and services. To generate sales and profits, we must sell products that appeal to retailers and to consumers. Our future success depends on consumer acceptance, particularly at the household level, of our bottled water products, water bottle exchange service and water dispensers. There is no guarantee that there will be significant market acceptance of our water bottle exchange service or that we will be successful in selling our water dispensers on a scale necessary to achieve sustained profitability.

The market for bottled water related products and services is evolving rapidly and we may not be able to accurately assess the size of the market or trends that may emerge and affect our business. Consumer preferences can change due to a variety of factors, including social trends, negative publicity and economic changes. If we are unable to convince current and potential retail customers and individual consumers of the advantages of our products and services, our ability to sell our bottled water products and water dispensers will be limited. Consumer acceptance also will affect, and be affected by, our existing retail partners’ and potential new retail partners’ decision to sell our products and services and their perception of the likelihood of consumers purchasing our products and services. Even if retail customers purchase our products or services, there is no guarantee that they will be successful in selling our products or services to consumers on a scale necessary for us to achieve sustained profitability. Any significant changes in consumer preferences for purified bottled water could result in reduced demand for our water bottle exchange service and our water dispensers and erosion of our competitive and financial position.

 

In our bottled water business, we depend on independent bottlers, distributors and suppliers for our business to operate.

 

We are and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, substantially dependent on independent bottlers, distributors and suppliers to bottle and deliver our bottled water products and provide our water bottle exchange service to our retail customers. We do not have our own manufacturing facilities to produce bottled water products. We are and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, entirely dependent on third parties to supply the bottle pre-forms, bottles, water and other materials necessary to operate our bottled water business. We rely on third-party supply companies to manufacture our three- and five-gallon water bottles and deliver them to our bottlers. In turn, we rely on bottlers to properly purify the water, include our mineral enhancements and bottle the finished product without contamination and pursuant to our quality standards and preparation procedures. Finally, we rely upon our distributors to deliver bottled water to our retail partners in a timely manner, accurately enter information regarding the delivery of the bottles into our management information system, manage our recycling center displays and return used bottles to the bottlers to be sanitized or crushed and recycled.

 

We can make no assurance that we will be able to maintain these third-party relationships or establish additional relationships as necessary to support growth and profitability of our business on economically viable terms. As independent companies, these bottlers, distributors and suppliers make their own business decisions. Suppliers may choose not to do business with us for a variety of reasons, including competition, brand identity, product standards and concerns regarding our economic viability. They may have the right to determine whether, and to what extent, they produce and distribute our products, our competitors’ products and their own products. Some of the business for these bottlers, distributors and suppliers comes from producing or selling our competitors’ products. These bottlers, distributors and suppliers may devote more resources to other products or take other actions detrimental to our brands. In addition, their financial condition could also be adversely affected by conditions beyond our control and our business could suffer. In addition, we will face risks associated with any bottler’s or distributor’s failure to adhere to quality control and service guidelines we establish or failure to ensure an adequate and timely supply of product and services at retail locations. Any of these factors could negatively affect our business and financial performance. If we are unable to obtain and maintain a source of supply for bottles, water and other materials, our business will be materially and adversely affected.

 

In our bottled water business, if our distributors do not perform to our retailers’ expectations, if we encounter difficulties in managing our distributor operations or if we or our distributors are not able to manage growth effectively, our retail relationships may be adversely impacted and business may suffer.

 

We rely on our distributors to deliver our three- and five-gallon bottled water and provide our water bottle exchange service to retailers. Accordingly, our success depends on our ability to manage our retail relationships through the performance of our distributor partners. The majority of our current distributors are independent and we exercise only limited influence over the resources they devote to delivery and exchange of our three- and five-gallon water bottles. Our success depends on our ability to establish and maintain distributor relationships and on the distributors’ ability to operate viable businesses. We can provide no assurance that we will be able to maintain such relationships or establish additional relationships as necessary to support growth and profitability of our

business on economically viable terms. Our retailers impose demanding service requirements on us and we could suffer a loss of consumer or retailer goodwill if our distributors do not adhere to our quality control and service guidelines or fail to ensure an adequate and timely supply of bottled water at retail locations. The poor performance of a single distributor to a national retailer could jeopardize our entire relationship with that retailer and cause our bottled water sales and exchange service to suffer. In addition, the number of retail locations offering our water bottle exchange service and our corresponding sales, have grown significantly over the past several years along with our national distributor network. Accordingly, our distributors must be able to adequately service an increasing number of retail accounts. If we or our distributors fail to manage our growth effectively, our bottled water sales and exchange service may suffer.

 

We operate in a highly competitive industry, face competition from companies with far greater resources than we have and could encounter significant competition from these companies in our niche market of water bottle exchange services and related products.

 

We participate in the highly competitive bottled water segment of the nonalcoholic beverage industry. While the industry is dominated by large and well-known international companies, numerous smaller firms are also seeking to establish market niches. In our business model, we not only offer three- and five-gallon bottled water but also provide consumers the ability to exchange their used containers as part of our exchange service. While we are aware of a few direct competitors that operate water bottle exchange networks at retail, we believe they operate on a much smaller scale than we do and we believe they do not have equivalent MIS tools or bottling and distribution capabilities to effectively support major retailers nationwide. Competitive factors with respect to our business include pricing, taste, advertising, sales promotion programs, product innovation, increased efficiency in production and distribution techniques, the introduction of new packaging and brand and trademark development and protection.

 

Our primary competitors in our bottled water business include Nestlé, The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, Dr Pepper Snapple Group and DS Waters of America. None of these companies currently offer a nationwide water bottle exchange service at retail. However, many of these competitors are leading consumer products companies, have substantially greater financial and other resources than we do, have established a strong brand presence with consumers and have established relationships with retailers, manufacturers, bottlers and distributors necessary to start an exchange business at retail locations nationwide should they decide to do so. In addition to competition between companies within the bottled water industry, the industry itself faces significant competition from other non-alcoholic beverages, including carbonated and non-carbonated soft drinks and waters, juices, sport and energy drinks, coffees, teas and spring and tap water.

 

We also compete directly and indirectly in the water dispenser marketplace. While we have had recent success in our sales of water dispensers to retailers, there are many large consumer products companies with substantially greater financial and other resources than we do, a larger brand presence with consumers and established relationships with retailers that could decide to enter the marketplace. Should any of these consumer products companies so decide to enter the water dispenser marketplace, sales of our water dispensers could be materially and adversely impacted, which, in turn, could materially and adversely affect our sales of bottled water. Finally, our water bottle exchange service faces competition from other methods of purified water consumption such as countertop filtration systems, faucet mounted filtration systems, in-line whole-house filtration systems, water filtration dispensing products such as pitchers and jugs, standard and advanced feature water coolers and refrigerator-dispensed filtered and unfiltered water.

 

If we are unable to build and maintain our brand image and corporate reputation, our business may suffer.

 

We are a relatively new company, having been formed in late 2004 and commenced operations in June 2005. Our success depends on our ability to build and maintain the brand image for our existing bottled water products and services and effectively build the brand image for any new products. We cannot assure you, however, that any additional expenditures on advertising and marketing will have the desired impact on our products’ brand image and on consumer preferences. Actual or perceived product quality issues or allegations of product contamination,

even if false or unfounded, could tarnish the image of our brand and may cause consumers to choose other products. Allegations of product defects or product contamination, even if untrue, may require us from time to time to recall a product from all of the markets in which the affected product was distributed. Product recalls would negatively affect our profitability and brand image. Also, adverse publicity surrounding water usage and any campaigns by activists attempting to connect our system to environmental issues, water shortages or workplace or human rights violations in certain developing countries in which we or our business partners operate, could negatively affect our overall reputation and our products’ acceptance by consumers.

 

Interruption or disruption of our supply chain, distribution channels or national network could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

Our ability and that of our business partners, including suppliers, bottlers, distributors and retailers, to manufacture, sell and deliver products and services is critical to our success. Interruption or disruption of our supply chain, distribution channels or service network due to unforeseen events, including war, terrorism and other international conflicts, public health issues, natural disasters such as earthquakes, fires, hurricanes or other adverse weather and climate conditions, strikes and other labor disputes, whether occurring in the United States or abroad, could impair our ability to manufacture, sell or deliver our products and services.

 

If our bottled water became contaminated, our business could be seriously harmed.

 

We have adopted various quality, environmental, health and safety standards. However, our products may still not meet these standards or could otherwise become contaminated. A failure to meet these standards or contamination could occur in our operations or those of our bottlers, distributors or suppliers. Such a failure or contamination could result in expensive production interruptions, recalls and liability claims. Moreover, negative publicity could be generated even from false, unfounded or nominal liability claims or limited recalls. Any of these failures or occurrences could negatively affect our business and financial performance.

 

In our water dispenser business, because all of our dispensers are manufactured by two manufacturers in China, a significant disruption in the operations of these manufacturers or political unrest in China could materially adversely affect us.

 

We have only two manufacturers of water dispensers. Any disruption in production or inability of our manufacturers to produce quantities of water dispensers adequate to meet our needs could significantly impair our ability to operate our water dispenser business on a day-to-day basis. Our manufacturers are located in China, which exposes us to the possibility of product supply disruption and increased costs in the event of changes in the policies of the Chinese government, political unrest or unstable economic conditions in China or developments in the U.S. that are adverse to trade, including enactment of protectionist legislation. In addition, our dispensers are shipped directly from the manufacturer to our retail partners. Although we routinely inspect and monitor our manufacturing partners’ activities and products, we rely heavily upon their quality controls when producing and delivering the dispensers to our retail partners. Any of these matters could materially adversely affect our water dispenser business and, as a result, our profitability.

 

If we lose key personnel or are unable to recruit qualified personnel, our ability to implement our business strategies could be delayed or hindered. In addition, we may not be able to attract and retain the highly skilled employees we need to support our planned growth.

 

We are highly dependent upon the services of our senior management because of their experience, industry relationships and knowledge of the business. We are particularly dependent on the services of Billy D. Prim, our Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. We do not have a formal succession plan in place for Mr. Prim. While our employment agreements with members of our senior management include customary confidentiality, non-competition and non-solicitation covenants, there can be no assurance that such provisions will be enforceable or adequately protect us. The loss of one or more of our key employees could seriously harm our business and we may not be able to attract and retain individuals with the same or similar level of experience or expertise. We face

competition for qualified employees from numerous sources and there can be no assurance that we will be able to attract and retain qualified personnel on acceptable terms. Our ability to recruit and retain such personnel will depend upon a number of factors, such as our results of operations, prospects and the level of competition then prevailing in the market for qualified personnel. Failure to recruit and retain such personnel could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

While many members of our senior management have experience as executives of a products and exchange services business, there can be no assurances that this experience and past success will result in our business becoming profitable.

 

Many members of our senior management have had experience as senior managers of a company engaged in the supply, distribution and exchange of propane gas cylinders. While the business model for that company and the model for our business are similar, the propane gas industry and the bottled water industry are very different. For example, there are no assurances that consumer demand will exist for our bottled water products, water bottle exchange service or water dispensers sufficient to enable us to be profitable. While we believe our business model will be successful, any similarity between our business model and that of our senior management’s predecessor employer should not be viewed as an indication that we will be profitable.

 

The consolidation of retail customers may adversely impact our operating margins and profitability.

 

Our customers, such as mass merchants, supermarkets, warehouse clubs, food distributors and drug and pharmacy stores, have consolidated in recent years and consolidation may continue. As a result of these consolidations, our large retail customers may seek lower pricing or increased promotions from us. If we fail to respond to these trends in our industry, our volume growth could slow or we may need to lower prices or increase trade promotions and consumer marketing for our products and services, both of which would adversely affect our financial results. These retailers may use floor or shelf space currently used for our products and services for their own private label products and services. In addition, retailers are increasingly carrying fewer brands in any one category and our results of operations will suffer if we are not selected by our significant customers to remain a vendor. In the event of consolidation involving our current retailers, we may lose key business if the surviving entities do not continue to purchase products or services from us.

 

Adverse weather conditions could negatively impact our business.

 

Unseasonable or unusual weather may negatively impact demand for our products. The sales of our bottled water products and water dispensers are influenced to some extent by weather conditions in the markets in which we operate. Unusually cool or rainy weather may reduce temporarily the demand for our products and contribute to lower sales, which would have an adverse effect on our results of operations for such periods.

 

We depend on key management information systems.

 

We depend on our management information systems (MIS) to process orders, manage inventory and accounts receivable, maintain distributor and customer information, maintain cost-efficient operations and assist distributors in delivering products and services on a timely basis. Any disruption in the operation of our MIS tools, the loss of employees knowledgeable about such systems, the termination of our relationships with third-party MIS partners or our failure to continue to effectively modify such systems as business expands could require us to expend significant additional resources or to invest additional capital to continue to manage our business effectively, and could even affect our compliance with public reporting requirements. Additionally, our MIS tools are vulnerable to interruptions or other failures resulting from, among other things, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, software, equipment or telecommunications failures, processing errors, computer viruses, hackers, other security issues or supplier defaults. Security, backup and disaster recovery measures may not be adequate or implemented properly to avoid such disruptions or failures. Any disruption or failure of these systems or services could cause substantial errors, processing inefficiencies, security breaches, inability to use the systems or process transactions, loss of

customers or other business disruptions, all of which could negatively affect our business and financial performance.

 

Water scarcity and poor quality could negatively impact our long-term profitability.

 

Water is a limited resource facing unprecedented challenges from overexploitation, population growth, increasing pollution, poor management and climate change. As demand for water continues to increase and as water becomes scarcer and the quality of available water deteriorates, our business may incur increasing costs or face capacity constraints which could adversely affect our profitability or net sales in the long run.

