Waterford Wedgwood Acquires Spring AG Cookware Publication: Gourmet Retailer Date: Friday, May 24 2002
Waterford Wedgwood, the parent company of All Clad, has acquired certain assets of Spring AG, a Swiss luxury cookware company.
Under terms of the agreement, Waterford Wedgwood will acquire the Spring brand name, its patents and trademarks, a majority stake in Spring's U.S. distribution company, as well as inventory, equipment, and tooling. Waterford plans on establishing a new company in Switzerland to handle sales, marketing and customer service.
"Spring is a prestigious brand in Europe and world markets, where its status is comparable to that of All-Clad in America," stated Redmond O'Donoghue, Group CEO of Waterford Wedgwood. "The Spring acquisition significantly advances our strategy to develop an international luxury cookware business. It will save us significant time and the marketing investment necessary to build the All-Clad name beyond America where it enjoys such strong brand awareness. The combination of All-Clad and Spring can make us a player in the worldwide luxury cookware market.
The acquisition of a strong European brand such as Spring confirms our view that today's difficult business climate will generate valuable acquisition opportunities. With the complementary strengths of All-Clad in America and Spring in Europe and beyond, we have the ideal vehicle to capture a significantly increased share of this important business," he added.