Appointment of Brand Director

6 December 2022

UP Global Sourcing Holdings plc

"Ultimate Products" or "the Group"

APPOINTMENT OF BRAND DIRECTOR

Ultimate Products, the owner of a number of leading homeware brands including Salter (the UK's oldest houseware brand, est.1760) and Beldray (est.1872), is pleased to announce the appointment of Tracy Carroll to the role of Brand Director¹. Tracy joins from Helen of Troy, an American designer, developer and marketer of consumer brands, where she served as Associate Marketing Director.

Tracy joined Helen of Troy in 2007 to launch and grow the OXO homeware brand in the UK. In 2014, Tracy was promoted to the role of Associate Brand Director, which led to her remit being expanded to include all marketing activities for the OXO brand in the entire EMEA region. Helen of Troy specialises in the product categories of Home & Outdoor, Health & Wellness, and Beauty. Its leading brands include OXO, Hydro Flask, Osprey, Vicks, Braun, Honeywell, PUR, Hot Tools and Dryba. Helen Of Troy trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol 'HELE'.

Tracy will be Ultimate Products' first dedicated Brand Director, a role that will see her lead the Group's brand and marketing strategy, management, and communications function.

Simon Showman, Chief Executive of Ultimate Products, commented:

"We are very excited to welcome Tracy to Ultimate Products. Her experience at Helen of Troy will be invaluable as we expand our outstanding stable of homeware brands across new geographies and channels. Tracy's arrival will turbocharge our marketing efforts as we seek to build on the incredible success we have had in reinvigorating and growing heritage brands such as Beldray, Progress and Kleeneze. I am confident that with Tracy's help these successes can be replicated with Salter and Petra across our European markets and beyond. We are all looking forward to working closely with her in the years to come."

 

Tracy Carroll, Brand Director at Ultimate Products, commented:

 

"I am delighted to join Ultimate Products as its first-ever Brand Director and to have the opportunity of helping it realise its international and online growth plans. I have long admired Ultimate Products' brands, and I'm looking forward to playing my part in the team's efforts to provide beautiful and more sustainable products for every home."

 

For more information, please contact:

 

Ultimate Products +44 (0) 161 627 1400

Simon Showman, CEO

Andrew Gossage, Managing Director

Chris Dent, CFO

 

Shore Capital +44 (0) 20 7408 4090

Mark Percy

Malachy McEntyre

 

Powerscourt +44 (0) 207 250 1446

Rob Greening

Sam Austrums

 

¹  Non-board position 

 

 

Notes to Editors

 

Ultimate Products is the owner of a number of leading homeware brands including Salter (the UK's oldest houseware brand, established in 1760) and Beldray (a laundry, floor care, heating and cooling brand that was established in 1872). According to its market research, nearly 80% of UK households own at least one of the Group's products.

 

Ultimate Products sells to over 300 retailers across 38 countries, and specialises in five product categories: Small Domestic Appliances; Housewares; Laundry; Audio; and Heating and Cooling. Other brands include Progress (cookware and bakeware), Kleeneze (laundry and floorcare), Petra (small domestic appliances) and Intempo (audio).

 

The Group's products are sold to a broad cross-section of both large national and international multi-channel retailers as well as smaller national retail chains, incorporating discount retailers, supermarkets, general retailers and online retailers.

 

Founded in 1997, Ultimate Products employs over 370 staff, a significant number of whom have joined via the Group's graduate development scheme, and is headquartered in Oldham, Greater Manchester, where it has design, sales, marketing, buying, quality assurance, support functions and warehouse facilities across two sites. Manor Mill, the Group's head office, includes a spectacular 20,000 sq ft showroom that showcases each of its brands. In addition, the Group has an office and showroom in Guangzhou, China and in Cologne, Germany.

 

Please note that Ultimate Products is not the owner of Russell Hobbs. The company currently has licence agreements in place granting it an exclusive licence to use the "Russell Hobbs" trademark for cookware and laundry (NB this does not include Russell Hobbs electrical appliances).

 

For further information, please visit  www.upgs.com