 

We may pursue acquisitions and investments in new product lines, businesses or technologies that involve numerous risks, which could disrupt our business or adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

 

In the future, we may acquire or invest in new product lines, businesses or technologies to expand our current bottled water products and services. Acquisitions present a number of potential risks and challenges that could disrupt our business operations, increase our operating costs or capital expenditure requirements and reduce the value of the acquired product line, business or technology. For example, if we identify an acquisition candidate, we may not be able to successfully negotiate or finance the acquisition on favorable terms or at all. The process of negotiating acquisitions and integrating acquired products, services, technologies, personnel or businesses might result in significant transaction costs, operating difficulties or unexpected expenditures and might require significant management attention that would otherwise be available for ongoing development of our business. If we are successful in consummating an acquisition, we may not be able to integrate the acquired product line, business or technology into our existing business and products and we may not achieve the anticipated benefits of any acquisition. Furthermore, potential acquisitions and investments may divert our management’s attention, require considerable cash outlays and require substantial additional expenses that could harm our existing operations and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. To complete future acquisitions, we may issue equity securities, incur debt, assume contingent liabilities or incur amortization expenses and write-downs of acquired assets, any of which could dilute the interests of our stockholders or adversely affect our profitability or cash flow.

 

Changes in taxation requirements could affect our financial results.

 

We are subject to income tax in the numerous jurisdictions in which we generate net sales. In addition, our water dispensers are subject to certain import duties and sales taxes in certain jurisdictions in which we operate. Increases in income tax rates could reduce our after-tax income from affected jurisdictions, while increases in indirect taxes could affect our products’ and services’ affordability and therefore reduce demand for our products and services.

 

Our ability to use net operating loss carryforwards in the United States may be limited.

 

As of December 31, 2009, we had net operating losses of approximately $55.0 million for federal income tax purposes, which expire at various dates through 2029. To the extent available and not otherwise utilized, we intend to use any net operating loss carryforwards to reduce the U.S. corporate income tax liability associated with our operations. Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, generally imposes an annual limitation on the amount of net operating loss carryforwards that may be used to offset taxable income when a corporation has undergone certain changes in stock ownership. Our ability to utilize net operating loss carryforwards may be limited, under this section or otherwise, by the issuance of common stock in this offering. To the extent our use of net operating loss carryforwards is significantly limited, our income could be subject to U.S. corporate income tax earlier than it would if we were able to use net operating loss carryforwards, which could result in lower profits.

Our financial results may be negatively impacted by the recent global financial events.

 

The recent global financial events have resulted in the consolidation, failure or near failure of a number of institutions in the banking, insurance and investment banking industries and have substantially reduced the ability of companies to obtain financing. These events also led to a substantial reduction in stock market valuations during 2008 and the first few months of 2009, although stock market valuations rebounded significantly in the latter half of 2009. These events could have a number of different effects on our business, including:

 

 

Other events or conditions may arise directly or indirectly from the global financial events that could negatively impact our business.

 

Risks Relating to Regulatory and Legal Issues

 

Our products and services are heavily regulated at both the state and federal level. If we are unable to continue to comply with applicable regulations and standards in any jurisdiction, we might not be able to sell our products in that jurisdiction or they could be recalled, and our business could be seriously harmed.

 

The production, distribution and sale in the United States of our products are subject to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act; the Occupational Safety and Health Act; the Americans with Disabilities Act (the “ADA”); the Lanham Act; various environmental statutes; and various other federal, state and local statutes and regulations applicable to the production, transportation, sale, safety, advertising, promotion, labeling and ingredients of such products. For example, measures have been enacted in various localities and states that require a deposit to be charged for certain non-refillable beverage containers. The precise requirements imposed by these measures vary. Other deposit, recycling or product stewardship proposals have been introduced in various jurisdictions. We anticipate that similar legislation or regulations may be proposed in the future at the local, state and federal levels.

 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”) regulates bottled water as a food under the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Our bottled water must meet FDA requirements of safety for human consumption, identity, quality and labeling. Further, any claims we make in marketing our products, such as claims related to the beneficial health effects of drinking water, are subject to FDA’s advertising and promotion requirements and restrictions. In addition, the FDA has established current good manufacturing practices, regulations which govern the facilities, methods, practices and controls used for the processing, bottling and distribution of bottled drinking water. We and our third-party bottling and distribution partners are subject to these requirements. In addition, all public drinking water must meet Environmental Protection Agency standards established under the Safe Drinking Water Act for mineral and chemical concentration and drinking water quality and treatment. We also must comply with overlapping and, in some cases, inconsistent state regulations in a variety of areas. These state-level regulations, among other things, set standards for approved water sources and the information that must be provided and the basis on which any therapeutic claims for water may be made. We must expend resources to continuously monitor state legislative and regulatory activities in order to identify and ensure compliance with laws and regulations that apply to our bottled water business in each state in which we operate.

Additionally, the manufacture, sale and use of resins used to make water bottles are subject to regulation by the FDA. These regulations relate to substances used in food packaging materials, not with specific finished food packaging products. Our beverage containers are deemed to be in compliance with FDA regulations if the components used in the containers: (i) are approved by the FDA as indirect food additives for their intended uses and comply with the applicable FDA indirect food additive regulations; or (ii) are generally recognized as safe for their intended uses and are of suitable purity for those intended uses.

 

The Consumer Product Safety Commission, FDA or other applicable regulatory bodies may require the recall, repair or replacement of our products if those products are found not to be in compliance with applicable standards or regulations. The failure of our third party manufacturers or bottlers to produce merchandise that adheres to our quality control standards could damage our reputation and lead to customer litigation against us. If our manufacturers or distributors are unable or unwilling to recall products failing to meet our quality standards, we may be required to remove merchandise or recall those products at a substantial cost to us. We may be unable to recover costs related to product recalls.

 

We believe that our self-imposed standards meet or exceed those set by federal, state and local regulations. Nevertheless, our failure or the failure of our suppliers, bottlers or distributors to comply with federal or state laws, rules or regulations could subject us to potential governmental enforcement action for violation of such regulations, which could result in warning letters, fines, product recalls or seizures, civil or criminal penalties and/or temporary or permanent injunctions, each of which could materially harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, our failure, or even our perceived failure, to comply with applicable laws, rules or regulations could cause retailers and others to determine not to do business with us or reduce the amount of business they do with us.

 

In January 2010, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an updated report regarding bisphenol A, or BPA, a chemical used in food and beverage packaging and other products that can possibly have adverse health effects on consumers, particularly on young children. The three- and five- gallon polycarbonate plastic bottles that we use to bottle our water contain BPA. Any significant change in perception by our customers or government regulation of polycarbonate plastic in food and beverage products could adversely affect our operations and financial results.

 

In January 2010, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an updated report regarding its current perspective on the safety of BPA in food packaging materials, asserting the need for additional studies on BPA and issuing its interim public health recommendations. BPA is an industrial chemical used to make hard, clear plastic known as polycarbonate, which is currently used in our three- and five-gallon water bottles. BPA is regulated by the FDA as an indirect food additive. While the FDA notes that studies employing standardized toxicity tests support the safety of human exposure to BPA at the low levels currently experienced by consumers, the FDA’s report additionally acknowledges the results of certain recent studies which suggest some concern regarding potential developmental and behavioral effects of BPA exposure, particularly on infants and young children.

 

The FDA is continuing to evaluate these low dose toxicity studies, as well as other recent peer-reviewed studies related to BPA, and has solicited public comment and inter-agency scientific input in connection with updating its formal assessment of the safety of BPA for use in food contact applications. In the interim, the FDA’s public health recommendations include taking reasonable steps to reduce exposure of infants to BPA in the food supply and working with industry to support and evaluate manufacturing practices and alternative substances that could reduce exposure in other populations. Further, the FDA indicates that it plans to review its existing authority to shift to a more robust regulatory framework for oversight of BPA.

 

Consistent with the findings of numerous international regulatory bodies, we believe that the scientific evidence suggests that polycarbonate plastic made with BPA is a safe packing material for all consumers. Nonetheless, media reports and the FDA report have prompted concern in our marketplace among existing and

potential customers. It is possible that developments surrounding this issue could lead to adverse effects on our business. Such developments could include:

 

 

 

 

In addition, federal, state and local governmental authorities have and continue to introduce proposals intended to restrict or ban the use of BPA in food packaging materials. At this juncture, we cannot predict with certainty whether or when any such proposals may be enacted or what impact they may have on our business.

 

If any of these events were to occur, our sales and operating results could be materially adversely affected.

 

Our inability to protect our intellectual property, or our involvement in damaging and disruptive intellectual property litigation, could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition or result in the loss of use of products or services.

 

We have filed certain patent applications and trademark registration applications and intend to seek additional patents, to develop additional trademarks and seek federal registrations for such trademarks and to develop other intellectual property. We consider our Primo name and related trademarks and our other intellectual property to be valuable to our business and the establishment of a national branded bottled water exchange program. We rely on a combination of patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret laws and other arrangements to protect our proprietary rights and could incur substantial expense to enforce our rights under such laws. A number of other companies, however, use trademarks similar or identical to the Primo^® mark to identify their products, and we may not be able to stop these other companies from using such trademarks. The requirement to change any of our trademarks, service marks or trade names could entail significant expense and result in the loss of any goodwill associated with that trademark, service mark or trade name. While we have filed, and intend to file in the future, patent applications, where appropriate, and to pursue such applications with the patent authorities, we cannot be sure that patents will be issued on such applications or that any issued patents will not be successfully contested by third parties. Also, since issuance of a patent does not prevent other companies from using alternative, non-infringing technology or designs, we cannot be sure that any issued patents, or patents that may be issued to others and licensed to us, will provide significant or any commercial protection, especially as new competitors enter the market.

 

In addition to patent protection, we also rely on trade secrets and other non-patented proprietary information relating to our product development, business processes and operating activities. We seek to protect this information through appropriate efforts to maintain its secrecy, including confidentiality agreements. We cannot be sure that these efforts will be successful or that confidentiality agreements will not be breached. We also cannot be sure that we would have adequate remedies for any breach of such agreements or other misappropriation of our trade secrets, or that our trade secrets and proprietary know-how will not otherwise become known or be independently discovered by others. Where necessary, we may initiate litigation to enforce our patent or other

intellectual property rights. Any such litigation may require us to spend a substantial amount of time and money and could distract management from its day-to-day operations. Moreover, there is no assurance that we will be successful in any such litigation or that such litigation will not result in successful counterclaims or challenges to the validity of our intellectual property rights. Our failure to successfully develop intellectual property, or to successfully obtain, maintain and enforce patents, trademarks and other intellectual property, could affect our ability to distinguish our products and services from those of our competitors and could cause our sales to suffer.

 

Our business and our ability to provide products and services may be impaired by claims that we infringe the intellectual property rights of others. Vigorous protection and pursuit of intellectual property rights characterize the consumer products industry. These traits can result in significant, protracted and materially expensive litigation. In addition, parties making infringement and other claims may be able to obtain injunctive or other equitable relief that could effectively block our ability to provide our products, services or utilize our business methods and could cause us to pay substantial damages. In the event of a successful claim of infringement, we may need to obtain one or more licenses from third parties, which may not be available at a reasonable cost, or at all. It is possible that our intellectual property rights may not be valid or that we may infringe existing or future proprietary rights of others. Any successful infringement claims could subject us to significant liabilities, require us to seek licenses on unfavorable terms, prevent us from manufacturing or selling products, providing services and utilizing business methods and require us to redesign or, in the case of trademark claims, re-brand our Company, products or services, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.

 

Legislative and executive action in state and local governments enacting local taxes on bottled water to include multi-gallon bottled water could adversely affect our business and financial results.

 

Regulations have been enacted or proposed in some localities where we operate to enact local taxes on bottled water. These actions are purportedly designed to discourage the use of bottled water due in large part to concerns about the environmental effects of producing and discarding large numbers of plastic bottles. While we have not to date directly experienced any adverse effects from these concerns, and we believe that our products are sufficiently different from those affected by recent enactments, there is no assurance that our products will not be subject to future legislative and executive action by state and local governments, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.

 

Litigation or legal proceedings could expose us to significant liabilities, including product liability claims, and damage our reputation.

 

We are from time to time party to various litigation claims and legal proceedings. We evaluate these claims and proceedings to assess the likelihood of unfavorable outcomes and estimate, if possible, the amount of potential losses. If our products are not properly manufactured or designed, personal injuries or property damage could result, which could subject us to claims for damages. The costs associated with defending product liability and other claims, and the payment of damages, could be substantial. Our reputation could also be adversely affected by such claims, whether or not successful.

 

We may establish a reserve as appropriate based upon assessments and estimates in accordance with our accounting policies. We base our assessments, estimates and disclosures on the information available to us at the time and rely on legal and management judgment. Actual outcomes or losses may differ materially from assessments and estimates. Actual settlements, judgments or resolutions of these claims or proceedings may negatively affect our business and financial performance. A successful claim against us that is not covered by insurance or is in excess of our available insurance limits could require us to make significant payments of damages and could materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Risks Relating to This Offering and Our Common Stock

 

There has not been a public market for our shares and an active market may not develop or be maintained, which could limit your ability to sell shares of our common stock.

 

Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our common stock. Although we have applied to list the common stock on The Nasdaq Global Market, an active public market for our shares may not develop or be sustained after this offering. The initial public offering price for our common stock will be determined through our negotiations with the underwriters and may not be indicative of the market price of our common stock after this offering. If you purchase shares of our common stock, you may not be able to resell those shares at or above the initial public offering price, or at all. We cannot predict the extent to which investor interest in our Company will lead to the development of an active trading market on The Nasdaq Global Market or otherwise or how liquid that market might become. An active public market for our common stock may not develop or be sustained after this offering. If an active public market does not develop or is not sustained, it may be difficult for you to sell your shares of common stock at a price that is attractive to you, or at all.

 

The value of our common stock could be volatile.

 

The overall market and the price of our common stock may fluctuate greatly. The trading price of our common stock may be significantly affected by various factors, including:

 

 

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline.

 

The trading market for our common stock will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. We do not currently have and may never obtain research coverage by securities and industry analysts. If no securities or industry analysts commence coverage of our Company, the trading price for our stock would be negatively impacted. If we obtain securities or industry analyst coverage and if one or more of the analysts who covers us downgrades our stock or publishes inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases coverage of us or fails to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our stock could decrease, which could cause our stock price and trading volume to decline.

Future sales of our common stock, or the perception in the public markets that these sales may occur, may depress our stock price.

 

Sales of a large number of our shares of common stock in the public market after this offering, or the perception that such sales could occur, could adversely affect the market price of our common stock and could impair our ability to sell equity securities in the future at a time and at a price that we deem appropriate. After the closing of this offering, we will have           shares of common stock (           shares if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full) outstanding. The shares of common stock offered in this offering will be freely tradable without restriction under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), except for any shares of our common stock that may be held or acquired by our directors, executive officers and other affiliates, as that term is defined in the Securities Act, which will be restricted securities under the Securities Act. Restricted securities may not be sold in the public market unless the sale is registered under the Securities Act or an exemption from registration is available.

 

We, our executive officers, directors and certain stockholders have agreed, subject to certain exceptions, with the underwriters not to offer, sell, contract to sell or otherwise dispose of any common stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of common stock during the period from the date of this prospectus continuing through the date 180 days after the date of this prospectus. These shares will represent     % of our outstanding common stock after this offering (or     % if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full). As restrictions on resale end, the market price of our common stock could decline if the holders of the restricted shares sell them or are perceived by the market as intending to sell them. Thomas Weisel Partners LLC may, in its sole discretion, release any of these shares from these restrictions at any time without notice. See “Shares Eligible for Future Sale” and “Underwriting.”

 

All of our shares of common stock outstanding as of the date of this prospectus may be sold in the public market by existing stockholders 180 days after the date of this prospectus, subject to applicable volume and other limitations imposed under federal securities laws. See “Shares Eligible for Future Sale” for a more detailed description of the restrictions on selling shares of our common stock after this offering.

 

In the future, we may also issue our securities in connection with investments or acquisitions or in order to raise capital for other purposes. The amount of shares of our common stock issued in connection with these matters could constitute a material portion of our then-outstanding shares of our common stock.

 

Purchasers in this offering will experience immediate and substantial dilution in net tangible book value.

 

The initial public offering price per share is expected to be substantially higher than the net tangible book value per share of our outstanding common stock. Purchasers of shares in this offering will experience immediate dilution in the net tangible book value of their shares. Based on an assumed initial public offering price of $      per share, the mid-point of the range set forth on the cover of this prospectus, dilution per share in this offering will be $      per share (or     % of the price). Further, if we issue additional equity securities to raise additional capital, your ownership interest in our Company may be diluted and the value of your investment may be reduced. See “Dilution.”

 

Concentration of ownership among our existing executive officers, directors and their affiliates may prevent new investors from influencing significant corporate decisions.

 

Upon completion of this offering, our executive officers, directors and their affiliates will beneficially own, in the aggregate, approximately     % of our outstanding shares of common stock. In particular, Billy D. Prim, our Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, will beneficially own approximately     % of our outstanding shares of common stock upon completion of this offering. As a result, these stockholders will be able to exercise a significant level of control over all matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors, amendment of our certificate of incorporation and approval of significant corporate transactions. This control

could have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of our Company or changes in management and will make the approval of certain transactions difficult or impossible without the support of these stockholders.

 

Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and Delaware law might discourage or delay acquisition attempts for us that you might consider favorable.

 

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws will contain provisions that may make the acquisition of our Company more difficult without the approval of our Board of Directors. These provisions:

 

 

As a Delaware corporation, we are also subject to provisions of Delaware law, including Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which prevents some stockholders holding more than 15% of our outstanding common stock from engaging in certain business combinations without approval of the holders of substantially all of our outstanding common stock.

 

These anti-takeover provisions and other provisions under Delaware law could discourage, delay or prevent a transaction involving a change in control of our Company, including actions that our stockholders may deem advantageous, or negatively affect the trading price of our common stock. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for you and other stockholders to elect directors of your choosing and to cause us to take other corporate actions you desire.

 

Since we have no current plans to pay cash dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future, you may not receive any return on investment unless you sell your common stock for a price greater than that which you paid for it.

 

We do not anticipate paying any dividends to our stockholders for the foreseeable future. The agreements governing our indebtedness also restrict our ability to pay dividends. Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be made at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend on our results of operations, financial conditions, contractual restrictions, restrictions imposed by applicable law and other factors our Board of Directors deems relevant. Accordingly, you may have to sell some or all of your common stock in order to generate cash flow from your investment. You may not receive a gain on your investment when you sell our common stock and may lose some or all of the amount of your investment. Investors seeking cash dividends in the foreseeable future should not purchase our common stock.

 

We will incur increased costs as a result of being a publicly-traded company.

 

As a company with publicly-traded securities, we will incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses not presently incurred. In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as well as rules promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, and The Nasdaq Stock Market, require us to adopt corporate

governance practices applicable to U.S. public companies. These rules and regulations may increase our legal and financial compliance costs.

 

If we do not timely satisfy the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the trading price of our common stock could be adversely affected.

 

As a company with publicly-traded securities, we will be subject to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. This law requires us to document and test the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting in accordance with an established internal control framework and to report on our conclusion as to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. The cost to comply with this law will affect our net income adversely. Any delays or difficulty in satisfying the requirements of Section 404 could, among other things, cause investors to lose confidence in, or otherwise be unable to rely on, the accuracy of our reported financial information, which could adversely affect the trading price of our common stock. In addition, failure to comply with Section 404 could result in The Nasdaq Stock Market imposing sanctions on us, which could include the delisting of our common stock.

 

Risks Relating to Our Indebtedness

 

Restrictive covenants in our debt instruments restrict or prohibit our ability to engage in or enter into a variety of transactions, which could adversely restrict our financial and operating flexibility and subject us to other risks.

 

Our senior revolving credit facility contains various restrictive covenants that limit our and our subsidiaries’ ability to take certain actions. In particular, these agreements limit our and our subsidiaries’ ability to, among other things:

 

 

Any or all of these covenants could have a material adverse effect on our business by limiting our ability to take advantage of financing, merger and acquisition or other corporate opportunities and to fund our operations. Any future debt could also contain financial and other covenants more restrictive than those imposed under our current senior revolving credit facility.

 

A breach of a covenant or other provision in any debt instrument governing our current or future indebtedness could result in a default under that instrument and, due to customary cross-default and cross-acceleration provisions, could result in a default under any other debt instrument that we may have. If the lenders under our current or future indebtedness were to so accelerate the payment of the indebtedness, we cannot assure you that our assets or cash flow would be sufficient to repay in full our outstanding indebtedness, in which event we likely would seek reorganization or protection under bankruptcy or other, similar laws.

Global capital and credit market issues could negatively affect our liquidity, increase our costs of borrowing and disrupt the operations of our suppliers, bottlers, distributors and customers.

 

The global capital and credit markets have experienced increased volatility and disruption over the past two years, making it more difficult for companies to access those markets. There can be no assurance that continued or increased volatility and disruption in the capital and credit markets will not impair our liquidity or increase our costs of borrowing. Our business could also be negatively impacted if our suppliers, bottlers, distributors or retail customers experience disruptions resulting from tighter capital and credit markets or a slowdown in the general economy.

 

We may be unable to generate sufficient cash flow to service our debt obligations. In addition, our inability to generate sufficient cash flows to support operations and other activities without debt financing could prevent future growth and success.

 

Our ability to generate cash, make scheduled payments or refinance our obligations depends on our successful financial and operating performance. Our financial and operating performance, cash flow and capital resources depend upon prevailing economic conditions and various financial, business and other factors, many of which are beyond our control. If our cash flow and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations, we may be forced to reduce or delay capital expenditures, sell material assets or operations, obtain additional capital or restructure our debt, any or all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we cannot assure you that we would be able to take any of these actions on terms acceptable to us, or at all, that these actions would enable us to continue to satisfy our capital requirements or that these actions would be permitted under the terms of our various debt agreements.

 

If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flows to support capital expansion, business acquisition plans and general operating activities, and are unable obtain the necessary funding for these items through debt financing, our business could be negatively affected and we may be unable to expand into existing and new markets. Our ability to generate cash flows is dependent in part upon obtaining necessary financing at favorable interest rates. Interest rate fluctuations and other capital market conditions may prevent us from doing so.

 

This prospectus contains forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections regarding management’s beliefs and assumptions about the industry in which we operate. Such statements include, in particular, statements about our plans, strategies and prospects under the headings “Prospectus Summary,” “Risk Factors,” “Use of Proceeds,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Business.” When used in this prospectus, the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “will,” “would,” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements.

 

Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time the statements are made and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to:

 

 

 

 

We have included important factors in the cautionary statements included in this prospectus, particularly in the section entitled “Risk Factors,” that we believe could cause actual results or events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements we make. Except as required by applicable law, we assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements publicly or to update the reasons why actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in any forward looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

 

We estimate that the net proceeds to us from this offering will be approximately $      million (approximately $      million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). This estimate is based upon an assumed initial public offering price of $      per share, less estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses payable by us. A $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $      per share would increase (decrease) the net proceeds to us from this offering by approximately $      million, assuming the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

 

We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering as follows:

 

 

 

 

Of the $     in net proceeds we intend to use to redeem 50% of the outstanding shares of Series B preferred stock, $     will be used to redeem Series B preferred stock held by directors, officers and persons known to us to be the beneficial owners of more than 5% of our common stock.

 

As of          , 2010, we had $15.0 million principal amount of 2011 Notes outstanding that bear interest at 14% per annum and mature on March 31, 2011. We issued the 2011 Notes on December 30, 2009 and used the proceeds of the 2011 Notes to retire $8.0 million principal amount of subordinated debt and to repay approximately $7.0 million of borrowings under our revolving credit facility. Of the $     in net proceeds we intend to use to repay our 2011 Notes, $     will be used to repay 2011 Notes held by directors, officers and persons known to us to be the beneficial owners of more than 5% of our common stock. The terms of the 2011 Notes provide the noteholders the right to sell their 2011 Notes to us at an amount equal to the unpaid principal balance plus all unpaid interest that has accrued through the date of redemption upon the occurrence of an initial public offering of our common stock resulting in net proceeds to us of at least $30.0 million.

 

Pending use of the net proceeds of this offering, we intend to invest such net proceeds in short-term, interest-bearing investment grade securities.

 

 

We have never paid or declared cash dividends on our common stock. We currently intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings to finance the development and expansion of our business. We do not expect to pay any dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. Any future determination to pay dividends will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend upon various factors, including our results of operations, financial condition, capital requirements, investment opportunities and other factors that our Board of Directors deems relevant. Our senior credit agreement currently limits our ability to pay cash dividends.

 

The following table sets forth our capitalization as of December 31, 2009:

 

 

 

 

You should read this table in conjunction with “Use of Proceeds,” “Selected Historical Consolidated Financial and Other Data,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

The shares outstanding data in the preceding table as of December 31, 2009:

 

 

If you invest in our common stock, your ownership interest will be diluted to the extent of the difference between the initial public offering price per share of our common stock and the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share of our common stock immediately after the closing of this offering. Pro forma net tangible book value per share represents total tangible assets less total liabilities, divided by the number of shares of common stock outstanding, after giving effect to the     -for-     reverse stock split of our common stock, the conversion of all of our outstanding Series A and Series C convertible preferred stock into an aggregate of           shares of our common stock, the conversion of 50% of our outstanding shares of Series B preferred stock into common stock at a ratio of  :  , which is calculated by dividing the liquidation preference of the Series B preferred stock by 90% of an assumed initial public offering price of $     per share, which is the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and the redemption of the remaining 50% of our outstanding shares of Series B preferred stock as if the reverse stock split, the conversion and the redemption had occurred as of December 31, 2009. The pro forma net tangible book value of our common stock as of December 31, 2009, was approximately $      million, or approximately $      per share.

 

After giving effect to our sale of shares at an assumed initial public offering price of $      per share, which is the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses payable by us, and applying the net proceeds from this sale, the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value of our common stock, as of December 31, 2009, would have been approximately $      million, or $      per share. This amount represents an immediate increase in net tangible book value to our existing stockholders of $      per share and an immediate dilution to new investors of $      per share. The following table illustrates this per share dilution:

 

 

If the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full, there will be an increase in pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share to existing stockholders of $      per share and an immediate dilution in pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share to new investors of $      per share based upon the assumed initial public offering price of $      per share. A $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public offering price per share would increase or decrease, respectively, the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share of common stock after this offering by $      per share and increase or decrease, respectively, the pro forma as adjusted dilution per share of common stock to new investors in this offering by $      per share, in each case calculated as described above and assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same.

 

The following table summarizes, as of December 31, 2009, on a pro forma as adjusted basis, the number of shares of common stock purchased from us, the total consideration paid to us and the average price per share paid by our existing stockholders and by new investors, based upon an assumed initial public offering price of $     

per share and before deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses payable by us.

 

 

The discussion and tables above are based on           shares of common stock outstanding as of December 31, 2009, on a pro forma as adjusted basis and:

 

 

 

 

 

If the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, the number of shares held by the existing stockholders after this offering would be reduced to     % of the total number of shares of our common stock outstanding after this offering, and the number of shares held by new investors would increase to     % of the total number of shares of our common stock outstanding after this offering.

 

The following tables set forth our selected historical consolidated financial and other data for the periods indicated. We prepared the selected historical consolidated financial data using our consolidated financial statements for each of the years presented. The selected historical consolidated financial data for each year in the three-year period ended December 31, 2009, were derived from our audited historical consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this prospectus, and the selected historical consolidated financial data for each year in the two-year period ended December 31, 2006, were derived from our audited historical consolidated financial statements not appearing in this prospectus. You should read this selected historical consolidated financial data in conjunction with such audited historical consolidated financial statements and related notes and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” included elsewhere in this prospectus. The selected historical consolidated financial data are not necessarily indicative of future results.

 

 

 

 

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the section titled “Selected Historical Consolidated Financial and Other Data” and our financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements included in this discussion as a result of certain factors, including, but not limited to, those discussed in the section of this prospectus titled “Risk Factors.”

 

Overview

 

Primo Water Corporation is a rapidly growing provider of three- and five-gallon purified bottled water and water dispensers sold through major retailers nationwide. Our business is designed to generate recurring demand for Primo purified bottled water through the sale of our innovative water dispensers. Once our bottled water is consumed using a water dispenser, empty bottles are exchanged at our recycling center displays, which provide a recycling ticket that offers a discount toward the purchase of a new bottle of Primo purified water. We have created a nationwide single-vendor water bottle exchange service for our retail customers that requires minimal customer management supervision and store-based labor and provides centralized billing and detailed performance reports. We deliver this service utilizing our current relationships with 55 independent bottlers and 27 independent distributors and our Company-owned distribution operations covering portions of four states, which we refer to collectively as our “national network”. As of December 31, 2009, our water bottle exchange service and water dispensers were offered in each of the contiguous United States and located in approximately 7,000 and 5,500 retail locations, respectively. For 2007, 2008 and 2009, we generated net sales of $13.5 million, $34.6 million and $47.0 million, respectively.

 

In this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, when we refer to “same store sales” for our Exchange segment, we are comparing retail locations at which our water bottle exchange service had been available for at least 12 months at the beginning of the relevant period.

 

Business Segments

 

We manage our business primarily through two reporting segments: Primo Bottled Water Exchange (“Exchange”) and Primo Products (“Products”).

 

Our Exchange segment sells three- and five-gallon purified bottled water through retailers in each of the contiguous United States. We currently offer our exchange service at approximately 7,000 locations through point of purchase display racks and recycling centers that are prominently located at major retailers in space that is often underutilized. We service these retail locations through our national network of primarily independent bottlers and distributors.

 

Our Products segment sells water dispensers that are designed to dispense Primo and other dispenser-compatible bottled water. Our Products sales are primarily generated through major U.S. retailers. Our water dispensers are sold primarily through a direct-import model, where we recognize revenues for the sale of the water dispensers when title is transferred to our retailer customers. We support retail sell-through with limited domestic inventory.

 

We evaluate the financial results of these segments focusing primarily on segment net sales and segment income (loss) from operations before depreciation and amortization (“segment income (loss) from operations”). We utilize segment net sales and segment income (loss) from operations because we believe they provide useful information for effectively allocating our resources between business segments, evaluating the health of our business segments based on metrics that management can actively influence and gauging our investments and our ability to service, incur or pay down debt.

Operating segments that do not meet quantitative thresholds for segment reporting are included in Other.

 

Cost of sales for Exchange consists of costs for bottling and related packaging materials and distribution costs for our bottled water. Cost of sales for Products consists of contract manufacturing, freight, duties and warehousing costs of our water dispensers.

 

Selling, general and administrative expenses for both segments consist primarily of personnel costs for sales, marketing, operations support and customer service, as well as other supporting costs for operating each segment.

 

Expenses not specifically related to operating segments are shown separately as Corporate. Corporate expenses are comprised mainly of compensation and other related expenses for corporate support, information systems, and human resources and administration. Corporate expenses also include certain professional fees and expenses and compensation of our Board of Directors.

 

Recent Transactions

 

In December 2009, we completed the divestiture of our former subsidiary, Prima Bottled Water, Inc. (“Prima”), by distributing the stock in Prima to our existing stockholders on a pro rata basis based upon each such stockholder’s proportionate ownership of our common stock, Series A preferred stock and Series C preferred stock on an as-converted basis. The assets, liabilities and results of operations of Prima are accounted for as discontinued operations. For 2007, 2008 and 2009, we recognized losses from discontinued operations of $1.9 million, $5.7 million and $3.7 million, respectively.

 

Results of Operations

 

The following table sets forth our results of operations for the periods indicated:

 

The following table sets forth our results of operations expressed as a percentage of net sales for the periods indicated:

 

 

The following table sets forth our segment net sales and segment income (loss) from operations presented on a segment basis and reconciled to our consolidated loss from operations.

 

 

Year Ended December 31, 2009 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2008

 

Net Sales. Net sales for 2009 increased $12.3 million or 35.6% to $47.0 million from $34.6 million in 2008. The increase in sales resulted primarily from a 65.9% increase in Products sales and a 17.7% increase in Exchange sales.

 

Exchange. Exchange net sales increased $3.4 million or 17.7% to $22.6 million in 2009, representing 48.2% of our total net sales in 2009. The increase was due to an increase in water bottle units sold of approximately 0.6 million units or 19.8% to 3.9 million units sold in 2009. The increase in units sold was driven by a same store sales increase of 7.9% as well as an 8.3% increase in selling locations to approximately 7,000 at December 31, 2009. We believe the increase in same store sales is primarily a result of two factors: first, the increase in water dispenser sales results in an increasing number of consumers of three- and five-gallon bottled water and second, as more consumers become aware of and participate in our exchange program at a particular

selling location, the number of water bottle units sold at that location typically increases over comparable prior periods. During 2009, we added approximately 600 selling locations as a result of both adding new retail customers and increased penetration with our existing retail customers. The average price per unit decreased 1.7% in 2009 compared to 2008 as a result of a shift in mix of transactions to 70.9% exchange and 29.1% non-exchange transactions in 2009 compared to 63.2% exchange and 36.8% non-exchange transactions in 2008. The shift in the mix of transactions is due to the increase in the overall number of repeat consumers utilizing our three- and five-gallon bottled water exchange service compared to the number of consumers that are new to our service. We anticipate the shift in mix towards a higher percentage of exchange transactions to continue as the overall number of consumers utilizing our exchange program continues to grow. We recognize approximately twice as much revenue on non-exchange transactions as we do on exchange transactions as a result of the discount provided to consumers for the return of an empty three- or five-gallon bottle in exchange for the purchase of a new three- or five-gallon bottle of purified water. Adding new locations at which our water bottle exchange service is offered is important to our strategy of penetrating more homes with our water dispensers as expanded locations and increased water bottle availability enhance the convenience of our service to consumers.

 

Products. Products net sales increased $9.1 million or 65.9% to $22.8 million in 2009, representing 48.6% of our total net sales in 2009. Dispenser sales increased 95,000 units or 53% to approximately 272,000 units in 2009. The increase in sales and units in 2009 is primarily a result of a greater than 100% increase in the number of retail locations offering our dispensers to approximately 5,500 at December 31, 2009. In addition, we successfully launched several new water dispenser models which accounted for approximately 48% of the total units sold in 2009. We anticipate continuing to introduce and offer new water dispenser models. Water dispenser home penetration is critical to the success of our strategy of increasing sales of our complementary recurring-revenue bottled water exchange service.

 

Gross Margin. Our overall gross margin, defined as net sales less cost of sales, as a percentage of net sales increased to 17.5% for 2009 from 11.2% for 2008.

 

Exchange. Gross margin as a percentage of net sales in our Exchange segment increased to 26.6% for 2009 from 15.2% in 2008 due primarily to decreased freight costs as a result of the addition of bottling and distribution capabilities during 2008 for which we received a full-year benefit in 2009. With these additions we believe we have sufficient bottling and distribution capabilities to service our continued growth. We anticipate slight improvements in gross margin for our Exchange segment for 2010 as we further benefit from improvements in our supply chain and realize efficiencies from our business model in which many of our variable costs are fixed.

 

Products. Gross margin as a percentage of net sales in our Products segment improved to 5.6% for 2009 from 0.5% in 2008 due primarily to improved pricing from retailers. Our strategy is to sell our water dispensers at minimal operating profit in order to increase home penetration, which we believe will lead to increased recurring-revenue, higher margin Exchange sales.

 

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses. Selling, general and administrative expenses for 2009 decreased $3.9 million or 28.1% to $9.9 million from $13.8 million and, as a percentage of net sales, decreased to 21.1% for 2009 from 39.8% for 2008.

 

Exchange. Selling, general and administrative expenses of our Exchange segment decreased $1.5 million or 36.8% to $2.6 million from $4.2 million and as a percentage of Exchange segment net sales decreased to 11.7% in 2009 from 21.8% in 2008. The decrease is due to lower employee-related costs as a result of a reduction in headcount of seven employees as well as reduced levels of consulting fees and related travel and benefit costs resulting in approximately $1.0 million of the overall reduction of selling, general and administrative expenses. The additional personnel resources were related to our efforts in 2008 to expand our supply chain with more bottling and distribution capacity. During 2009 we were able to reduce these personnel resources when our supply chain reached what we believe to be an appropriate size. We were able to significantly grow our Exchange segment net sales and gross margins in 2009 despite the reduction in selling, general and administrative expenses.

 

Products. Selling, general and administrative expenses of our Products segment decreased as a percentage of Products segment net sales to 6.8% in 2009 from 11.1% in 2008. Our Products segment was able to significantly increase sales without the need for additional headcount or selling, general and administrative costs.

 

Other. Other selling, general and administrative expenses for 2009, which includes our Other segment and Corporate, decreased $2.4 million or 29.1% to $5.7 million from $8.1 million, and as a percent of consolidated net sales decreased to 12.2% for 2009 from 23.3% in 2008. The decrease is primarily due to lower employee-related costs as a result of a reduction in headcount of nine employees as well as reduced levels of consulting fees and related travel and benefit costs resulting in about $1.6 million of the overall reduction of selling, general and administrative expenses. The additional resources were related to our efforts in 2008 to expand our information system and financial infrastructure as well as our efforts to establish new business segments. While we do not expect to incur significant additional costs connected with the growth of our businesses in 2010, we do expect to incur about $1.0 million in additional costs as a public company related to compliance, reporting and insurance.

 

Depreciation and Amortization. Depreciation and amortization increased $0.6 million or 16.2% to $4.2 million in 2009 from $3.6 million in 2008. The increase is the result of a full year of depreciation on the $8.3 million of capital expenditures in 2008.

 

Interest (Expense) and Other Income, Net. Net interest expense for 2009 increased to $2.3 million from $70,000 in 2008 as a result of increased use of debt to fund business operations. We expect the proceeds from this offering to repay debt and lower future interest cost relative to that experienced during 2009.

 

Preferred Dividends and Beneficial Conversion Charge. Dividends on our Series B preferred stock increased $0.7 million to $3.0 million in 2009 from $2.3 million in 2008. In January 2009, we offered holders of our Series B preferred stock the option to suspend their current cash dividend payment of 10% in exchange for a dividend accrual of 15% for 2009. Cash dividends paid on our Series B preferred stock during 2009 and 2008 were $1.3 million and $2.3 million, respectively. At December 31, 2009 and 2008 the accrued and unpaid dividends on our Series B preferred stock were $2.4 million and $0.6 million, respectively, which is included in accrued expenses and other current liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet. Our Series C preferred stock is convertible into common stock at a ratio of 1:1.92, which was based upon a formula taking into account sales for 2008, compared to the original conversion ratio of 1:1. The change in the conversion resulted in a $17.6 million beneficial conversion or deemed dividend on the Series C preferred stock for 2008, which is included in the $19.9 million preferred dividends and beneficial conversion charge in 2008.

 

Year Ended December 31, 2008 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2007

 

Net Sales. Net sales for 2008 increased $21.2 million or 157.5% to $34.6 million from $13.5 million in 2007. The increase in net sales resulted primarily from a 1,349.7% increase in Products sales and a 76.9% increase in Exchange sales.

 

Exchange. Exchange net sales increased $8.3 million to $19.2 million in 2008, representing 55.5% of our total net sales in 2008. The increase was due to an increase in water bottle units sold of 1.2 million or 61.2% to 3.2 million units sold in 2008. The increase in units was driven by a same store sales increase of 22.0% as well as a 36.1% increase in selling locations to approximately 6,400 selling locations at December 31, 2008. The average price per unit increased 9.7% in 2008 primarily as a result of a price increase implemented in mid-2008.

 

Products. Products net sales increased $12.8 million to $13.8 million, representing 39.7% of our total net sales in 2008. The increase is due to the successful launch of our Products business segment in late 2007. Product sales increased by approximately 165,000 units to approximately 177,000 units sold in 2008.

 

Gross Margin. Our overall gross margin, defined as net sales less cost of sales, as a percentage of net sales increased to 11.2% for 2008 from 11.0% for 2007.

Exchange. Gross margin as a percentage of net sales in our Exchange segment increased to 15.2% for 2008 from 6.1% in 2007 due primarily to decreased freight costs as a result of the addition of 28 bottlers and ten distributors in 2008.

 

Products. Gross margin as a percentage of net sales in our Products segment improved to 0.5% for 2008 from (23.2)% in 2007 due primarily to limited sales volume in 2007.

 

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses. Selling, general and administrative expenses, excluding impairment charges, for 2008 increased $3.4 million or 33.2% to $13.8 million from $10.4 million and, as a percentage of net sales, decreased to 39.8% for 2008 from 77.0% for 2007.

 

Exchange. Selling, general and administrative expenses of our Exchange segment increased $0.7 million or 19.5% to $4.2 million from $3.5 million and as a percentage of Exchange segment net sales decreased to 21.8% in 2008 from 32.2% in 2007. The increase is primarily due to higher employee-related costs as a result of headcount additions, consulting fees and related travel and benefit costs resulting in about $0.3 million of the overall increase. The additional personnel and resources were related to our efforts to expand our supply chain with more bottling and distribution capacity. Selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of Exchange segment net sales decreased significantly as we grew net sales at a faster rate than our expense growth.

 

Products. Selling, general and administrative expenses of our Products segment increased $1.1 million or 270.3% to $1.5 million from $0.4 million and as a percentage of Products segment net sales to 11.1% in 2008 from 43.3% in 2007. The increase is primarily due to increases in employee headcount resulting from our expanded product line and significant increase in net sales in 2008.

 

Other. Other selling, general and administrative expenses for 2008, which includes our Other segment and Corporate, increased $1.6 million or 24.5% to $8.1 million from $6.5 million, and as a percentage of consolidated net sales decreased to 23.3% for 2008 from 48.3% in 2007. The increase is primarily due to higher employee-related costs as a result of additional headcount, consulting fees and related travel and benefit costs related to our efforts in 2008 to expand our information system and financial infrastructure as well as our efforts to establish new business segments.

 

Depreciation and Amortization. Depreciation and amortization increase $0.2 million or 7.5% to $3.6 million in 2008 from $3.4 million in 2007.

 

Interest Expense and Other Income, Net. Net interest and other income for 2008 decreased to an expense of $70,000 from income of $65,000 in 2007 as a result of the use of debt to fund business operations, which were primarily funded with equity in 2007.

 

Preferred Dividends and Beneficial Conversion Charge. Dividends on our Series B preferred stock increased $0.2 million to $2.3 million in 2008 from $2.1 million in 2007. At both December 31, 2008 and 2007, the accrued and unpaid dividends on our Series B preferred stock were $0.6 million, which is included in accrued expenses and other current liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet. Our Series C preferred stock is convertible into common stock at a ratio of 1:1.92, which was based upon a formula taking into account sales for 2008, compared to the original conversion ratio of 1:1. The change in the conversion resulted in a $17.6 million beneficial conversion or deemed dividend on the Series C preferred Stock for 2008, which is included in the $19.9 million of preferred dividends and beneficial conversion charge in 2008.

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

Since inception, we have financed our operations primarily through the sale of preferred stock, the issuance of long term debt and borrowings under credit facilities. At December 31, 2009, our principal sources of liquidity were accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts, of $1.9 million compared to cash of $0.5 million and accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts, of $3.2 million at December 31, 2008. As of December 31, 2009, we had a working capital deficit of $2.5 million compared to a working capital deficit of $2.6 million as of December 31, 2008.

During 2009, the primary source of capital was proceeds from the issuance of long term debt and, as of December 31, 2009, we had an outstanding debt balance of $14.8 million, net of a $0.6 million discount. During 2008 and 2007, our primary source of capital was the proceeds of preferred stock issuances of $19.6 million and $14.1 million, respectively. Additionally, during 2008 we made borrowings under our credit facilities, which had a balance of $7.0 million at December 31, 2008.

 

Net Cash Flows from Operating Activities

 

Net cash used in operating activities was $2.0 million for 2009, $11.8 million for 2008 and $6.8 million for 2007. For 2009, net cash used in operations was primarily the result of $8.2 million of loss from continuing operations, partially offset by non-cash depreciation and amortization of $4.2 million, non-cash interest expense of $0.7 million related to our long term debt issuances and reduction in working capital components of $0.8 million.

 

For 2008, net cash used in operations was primarily the result of $13.6 million of loss from continuing operations, partially offset by depreciation and amortization of $3.6 million. Additional working capital for accounts receivable and inventory due to revenue growth resulted in a use of cash of $1.9 million and $1.3 million, respectively and was partially offset by an increase in accounts payable of $1.1 million.

 

For 2007, net cash used in operations was primarily the result of $12.2 million of loss from continuing operations, partially offset by depreciation and amortization of $3.4 million and the increase of accounts payable and accrued expenses of $1.0 million and $1.3 million, respectively.

 

Net Cash Flows from Investing Activities

 

Cash flows from investing activities included capital expenditures for property and equipment and bottles of $2.4 million in 2009, $9.4 million in 2008 and $5.0 million for 2007, which were our primary investing activities for all periods. Our capital expenditures in the past have been primarily for the installation of our recycle centers and display racks at new locations that offer our water bottle exchange service as well as related transportation racks and bottles. We also invest in technology infrastructure to manage our national network.

 

Net Cash Flows from Financing Activities

 

Cash provided by financing activities was $6.3 million for 2009, $24.4 million for 2008 and $12.5 million for 2007. For 2009, financing activities were primarily the issuance of long term debt of $20.4 million that was partially offset by payments of $6.6 million on our senior revolving credit facility, payments of $5.4 million related to other long-term debt, Series B preferred stock dividend payments of $1.3 million and payment of debt issuance costs of $0.6 million. The cash component of our Series B preferred stock dividends was partially reduced in 2009 and accrued as opposed to paid currently. Additionally, the cash dividends paid will be further reduced for 2010 to approximately $0.2 million.

 

For 2008, financing activities were primarily the issuance of preferred stock of $19.6 million and borrowings of $7.0 million on our revolving credit facility that were partially offset by payments of $2.3 million of Series B preferred stock dividends.

 

For 2007, financing activities were primarily the issuance of preferred stock of $14.1 million that was partially offset by $1.6 million of Series B Preferred Stock dividend payments.

 

Credit Facility

 

We originally entered into a revolving credit facility with Wachovia Bank National Association in June 2005 and in June 2008 we amended the facility to extend the term to June 30, 2010. The current facility commitment is $10.0 million and is subject to a customary borrowing base calculation for advances. Interest on the outstanding borrowings under the revolving credit facility is payable quarterly at our option at (i) the LIBOR Market Index Rate (LMIR) plus the applicable margin or (ii) the greater of (A) the Federal Funds Rate plus 0.50% or (B) the bank’s

prime rate plus the applicable margin. At December 31, 2009 and 2008, the interest rate on the outstanding balance under the facility was at the bank’s prime rate plus 2.50% and 0.75%, respectively (5.75% at December 31, 2009 and 4.00% at December 31, 2008). Beginning in January 2010 and effective with the December 2009 amendment, the applicable margin for both the prime rate and the federal funds rate options was decreased to 1.00%. The availability under the Revolver was $5.9 million and $1.5 million at December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively.

 

We are required to pay a fee per annum equal to 3.50% of the outstanding amount of letters of credit issued under the revolving credit facility. In addition, there is a fee of 0.50% on the unused portion of the revolver lending commitment. At December 31, 2009 and 2008, there were outstanding letters of credit totaling approximately $0.4 million and $0.3 million, respectively.

 

The revolving credit facility contains various conditions for extensions of credit and restrictive covenants including minimum quarterly EBITDA and gross revenue requirements. Substantially all of our assets are pledged as collateral to borrowings under the revolving credit facility.

 

14% Subordinated Convertible Notes due March 31, 2011

 

In December 2009, we issued our 14% subordinated convertible notes due March 31, 2011 (“2011 Notes”) to 28 investors, including existing stockholders, affiliates of existing stockholders and senior management. The 2011 Notes have a total face value of $15.0 million and are subordinated to our bank revolving credit facility. The 2011 Notes pay quarterly interest at a rate of 14% per annum. The terms of the 2011 Notes provide the noteholders the right to sell their 2011 Notes to us at an amount equal to the unpaid principal balance plus all unpaid interest that has accrued through the date of redemption upon the occurrence of an initial public offering of our common stock resulting in net proceeds to us of at least $30.0 million. We intend to use proceeds of this offering to repay the 2011 Notes.

 

Warrants to purchase 1,111,109 shares of our common stock were issued in connection with the 2011 Notes. The initial fair value of the warrants is $0.6 million and resulted in an original issue discount on the 2011 Notes which will be amortized as interest expense over the term of the 2011 Notes. The fair value of the warrants is included in other long-term liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet and will be adjusted periodically until such time as the exercise price becomes fixed at which time the then fair value will be reclassified as a component of stockholders’ equity (deficit).

 

Adequacy of Capital Resources

 

Our future capital requirements may vary materially from those now anticipated and will depend on many factors, including the rate of growth in new locations and related display and rack costs, cost to develop new water dispensers, sales and marketing resources needed to further penetrate our markets, the expansion of our operations in the United States, the response of competitors to our solutions and products and any acquisitions of other businesses. Historically, we have experienced increases in our capital expenditures consistent with the growth in our operations and personnel, and we anticipate that our expenditures will continue to increase as we grow our business. However, as of March 31, 2010, we had no material commitments for capital expenditures.

 

Our Series B preferred stock dividends will terminate upon the redemption and conversion of such stock in connection with this offering. We also anticipate amending and extending our revolving credit facility prior to its June 30, 2010 expiration. Finally, we anticipate having a cash balance of $     following the completion of this offering and the application of the proceeds therefrom. We believe our cash, the proceeds from this offering, funds available under our revolving credit facility and future cash flows from our operations will be sufficient to meet our currently anticipated working capital and capital expenditure requirements for at least the next twelve months.

 

During the last three years, trends and conditions in the retail environment and credit markets, inflation and changing prices have not had a material effect on our business and we do not expect that these trends and conditions, inflation or changing prices will materially affect our business in the foreseeable future.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

 

We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements, investments in special purpose entities or undisclosed borrowings or debt. Additionally, we are not a party to any derivative contracts or synthetic leases.

 

Contractual and Commercial Commitment Summary

 

Our contractual obligations and commercial commitments as of December 31, 2009 are summarized below:

 

 

 

 

Inflation

 

During the last three years, inflation and changing prices have not had a material effect on our business and we do not expect that inflation or changing prices will materially affect our business in the foreseeable future.

 

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

 

For fixed rate debt, interest rate changes affect the fair value of financial instruments but do not impact earnings or cash flows. Conversely, for floating rate debt, interest rate changes generally do not affect the fair market value but do impact future earnings and cash flows, assuming other factors are held constant. The recorded carrying amounts of cash and cash equivalents approximate fair value due to their short maturities.

 

We are exposed to market risk related to changes in interest rates on borrowings under our revolving credit facility. Our credit facility bears interest based on LIBOR and the prime rate, plus an applicable margin. To quantify our exposure to interest rate risk, a 100 basis point increase in interest rates would have increased interest expense for the years ended December 31, 2007, 2008, and 2009 by approximately $8,000, $29,000 and $132,000, respectively. Actual changes in interest rates may differ materially from the hypothetical assumptions used in computing this exposure.

 

Seasonality

 

We have experienced and expect to continue to experience seasonal fluctuations in our sales and operating income. Our sales and operating income have been highest in the spring and summer, and lowest in the fall and winter. Our Exchange segment, which generally enjoys higher margins than our Products segment, experiences higher sales and operating income in the spring and summer. Our Products segment had historically experienced higher sales and operating income in spring and summer, however, we believe the seasonality of this segment will be more dependent on retailer inventory management and purchasing cycles and not correlated to weather. Sustained periods of poor weather, particularly in the spring and summer, can negatively impact our sales in our higher margin Exchange segment. Accordingly, our results of operations in any quarter will not necessarily be indicative of the results that we may achieve for a fiscal year or any future quarter.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

 

Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based upon our consolidated financial statements and related notes, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). The preparation of our financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires us to make certain estimates, judgments and assumptions. We believe that the estimates, judgments and assumptions used to determine certain amounts that affect the financial statements are reasonable, based on information available at the time they are made. To the extent there are material differences between these estimates, judgments and assumptions and actual results, our consolidated financial statements may be affected. Some of the more significant estimates include allowances for doubtful accounts, valuation of inventories, depreciation, valuation of deferred taxes and allowance for sales returns.

 

Revenue Recognition. Revenue is recognized for the sale of three- and five-gallon purified bottled water upon either the delivery of inventory to the retail stores or the purchase by the consumer. Revenue is either recognized as an exchange transaction (where a discount is provided on the purchase of a three- or five-gallon bottle of purified water for the return of an empty three- or five-gallon bottle) or a non-exchange transaction. Revenues on exchange transactions are recognized net of the exchange discount. Our water dispensers are sold primarily through a direct-import model, where we recognize revenue when title is transferred to our retail customers. We have no contractual obligation to accept returns of water dispensers nor do we guarantee water dispenser sales. However, we will at times accept returns or issue credits for water dispensers that have manufacturer defects or that were damaged in transit. Revenues of water dispensers are recognized net of an estimated allowance for returns using an average return rate based upon historical experience. In addition, our customers can earn certain incentives that are netted against and reduce net sales in the consolidated statements of operations. Historically, these incentives have not been material to the overall consolidated results of operations.

 

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts. We maintain an allowance for doubtful accounts for estimated losses resulting from our retail customers’ inability to pay us. The allowance for doubtful accounts is based on a review of specifically identified accounts in addition to an overall aging analysis. Judgments are made with respect to the collectability of accounts receivable based on historical experience and current economic trends. Actual losses could differ from those estimates.

 

Long-Lived Assets. We review long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. The carrying amount of a long-lived asset is not recoverable if it exceeds the sum of the undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use and eventual disposition of the asset at the date it is tested for recoverability, whether in use or under development. An impairment loss is measured as the amount by which the carrying amount of a long-lived asset exceeds its fair value. We recorded an impairment charge in 2008 of $98,000, related to display racks no longer in use and to be disposed.

 

Income Taxes. We account for income taxes using the asset and liability method, which requires recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the financial statements. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the difference between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities, using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. Deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance to the extent that utilization is not presently more likely than not.

 

Effective January 1, 2007, we adopted the provisions of Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 740-10, Income Taxes. Previously, we had accounted for tax contingencies in accordance with ASC 450-10, Contingencies. As required by ASC 740-10, we recognize the financial statement benefit of a tax position only after determining that the relevant tax authority would more likely than not sustain the position following an audit. For tax positions meeting the more-likely-than-not threshold, the amount recognized in the financial statements is the largest benefit that has a greater than 50 percent likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement with the relevant tax authority. At the adoption date, we applied ASC 740-10 to all tax positions for which the statute of limitations remained open. The implementation of ASC 740-10 did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Stock-Based Compensation. We account for our stock-based employee and director compensation plans in accordance with ASC 718, Compensation-Stock Compensation. ASC 718 requires recognition of the cost of employee services received in exchange for an award of equity instruments in the financial statements over the period the employee is required to perform the services in exchange for the award (presumptively the vesting period). In 2007, 2008 and 2009 compensation expense related to stock options was approximately $157,000, $215,000 and $298,000 and is included in selling, general and administrative expenses from continuing operations, respectively, and approximately $25,000, $61,000 and $80,000 is included in discontinued operations, respectively.

 

We measure the fair value of each stock option grant at the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The weighted-average fair value per share of the options granted during 2007, 2008 and 2009 was $0.67, $0.83 and $0.49, respectively. The following assumptions were used in arriving at the fair value of options granted:

 

 

The risk-free interest rate is based on the implied yield available on U.S. Treasury zero-coupon issues with a remaining term approximately equal to the expected life of our stock options. The estimated pre-vesting forfeiture rate is based on our historical experience. The expected term of the options is based on evaluations of historical and expected future employee exercise behavior. As a non-public entity, historic volatility is not available for our shares. As a result, we estimated volatility based on a peer group of companies, which we believe collectively provide a reasonable basis for estimating volatility. We intend to continue to consistently use the same group of publicly traded peer companies to determine volatility in the future until sufficient information regarding volatility of our share price becomes available or the selected companies are no longer suitable for this purpose. We do not expect to declare dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. As of each stock option grant date, we considered the fair value of the underlying common stock, determined as described below, in order to establish the option exercise price.

 

During 2009 a total of 142,000 common stock options were granted, all on one date during the quarter ended March 31, 2009, at an exercise price of $1.25 per share. The estimated fair value of our common stock on the issuance date was $1.25 per share.

 

At December 31, 2009, we had approximately 2.9 million stock options outstanding, approximately 2.2 million of which were vested with an intrinsic value of $     , and approximately 0.7 million of which were unvested with an intrinsic value of $     . The intrinsic value reflects the amount by which $      (the midpoint of our estimated public offering price) exceeds the exercise price of the outstanding stock options.

 

Significant Factors Used in Determining Fair Value of Our Common Stock. The fair value of the shares of common stock that underlie the stock options we have granted has historically been determined by our board of directors based upon information available to it at the time of grant. Because, prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our common stock, our board of directors has determined the fair value of our common stock by utilizing, among other things, recent or contemporaneous valuation information from negotiated equity transactions with third parties or third party valuations. The valuation information included reviews of our business and general economic, market and other conditions that could be reasonably evaluated at that time, including our financial results, business agreements, intellectual property and capital structure. These valuation approaches are based on a number of assumptions, including our future sales and industry, general economic, market and other conditions that could reasonably be evaluated at the time of the valuation.

 

For the 142,000 stock options granted on one date in the first quarter of 2009, the fair value of our common stock was determined by the board of directors to be $1.25 per share. The fair value was based in part upon the

finalization of the conversion ratio of the Series C Preferred Stock on December 31, 2008. The Series C Preferred Stock was issued in an arms-length transaction primarily to unrelated third parties in 2008 with an initial conversion to common stock ratio of 1:1 or $2.40 per share. However, the Series C Preferred Stock contained a beneficial conversion feature that was negotiated with the primarily unrelated third parties that adjusted and was finalized based upon the consolidated net sales for the year ending December 31, 2008. The final conversion ratio was 1:1.92 or $1.25 per share. In addition, the board of directors considered the Company’s most recent independent valuation and then current expectations of the Company’s future performance in determining that $1.25 per share was a reasonable fair valuation of common stock at December 31, 2008 and that there were not any significant changes in the business or results of operations from December 31, 2008 to the date in the first quarter of 2009 the stock options were issued that would change that estimated fair value.

 

Further, while subsequent to the date stock options were granted in the first quarter of 2009, the Company obtained a valuation from an unrelated party in December 2009 that determined the fair value of the Company’s common stock to be $1.23 per share.

 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

 

In June 2009, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued authoritative guidance which established the Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC” or “Codification”) as the source of authoritative GAAP recognized by the FASB to be applied to nongovernmental entities, and rules and interpretive releases of the SEC as authoritative GAAP for SEC registrants. The Codification supersedes all existing non-SEC accounting and reporting standards upon its effective date and, subsequently, the FASB will not issue new standards in the form of Statements, FASB Staff Positions or Emerging Issues Task Force Abstracts. The guidance is not intended to change or alter existing GAAP. The guidance became effective in our fourth quarter of 2009. The guidance did not have an impact on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

 

In May 2009, the FASB issued authoritative guidance on the accounting for and disclosure of events that occur after the balance sheet date. This guidance was effective for interim and annual financial periods ending after June 15, 2009. This guidance was amended in February 2010. It requires an entity that is a SEC filer to evaluate subsequent events through the date that the financial statements are issued. The adoption did not impact our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

 

In January 2010, the FASB issued guidance, which clarifies that the stock portion of a distribution to stockholders that allows them to receive cash or stock with a potential limitation on the total amount of cash that all stockholders can elect to receive in the aggregate is considered a share issuance that is reflected in earnings per share prospectively and is not a stock dividend. This update is effective for our first quarter of 2010. The adoption is not expected to have a material impact on our consolidated financial position results of operations or cash flows.

 

In January 2010, the FASB issued guidance that clarifies ASC 810 implementation issues relating to a decrease in ownership of a subsidiary that is a business or non-profit activity. This amendment affects entities that have previously adopted ASC 810-10. This update is effective for our first quarter of 2010. The adoption is not expected to have a material impact on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

 

Overview

 

We are a rapidly growing provider of three- and five-gallon purified bottled water and water dispensers sold through major retailers nationwide. We believe the market for purified water is growing due to evolving taste preferences, perceived health benefits and concerns regarding the quality of municipal tap water. Our products provide an environmentally friendly, economical, convenient and healthy solution for consuming purified water. Our business is designed to generate recurring demand for Primo purified bottled water through the initial sale of our innovative water dispensers. This business strategy is commonly referred to as “razor-razorblade” because the initial sale of a product that creates a base of users who frequently purchase complementary consumable products. Once our bottled water is consumed using a water dispenser, empty bottles are exchanged at our recycling center displays where consumers receive a recycling ticket that offers a discount toward the purchase of a full bottle of Primo purified water. Primo consumers purchase an average of 35 bottles of water annually and each bottle can be sanitized and reused up to 40 times before being taken out of use, crushed and recycled, substantially reducing landfill waste compared to consumption of an equivalent volume of single-serve bottled water. As of December 31, 2009, our water bottle exchange service and water dispensers were offered in each of the contiguous United States and located in approximately 7,000 and 5,500 retail locations respectively, including Lowe’s Home Improvement, Sam’s Club, Costco, Walmart, Target, Kroger, Winn-Dixie, Albertsons and Walgreens.

 

 

We have created a new nationwide single-vendor water bottle exchange solution for our retail customers, addressing a market demand that we believe was previously unmet. Our water bottle exchange solution is easy for retailers to implement, requires minimal management supervision and store-based labor and provides centralized billing and detailed performance reports. Our solution offer retailers attractive financial margins and the ability to optimize typically unused retail space with our displays. Additionally, due to the recurring nature of water consumption and water bottle exchange, retailers benefit from year-round customer traffic and highly predictable revenue.

 

We deliver our solution to retailers utilizing our national network. Our independent bottlers and distributors typically have made already the capital investment required to deliver our solution, including investment in bottling facilities and storage and distribution assets. We focus our capital expenditures on developing new retail relationships, installing displays at store locations, raising brand awareness, research and development for new products and maintaining our MIS tools. We are able to manage our national network on a real-time basis through

our MIS tools, which provide resource planning and delivery schedule tracking, thus enabling us to optimize our network’s assets and respond to customer needs. In addition, our national network benefits from the recurring nature of water consumption and water bottle exchange that generates year-round demand and optimizes utilization of their existing production and distribution assets. In addition, our national network benefits from our MIS tools that assist resource planning and delivery schedule optimization. We believe our solution and national network provide us a significant competitive advantage in servicing our retail customers.

 

We benefit significantly from management experience gained over the last 15 years in exchange-based businesses, which enables us to implement best practices and develop and maintain key business relationships. Prior to founding Primo, our Chief Executive Officer founded Blue Rhino Corporation, a propane cylinder exchange business, in 1994 and, with several of our other key executive officers, led its initial public offering in 1998 and successful sale in 2004. At the time of the sale, we believe Blue Rhino was a market leader in propane grill cylinder exchange with over 29,000 retail locations in 49 states.

 

Industry Background

 

We believe there are several trends that support consumer demand for our water bottle exchange service and water dispensers, including the following:

 

Emphasis on Health and Wellness

 

The majority of the human body is comprised of water and nearly all critical body functions rely on proper hydration. As part of a desire to live a healthier lifestyle, we believe consumers are increasingly focused on drinking more water relative to consumption of high caloric beverages, carbonated soft drinks and beverages containing artificial sweeteners.

 

Concerns Regarding Quality of Municipal Tap Water

 

Many consumers purchase purified water not only due to better taste, but also because of concerns regarding municipal tap water quality. Municipal water is typically surface water that is treated centrally and pumped to homes, which can allow additional contaminants to dissolve into the water through municipal or household pipes impacting taste and quality. There have been many recent publications highlighting pollution and quality issues with municipal water in the United States. Additionally, due to budgetary deficits, municipalities are increasingly privatizing their water treatment and distribution systems, and there have been many compliance and quality issues documented in connection with privatized municipal water systems.

 

Growing Preference for Purified Water

 

We believe consumer preference toward purified water relative to tap water continues to grow. With increasing availability in recent years, purified water has become accepted on a mainstream basis and preferred by many over municipal tap water. While it is difficult to quantify purified water consumption in all of its forms, we believe the growth of bottled water consumption reflects this trend. According to a June 2009 report by independent market analyst Datamonitor, Bottled Water in the United States, consumers spent $18.4 billion in 2008 on bottled water and the industry is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 7.5%, reaching $26.5 billion by 2013.

 

Increasing Demand for Products with Lower Environmental Impact

 

We believe that consumers are increasingly favoring products with a lower environmental impact with a “reuse, recycle, reduce” mindset becoming a common driver of consumer behavior. Areas of concern include products’ packaging materials, carbon footprint and crude oil usage in production and distribution and the impact on landfills when disposed. Most single-serve PET water bottles are produced using fossil fuels and contribute to landfill waste given that only 27% of PET bottles are recycled according to a November 2009 Environmental

Protection Agency report. Additionally, according to the December 2008 report, Bottled Water-U.S., by Mintel International Group Limited, the incidence of people who do not drink single-serve PET bottled water because of environmental concerns nearly doubled from 18.0% in 2007 to 35.0% in 2008. Governmental legislation also reflects these concerns with the passage of “bottle bills” in many jurisdictions that tax the purchase of plastic water bottles, require deposits with the purchase of certain plastic bottles, prohibit the use of government funds to purchase plastic water bottles and ban certain plastic bottles from landfills.

 

 

 

Source: National Association for PET Container Resources 2005 and 2008 Reports on Postconsumer PET Container Recycling Activity.

 

Availability of an Economical Water Bottle Exchange Service and Innovative Water Dispensers

 

According to 2007 United States census data, there are approximately 112 million households. Based on estimates derived from industry data, we believe the current household penetration rate of multi-gallon water dispensers is approximately 4%, with the vast majority of these households utilizing traditional home delivery services. Until recently, there has been little innovation, design enhancement and functionality improvement in water dispensers to meet modern household needs and competing water dispensers have traditionally retailed at prices we believe are unlikely to support greater household adoption. Compounding these issues, there previously was no viable provider of an economical water bottle exchange service with major retailer relationships nationwide to promote dispenser usage beyond the traditional home delivery model. We believe our water bottle exchange service provides this alternative and we believe we are currently the only provider delivering a solution nationally to retailers. We believe there are over 140,000 major retail locations nationwide that we could target to sell our dispensers or offer our water bottle exchange service.

 

Our Competitive Strengths

 

We believe that our competitive strengths include the following:

 

Appeal to Consumer Preferences

 

 

 

Key Retail Relationships Served by National Single-Vendor Solution

 

We believe we are the only water bottle exchange provider with a single-vendor solution for retailers nationwide. Our solution is easy to implement and supervise for national and regionally concentrated major retailers. We manage our national network to service our retail customers. This network utilizes our MIS tools and processes to optimize their production and distribution assets while servicing our retail customers. We believe the combination of our major retail relationships, unique single-vendor solution for retail customers, national network and our MIS tools is difficult to replicate. We anticipate these factors will facilitate our introduction of new purified water-related products in the future.

Ability to Attract and Retain Consumers

 

We offer “razor-razorblade” products designed to generate recurring demand for Primo purified bottled water (the razorblade) through the initial sale of our innovative water dispensers (the razor), which include a coupon for a free three- or five-gallon Primo bottle of water. We acquire new consumers and enhance recycling efforts by accepting most dispenser-compatible water bottles in exchange for a recycle ticket discount toward the purchase of a full bottle of Primo purified water. Our water bottle exchange service is attractive to retailers as our consumers purchase an average of 35 bottles of Primo purified water per year, which facilitates repeat consumer traffic in our retailers’ stores. In addition, we believe we are a leading provider of water dispensers to U.S. retailers, a status we believe we achieved within less than two years of entering the market. We believe this rapid success is due to the innovative features, design elements and attractive retail prices of our water dispensers. We further believe our offering high-quality water dispensers enhances consumer awareness and adoption of our water bottle exchange service, increases household penetration and drives sales of our bottled water.

 

Efficient Business Model

 

Our business model allows us to efficiently offer our solution to our retail partners and centrally manage our national network without a substantial capital investment. Our business processes and MIS tools enable us to manage the bottling and distribution of our water, our product quality, retailer inventory levels and the return of used bottles on a centralized basis, leveraging our invested capital and personnel. We own the bottles, transportation racks, mineral injectors and sales and recycling displays to ensure product quality and proper positioning of the Primo brand. We focus our capital expenditures on developing new retail relationships, installing displays at store locations, raising brand awareness, research and development for new products and maintaining our MIS tools. We believe our water bottle exchange service is unique in that we are not required to make a significant portion of the capital investment required to operate our exchange service nationwide. Participation in our water bottle exchange service does not typically require independent bottlers and distributors to make substantial new investments because they often are able to augment their current production capacity and leverage their existing bottling and distribution assets. In addition, the flow of payments between the retailer and our bottlers and independent distributors is a critical component of our overall relationship with our major retail accounts that we control efficiently through electronic data interchange.

 

Benefit from Management’s Proven Track Record

 

We benefit greatly from management experience gained over the last 15 years in exchange businesses, which enables us to implement and refine best practices and develop and maintain key business relationships. Our Chief Executive Officer, Billy D. Prim, founded Blue Rhino Corporation, a propane cylinder exchange business, in 1994 and led its IPO in 1998 and its successful sale in 2004. At the time of the sale, Blue Rhino was the market leader of propane grill cylinder exchange with over 29,000 retail locations in 49 states. In addition to our Chief Executive Officer, our Chief Financial Officer, Vice President of Operations, Vice President of Products and Vice President of National Accounts all held comparable positions within the Blue Rhino organization during its rapid sales and location growth.

 

Growth Strategy

 

We seek to increase our market share and drive further growth in our business by pursuing the following strategies:

 

Increase Penetration with Existing Retail Relationships and Develop New Retail Relationships

 

We believe we have significant opportunities to increase store penetration with our existing retail relationships and develop new retail relationships based on our competitive strengths. As of December 31, 2009, our water bottle exchange service was offered at 6,000 of our top ten retailers’ nationwide locations. Such retailers present us an opportunity of approximately 7,500 additional nationwide locations. We intend to further penetrate our other existing retailers, which collectively provide us the opportunity to be present in an additional 22,400 locations

nationwide. Our long-term strategy includes targeting up to approximately 40,000 total retail store locations (which includes new locations with our existing retail customers) within our primary retail categories of home centers, hardware stores, mass merchants, membership warehouses and grocery and drug stores.

 

Within two years of our inception, we expanded our retail presence from 13 states to our current locations within each of the contiguous United States. In addition, from 2005 through 2009, we increased our water bottle exchange locations from approximately 300 to 7,000, representing a compound annual growth rate of approximately 120%.

 

Drive Consumer Adoption Through Innovative Water Dispenser Models

 

We intend to continue to develop and sell innovative water dispensers at attractive retail prices, which we believe is critical to increasing consumer awareness and driving consumer adoption of our water bottle exchange service. We believe our water dispensers have appealing features, such as stainless steel finishes, adjustable hot and cold temperature controls and hidden bottle bottom-loading features for convenience. As a result of our strategy of developing innovative water dispensers, we believe we became the leading seller of water dispensers to retailers within less than two years of our entry into the market. Since we began selling our water dispensers in 2005, we have sold over 460,000 units, and have expanded our retail network from four locations as of December 31, 2007, to our current network of approximately 5,500 locations. We plan to continue introducing new dispenser models at attractive retail price points to meet the evolving needs of consumers, enhance consumer awareness and adoption of our water bottle exchange service, and increase household penetration. Our long term strategy is to provide multiple purified water-based beverages from a single Primo water dispenser, with consistent promotion of our water bottle exchange service to supply the purified water.

 

Increase Same Store Sales

 

We offer “razor-razorblade” products designed to generate recurring demand for Primo purified bottled water (the razorblade) through the initial sale of water dispensers (the razor). We sell our water dispensers at minimal margin and provide a free three- or five-gallon bottle of water with every water dispenser sold to drive consumer demand for our water bottle exchange service.

 

We believe increasing unit sales of Primo purified bottled water is dependent on generating greater consumer awareness of the environmentally friendly and economical aspects of and the convenience associated with both our purified bottled water and our water bottle exchange service. We expect that our branding, marketing and sales efforts will result in greater usage of our water bottle exchange service. We are also increasing our public relations initiatives associated with new market launches, developing additional cooperative advertising programs with retail distribution partners and increasing our field marketing activities. In addition, as consumers exchange dispenser-compatible water bottles, we encourage the use of our water bottle exchange service by providing them a recycling ticket that provides a discount on a full bottle of Primo purified water.

 

Develop and Install Other Hydration Solutions

 

We believe we have significant opportunities to leverage our national network and our systems and processes to offer other environmentally friendly, economical, convenient and healthy hydration solutions to our retail partners without significant increases in our centralized costs. For example, we intend to offer our retail partners self-service refill vending machines that dispense purified water into bottles and other containers. We believe this offering will cater to a more price-sensitive consumer. In addition, we intend to offer to our retail partners automated, self-bagging purified ice dispensers. These purified ice dispensers will provide a simplified method of acquiring ice in customized offering sizes without the extensive manufacturing and storage networks typical of the ice dispensing industry.

Pursue Strategic Acquisitions to Augment Geographic and Retail Relationships

 

We believe opportunities exist to expand through selective acquisitions, including smaller water bottle exchange businesses with established retail accounts, on-premises self-service water refill vending machine networks and retail accounts, ice dispenser machine networks and retail accounts and water dispenser companies.

 

Product Overview

 

Water

 

We have dedicated significant time and effort in developing our water purification process and formulating the proprietary blend of mineral ingredients included in our purified water. Our proprietary blend of mineral ingredients was developed with the assistance of consultants and several months of lab work and taste tests and has what we believe to be a silky smooth taste. In an independent taste test that we commissioned and was conducted in six regions throughout the United States in 2007, four out of five participants on average preferred Primo purified bottled water over tap water and three out of four participants on average preferred Primo over their region’s market-leading bottled water brand. We believe it is important that each bottle of Primo purified water has consistent taste and each production lot is tested to ensure it meets our standards. In addition, to ensure that our safety standards are met and FDA and industry standards are met or exceeded, each production lot of our purified water undergoes chemical and microbiological testing by the bottler and all facilities bottling Primo purified water undergo regular hygiene audits by a third party hired by us.

 

Water Bottles

 

 

We currently source three- and five-gallon water bottles from multiple independent vendors for use in our exchange service. Each of our Primo water bottles includes a handle designed for easy transportation and lifting when installing the bottle onto or into one of our water dispensers. Our bottles also include a specially designed cap that prevents spills when carrying or installing.

Water Dispensers

 

We currently source and market three lines of water dispensers comprised of 15 models:

 

 

Our dispensers are designed to dispense Primo and other dispenser-compatible bottled water. Our dispensers have manufacturer suggested retail prices that range from $199.99 for our top-of-the-line bottom-loading model with a stainless steel finish to $14.99 for a simple pump that can be installed on a bottle and operated by hand.

 

Currently, more than 95% of our dispenser sales are attributable to our bottom- and top-loading products. Consistent with our environmental focus, our electric dispensers are Energy Star^® rated, and, we believe, utilize less energy than competing water dispensers without this industry rating. In addition, some of our dispenser models feature power switches to individually control the hot and cold tanks of the dispenser, saving additional energy when not in use and providing a child-safety feature. We believe both our bottom- and top-loading models dispense water twice as fast as competing products and have the fastest recovery time for heating and cooling water. In addition, certain models of our bottom- and top-loading dispensers come equipped with adjustable hot and cold temperature controls conveniently located on the top of the dispenser.

 

We believe our bottom loading dispensers are attractive to consumers and will drive the greatest increase in household penetration as a result of their innovative styling and features. Water bottles are loaded and concealed inside our bottom-loading dispensers by a hinged door for ease of use and a clean aesthetic appearance.

 

Currently, all of our water dispensers are manufactured by independent suppliers in China. Our dispensers are shipped directly to our retailer partners and we do not use distributors in connection with our water dispensers. We also provide private label water dispensers to Target that are branded as Black & Decker products pursuant to a license agreement with The Black & Decker Corporation.

 

Primo Water Marketing

 

Our marketing efforts focus primarily on developing and maintaining a brand identity synonymous with an environmentally friendly, economical, convenient and healthy solution for purified water consumption. We direct our marketing efforts as close as possible to the point of sale to strengthen our brand and promote consumer

awareness of our water bottle exchange service. We believe our water bottle exchange service develops consumer loyalty through the use of our recycling tickets. Our marketing efforts include the following initiatives:

 

Primo Water Packaging

 

Our three- and five-gallon water bottles, sales and recycling center displays, water dispensers and certain distributor delivery vehicles prominently display our Primo logo and distinctive four-bubble design.

 

Primo Water Displays

 

Our sales and recycling center displays are typically located near the front of a store, providing point-of-sale advertising and branding. We believe our displays enhance consumer awareness of the Primo brand and reinforce the association of our water with an environmentally friendly, economical, convenient and healthy solution for purified water consumption. Our displays include Primo graphics, slogans and instructions on the exchange process that simply attach to the displays. We have the ability to quickly replace, customize or introduce new marketing materials on our displays throughout our retail network. In addition, we work with retailers to customize in-store solutions to best promote our brand.

 

Promotions

 

Our promotional activities target new customers by:

 

 

We promote our brand through social media, our website (www.primowater.com) and other public relations efforts. We also maintain a blog (www.breakfree411.com) that is styled as a third-party website and provides updates on the water industry. In addition, we seek to raise awareness of our brand and products through blogs and related periodicals that target women as well as household and kitchen matters. We believe that women often significantly influence household and kitchen appliance decisions and concentrating our efforts in this manner is designed to improve the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns and improve household penetration.

 

Our promotional activities have evolved from our “Taste Perfection” campaign to our “Zero Waste. Perfect Taste,” campaign emphasizing our environmental efforts while simultaneously focusing on the taste of our purified water. We plan to increase our promotional activity as we expand our business.

 

The Primo Water Bottle Exchange Supply Chain

 

Water Purification and Bottling

 

Our bottling process begins with either spring water or water from a public source that is processed through a pre-filtration stage to remove large particles. The water is then passed through polishing filters to catch smaller particles followed by a carbon filtration process that removes odors, tastes, sanitization by-products and pharmaceutical chemicals. A microfiltration process then removes microbes before the water is passed through a softener to

increase the purification efficiency. The water next passes through the last phase of reverse osmosis or distillation, completing the purification process. After the purification process is complete, our proprietary blend of mineral ingredients is injected into the water followed by the final ozonation process to sanitize the water. A bottle is filled with Primo purified water only after the inspection and sanitization steps outlined below are completed. Each of our production lots is placed on a 48-hour hold to allow for testing by the bottler and to ensure successful compliance with chemical and microbiological standards. We have the ability to trace each bottle of Primo water to its bottling and distributor sources, and we regularly perform recall tests to ensure our ability to react to a contamination event should it occur. In comparison, municipal water is generally treated at a centralized processing facility and then distributed throughout the pipeline network. As the water flows to the point of use, contaminants and other foreign objects may be dissolved into the water, and household piping and faucets may collect sediment that over time reduces the quality of municipally supplied water.

 

 

Our distributors are responsible for collecting empty Primo bottles and other dispenser-compatible bottles that are deposited into our recycling center displays. At the completion of the delivery cycle, a distributor inspects the exchanged bottles for reusability and coordinates the recycling efforts with our operations personnel to ensure that reuse of each water bottle we receive in the exchange process is being optimized. Our water bottles can be sanitized and reused up to 40 times before being taken out of use, crushed and recycled, substantially reducing landfill waste compared to consumption of similar amounts of single-serve PET bottled water. Bottles that pass a distributor’s initial inspection are subject to three washing cycles to remove particles. Bottles are then passed through two sanitization stages before a final rinse with hyper-ozonated water to kill or inactivate any microbes that remain at that point in the sanitation process. The water bottles are then ready to be filled with our purified water.

 

 

Distribution Network

 

We rely on our national network to deliver our solution to retailers. Our water bottle exchange process begins when a distributor is directed through our proprietary MIS tool, Routeview, to stock or replenish a Primo bottled water retail location. Routeview enables our distributors to review delivery quantities and tentative scheduling requirements in their territory. Our systems provide anticipated demand based on historical sales and, to the extent available, retailer point of sale (“POS”) data. Each distributor is provided information to enable the distributor to load a truck with the appropriate inventory to stock or restock the water bottle sales displays on its route, including a tailored amount of excess bottles as safety stock. Upon arrival at each retail location, the driver first visits the recycling center display to collect empty Primo and other dispenser-compatible bottles. The driver enters data related to empty bottles on a handheld device to collect exchange efficiency information and potential customer conversion data and then loads empty bottles onto the truck. The driver next checks the in-store sales display to compare the number of remaining bottles of water with the anticipated demand report generated by our MIS

tools. After entering current stock levels, the driver is instructed by our MIS tools through the handheld device and based on proprietary algorithms, to replenish the sales display with an appropriate quantity of bottles.

 

At the completion of the delivery cycle and after inspection of the bottles, our distributors typically are responsible for coordinating the sanitization and bottling process with our bottlers. In addition, distributors must run end-of-day reports on their handheld devices which transmit crucial data points into our databases and validate daily activity. Our handheld devices also capture electronic signatures, significantly reducing paper exchange. This greatly improves our verification procedures and enhances our environmental efforts.

 

 

We have the ability to test and refine procedures through our Company-operated distribution system before implementing them with our independent distributors nationwide. In addition, we regularly solicit feedback from our independent distributors to improve processes.

 

Flow of Payments and Capital Requirements

 

We control the flow of payments between our retail customers and our bottlers and distributors through electronic data interchange. Our distributors are responsible for handling distribution and servicing our sales and recycling center displays. Through our handheld devices, distributors report their deliveries which are received by our systems and verified by data integrity checks. Depending on the retailer, our distributors either present the store manager with an invoice for the bottles delivered or our systems electronically bill the retailer. We compensate our distributors with a fixed payment per delivered water bottle on the fifteenth day of the month following the delivery activity. Our fixed payment is a gross amount from which the distributor must typically pay the bottler. In order to maximize their returns and profitability, our distributors increasingly are becoming vertically integrated, using their capital to build bottling facilities. Due to the high degree of automation during our billing and

inventory management procedures, we are able to leverage our centralized personnel and believe we will be able to significantly expand our business with minimal increases in variable cost.

 

We focus our capital expenditures on developing new retail relationships, installing displays at store locations, raising brand awareness, research and development for new products and maintaining our MIS tools. We are also responsible for the centralized operations and personnel, sales and recycling displays, bottles, transportation racks, mineral packets and mineral injectors and handheld devices. Our national network typically has made the capital investment required to operate our exchange service nationwide, including a majority of the capital expenditures related to the bottling, sanitization and refill process and the distribution assets such as delivery trucks and warehouse storage. Participation in our water bottle exchange service does not typically require the independent bottlers and distributors to make substantial new investments because they often are able to augment their current production capacity and leverage their existing bottling and distribution assets. In addition, many of our major retail customers have invested their capital to expand store locations and generate customer traffic.

 

Flow of Payments and Capital Requirements

 

 

Retailer Relationships

 

We target major retailers with either a national footprint or a significant regional concentration. Our relationships are diversified among the following retail categories and major accounts:

 

 

Retailer Opportunity

 

We offer retailers a single-vendor solution. Our water bottle exchange service provides retailers with a year-round consumer product and an opportunity to increase sales and profits with minimal labor and financial investment. Through our national network, we are able to service major retailers nationwide. Retailers benefit from our water bottle exchange service that offers high margin and generates productivity from often underutilized interior and exterior retail space. In addition, our water bottle exchange service has the potential to increase retailers’ sales of ancillary products through increased traffic from repeat water bottle exchange consumers, who purchase an average of 35 water bottles annually.

Account Set-Up

 

We actively pursue headquarters-based retail relationships to better serve our retail partners and minimize layers of approval and decision-making with regard to the roll-out of our water bottle exchange service to multiple locations. Upon confirmation of new retail locations, we coordinate with the retailer and distributor to schedule openings in a timely manner. We actively assist retailers in developing site plans for the setup of our sales and recycling center displays. While retailer setup preferences may vary, retailers often like to locate the recycling center display prominently on the exterior of their store to ease the transaction process, showcase their recycling and environmental efforts and conserve inside floor space while at the same time promoting the Primo brand.

 

Account Service

 

Our water bottle exchange service is a turn-key program for retailers in which we and our distributors actively service each retail account. After the retail location is established, our distributors complete on-site training and have an economic interest in supporting and growing the business relationship to increase product throughput. Distributors deliver three- and five-gallon Primo bottled water directly to retail locations and maintain the sales and recycling center displays.

 

Sales Support

 

While distributors service our retail accounts, the customer relationship is “owned” and maintained by our experienced retail sales organization, which allows us to develop strong brand affinity and maintain key headquarters-based relationships to secure and maintain our national retail network. Our retail relationships are divided into regions and managed by our sales personnel. In addition, we leverage our independent distributors who typically employ their own sales representatives. This combined team is responsible for selling and supporting our water bottle exchange service to targeted retailers.

 

Systems Support

 

We supply each major retail customer with a customized sales and business update on a monthly basis. The monthly update consists of a graphical dashboard highlighting sales trends and location-based information as well as qualitative commentary to assist store and headquarters personnel in their business decisions. We believe our reports help retail personnel monitor the success of our water bottle exchange service and highlight our analytical and customer support capabilities as a retail partner. In many cases, our retail customers do not have internal reporting capabilities to develop comparable analyses.

 

Customer Service

 

We maintain a single 1-800 number for all distributors, retailers and customers to contact us directly with questions regarding our bottled water, water bottle exchange process and customer service inquires. In addition, we maintain a separate 1-800 number for our water dispensers. We believe maintaining our own customer service numbers allows us to effectively monitor all aspects of our business and receive feedback on issues first-hand that we can direct to our distributors or dispenser suppliers.

 

Significant Customers

 

For the year ended December 31, 2009, Lowe’s Home Improvement, Sam’s Club and Walmart represented approximately 33%, 19% and 15% of our total sales, respectively.

 

National Bottler and Distributor Network

 

In an effort to build a market-leading single-vendor national water bottle exchange service, we have sought to attract experienced and well-capitalized independent bottlers and distributors to support our retail partners. As of

December 31, 2009, we had 55 independent bottlers and 27 independent distributors as well as our Company-owned distribution operations covering portions of four states.

 

Bottler and Distributor Opportunity

 

We provide independent bottlers and distributors with an attractive business opportunity, complementing many of their existing operations. We continually pursue new relationships and additional locations with existing retail partners to increase the production at each bottler’s manufacturing facility and the retail customer density within each distributor’s territory.

 

Bottler and Distributor Standards

 

We work very closely with our national network to ensure their production and storage standards meet or exceed the requirements of the United States Food and Drug Administration and other industry regulations. As we seek to promote our brand, we believe it is critical to provide bottled water that has consistent taste and is produced in a manner that exceeds current industry requirements. We regularly monitor, test and arrange for third-party hygiene audits of each bottling facility.

 

In addition, we regularly monitor our distributors’ performance to ensure a high level of account service. Distributors are generally required to develop an infrastructure sufficient to:

 

 

Bottler and Distributor Selection Process

 

We have selectively identified and pursued high quality independent bottlers and distributors that can support our major retailers nationwide. We screen all independent bottler and distributor candidates by reviewing credit reports, safety records and manufacturing compliance reports, and conducting management reference checks. As a result of this thorough selection process, we have established what we believe to be highly dependable relationships with our independent bottlers and distributors. We currently maintain three distributor or bottler relationships that have relatively high customer concentrations in the geographic areas they serve. None of these independent distributors or bottlers, however, had responsibility for more than 8.0% of the bottling or more than 12.6% of the distribution with respect to our water bottle exchange volume for the year ended December 31, 2009. We believe we have a positive relationship with each of these parties and our senior executives have maintained a business relationship with each such party since they were managing operations at Blue Rhino Corporation.

 

Bottler and Distributor Services

 

We currently employ raw material procurement and supply chain personnel who perform periodic inventory audits and month-end review procedures. In addition we have operations personnel who manage our independent bottler and distributor relationships, including training and monitoring personnel and activities. We also employ customer service personnel who handle bottler, distributor, retailer and end-user phone calls.

 

Company Owned Distribution Operations

 

We currently own and operate distribution operations that have distribution responsibilities for certain regions that are relatively near our primary facilities. We distribute our bottled water to major retailers in portions of North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and Virginia. We believe distributing our bottled water in these areas is an important way for us to better understand the bottled water exchange process and provides us the necessary

feedback to enhance our independent bottler and distributor relationships. In addition, distributing our bottled water in these areas should assist us in validating the economic arrangements we offer our bottlers and distributors and developing industry knowledge that we can deploy throughout our system. For the year ended December 31, 2009, our Company-owned distribution operations accounted for approximately 23.5% of our water bottle exchange volume.

 

Independent Bottler and Distributor Agreements

 

We have entered into bottler and distributor agreements with each of our independent bottlers and distributors on substantially similar terms. While individual agreements contain variances and exceptions, the material terms of such agreements are described generally below. No individual bottler or distributor is material to our overall financial condition or results of operations.

 

Independent Bottler Agreement

 

In our independent bottler agreement, we appoint a bottler as a non-exclusive supplier of our purified drinking water. The bottler is restricted from competing with us during the term of the agreement and for a specified period after the term in a specified geography.

 

The bottler is required to bottle and deliver product in conformance with our specifications, including our proprietary mineral formula. The bottler must ensure that our bottled water products comply with applicable laws, rules and regulations (including those of the FDA), industry standards (including those of the International Bottled Water Association) and our quality requirements. The agreement also imposes requirements on the bottler with respect to the maintenance of its facilities and equipment that are intended to ensure the quality of our products.

 

We provide the necessary bottles, caps, labels, transportation racks, mineral injectors and formula minerals at no charge to the bottler to support the bottling and supply of our bottled water products. The bottler is required to maintain inventory levels necessary to satisfy our production requirements. Product may not be released for shipment until the bottler meets all applicable quality requirements.

 

Pricing is set forth in the agreement, and we have the right to modify pricing on thirty days notice to the bottler. The agreements generally have a three-year term, and if not otherwise terminated, automatically renew for successive one-year periods after the initial term. Either party may terminate the agreement in the event of an uncured material breach by the other party.

 

Independent Distributor Agreement

 

In our independent distributor agreement, we grant a distributor the right to serve as our exclusive delivery and service agent and representative with respect to our bottled water exchange service for a specified term in a specified geographic territory. The distributor is restricted from competing with us during the term of the agreement and for a specified period after the term in the specified geography. We have the right, at any time, to purchase a distributor’s rights under the agreement, along with related distribution equipment, for an amount based on the distributor’s revenues under the agreement for the prior twelve-month period and the fair market value of the equipment being purchased.

 

The distributor must perform its services under the agreement in conformance with our distributor manual and all applicable laws and regulations, including those of the FDA.

 

We compensate a distributor for its services while maintaining a direct relationship with and collecting payments from our retailer customers within the distributor’s service territory. Pricing is set forth in the agreement, and we have the right to modify pricing and payment terms on thirty days notice to the distributor.

The agreements generally have a ten-year term, and if not otherwise terminated, automatically renew for successive one-year terms after the initial ten-year term. Either party may terminate the agreement for, among other reasons, an uncured material breach by the other party.

 

Management Information Systems

 

We have made a substantial investment in MIS tools which enhance our ability to process orders, manage inventory and accounts receivable, maintain distributor and customer information, maintain cost-efficient operations and assist distributors in delivering products and services on a timely basis. Our technology utilizes highly integrated, scalable software applications that cost-effectively support our growing retail network. Our MIS tools also allow us to analyze historical trends and data to further enhance the execution, service and identification of new markets and marketing opportunities. The primary components of our systems include the following:

 

Sales and Marketing Support Systems

 

We operate a single customer relationship management database that integrates all financial and transaction-based data with respect to each retail account. Our MIS tools provide our account managers and customer service representatives access to crucial data to effectively manage each bottler, distributor and retail relationship.

 

Bottler and Distributor Level Technology

 

Our distribution process is highly automated and scalable. Our technology allows bottlers and distributors timely access to information for customer support needs and provides access to real-time data to enhance decisions. In addition, each distributor is electronically linked to our systems with our proprietary Routeview software. Routeview enables distributors to review delivery quantities and tentative scheduling requirements across our entire national network. In addition, our MIS tools allow drivers to update delivery, inventory and invoicing information through handheld devices. This technology provides retailers with accurate and timely inventory and invoices and assists each distributor in managing its responsibilities.

 

Financial Integration

 

We utilize Microsoft’s Dynamics GP software as our core platform which interfaces with all of our systems. Each handheld device is based on Microsoft’s operating system and ensures integration within our reporting and financial databases. All delivery transactions are validated and data is imported into our database tables and mapped to corresponding accounting ledgers.

 

Manufacturing and Sourcing

 

Our manufacturing strategy is to utilize independent manufacturers to produce empty water bottles, sales displays and recycle centers and water dispensers at a reasonable cost. We believe that using independent manufacturers has several advantages over our manufacturing these items directly, including (i) decreased capital investment in manufacturing plants and equipment and working capital, (ii) the ability to leverage independent manufacturers’ purchasing relationships for lower materials costs, (iii) minimal fixed costs of maintaining unused manufacturing capacity and (iv) the ability to utilize our suppliers’ broad technical and process expertise.

 

Currently, the majority of our water dispensers are assembled by a single independent manufacturer in China, which utilizes several sub-suppliers to provide components and subassemblies. We have the sole North American rights to develop products with this manufacturer and each dispenser unit is produced to our design specifications. Each unit is inspected and tested for quality by the manufacturer’s personnel prior to shipment and any units returned by consumers or retailers are sent directly to the manufacturer for a credit, replacement or refund issued by the manufacturer. Our units generally are shipped directly from Hong Kong to the retailer. For the year ended December 31, 2009, this manufacturer produced water dispenser units that accounted for more than 95% of our water dispenser billings.

 

Our water bottles and caps are produced by multiple independent vendors throughout the United States. We select suppliers based on price, quality and geographic proximity to our bottlers. We only purchase water bottles with handles as a convenience feature for consumers.

 

Our sales displays and recycle centers are made to our design. We frequently request bids from multiple independent manufacturers to achieve optimal pricing.

 

Product Design and Development

 

A primary focus of our product research and development efforts is developing innovative water dispensers as part of our strategy to enhance consumer awareness and adoption of our water bottle exchange service, increase household penetration and drive sales of our bottled water. We continually work to improve water dispenser features, seek to lower manufacturing costs so that our innovative products are more affordable and introduce new models. Innovative improvements developed in cooperation with our manufacturing partners include bottom-loading dispensers, adjustable hot and cold temperature controls and faster water dispensing capabilities. Our water dispenser models are designed to appeal to consumers of diverse demographic audiences. We are currently working with our manufacturing partners to develop new product lines that include self-bagging automated purified ice dispensers and purified water refill dispensers to be located on-site at our retail customers. We expect to introduce these new product lines in 2010. We are also in the early development stage of creating a water dispenser product that provides consumers the ability to dispense multiple purified water-based beverages, including traditional hot drink products and flavored and carbonated beverages.

 

Competition

 

We participate in the highly competitive bottled water segment of the nonalcoholic beverage industry. While the industry is dominated by large and well-known international companies, numerous smaller firms are also seeking to establish market niches. We believe we have a unique business model in the bottled water market in the United States in that we not only offer three- and five-gallon bottled water on a nationwide basis but also provide consumers the ability to exchange their used containers as part of our water bottle exchange service. We believe that we are one of the first companies to provide a national water bottle exchange service at retail. While we are aware of a few direct competitors that operate similar networks, we believe they operate on a much smaller scale than we do and do not have equivalent MIS tools or bottler and distributor capabilities to effectively support major retailers nationwide. Competitive factors with respect to our business include pricing, taste, advertising, sales promotion programs, product innovation, efficient production and distribution techniques, introduction of new packaging, and brand and trademark development and protection.

 

Our primary competitors in our bottled water business include Nestlé, The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, Dr Pepper Snapple Group and DS Waters of America. None of these companies currently offer a nationwide water bottle exchange service at retail. However, many of these competitors are leading consumer products companies, have substantially greater financial and other resources than we do, have established a strong brand presence with consumers and have established relationships with retailers, manufacturers, bottlers and distributors necessary to start an exchange business at retail locations nationwide should they decide to do so. In addition to competition between firms within the bottled water industry, the industry itself faces significant competition from other non-alcoholic beverages, including carbonated and non-carbonated soft drinks and waters, juices, sport and energy drinks, coffees, teas and spring and tap water.

 

We also compete directly and indirectly in the water dispenser marketplace. This marketplace is diverse and faces competition from other methods of purified water consumption such as countertop filtration systems, faucet mounted filtration systems, in-line whole-house filtration systems, water filtration dispensing products such as pitchers and jugs, standard and advanced feature water coolers and refrigerator-dispensed filtered and unfiltered water.

Intellectual Property and Trademarks

 

We believe that our intellectual property provides a competitive advantage and we have invested substantial time, effort and capital in establishing and protecting our intellectual property rights. We have filed certain patent applications and trademark registration applications and intend to seek additional patents, to develop additional trademarks and seek federal registrations for such trademarks and to develop other intellectual property. We consider our Primo name and related trademarks and our other intellectual property to be valuable to our business and the establishment of a national branded bottled water exchange service. We rely on a combination of patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret laws and other arrangements to protect our proprietary rights. We own ten United States federal trademark registrations, including registrations for our Primo^® and Taste Perfection^® trademarks, our Primo^® logo and our distinctive four bubble design. U.S. federal trademark registrations generally have a perpetual duration if they are properly maintained and renewed. We also own a pending application to register our Zero Waste. Perfect Taste^tm trademark in the United States and Canada for use in association with drinking water dispensers, bottled drinking water and a variety of other non-alcoholic beverages. In addition, the design of our recycling center displays is protected by four United States design patents and two Canadian industrial design registrations. The United States design patents expire between May 2021 and April 2022 and, assuming that certain required fees are paid, the Canadian industrial design registrations expire in May 2017. We own three pending utility patent applications in the United States for our bottled water distribution method and bottle return apparatus (or our recycling center displays). Additionally, we are party to a license agreement with The Black & Decker Corporation, which expires December 31, 2010, pursuant to which we provide private label water dispensers to Target that are branded as Black & Decker products.