SharkNinja doesn't expect increased holiday discounting: CEO
SharkNinja's products are all over TikTok. The company makes everything from hair tools to vacuums, making the business a good read on what to expect this holiday shopping season. SharkNinja CEO Mark Barrocas tells Yahoo Finance Live that the company "brings products across a lot of different price points" that could suit a lot of customers needs. When it comes to the holiday shopping season, Barrocas doesn't expect increased discounting and that it will be about in-line with last year.
For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live.
Video Transcript
RACHELLE AKUFFO: From hair care to homemade ice-cream, products from SharkNinja are taking TikTok by storm. It's viral hair tool, which rivals the Dyson Airwrap, has been a particular standout with users making reviews and how to videos to entice viewers. But with sticky inflation squeezing consumers wallets, will higher price point items still be on your holiday shopping list this year?
Mark Barrocas, SharkNinja's CEO, joins us now. I'm sure you hope so. I know I got roped into buying the Ninja Creami. My daughter absolutely loves it. But what are you seeing in terms of demand for some of your higher priced items? Any promotions that you think have really been successful.
MARK BARROCAS: Well, look, you're right. I mean, the consumer has faced, you know, inflationary challenges now for the better part of the last two years, and, you know, we've always been focused on making sure that we're delivering, to the consumer, extraordinary value. We think that SharkNinja, you know, is well positioned, you know, based on the performance and the multifunctionality and the quality and reliability of our products and the value that we bring to the consumer.
And, you know, as you said, I mean, there are challenges that the consumer has, but I think the innovation and the marketing that SharkNinja brings has brought a lot of excitement to the category.
AKIKO FUJITA: Mark, we're going into a season where typically, you see, you know, the heaviest shopping being done around the holidays, but we're also hearing about consumers who are slowly turning a little more cautious. How much pricing power do you think you have?
MARK BARROCAS: Well, look, you know, we came out of the third quarter very strong. I mean, we grew our top line revenue about 15% in the third quarter. Our international business, you know, is growing significantly. I mean, we generated 80% growth in the second quarter. We had strong growth in our North America business.
So, you know, I would say that, you know, SharkNinja brings products across a lot of different price points. We're not the highest priced products in the market. We're not the lowest price, but you mentioned earlier on, the Shark FlexStyle, you know, which is a great selling product for us at $299. But we also recently just launched the Shark SmoothStyle which is a $99 product, and it gives the consumer a way to get into the Shark beauty brands, you know, at a really reasonable price point.
So we think we have a lot of different price points covered depending upon, you know, the consumers desire.
SharkNinja But Mark, as you think about consumer shopping a little earlier this year with wallets a little tighter, I mean, are you thinking about offering more aggressive discounts? What's the thought process going into the holiday season?
MARK BARROCAS: Yeah, I don't think we're expecting, you know, increased discounts. In fact, in the third quarter, we actually saw discounting down a little bit versus prior year. So, you know, as a business, we spend about 6% of sales on R&D, we spend over 8% of sales on sales and marketing, and, you know, we feel like this holiday season will, you know, be in line, you know, to last year, you know, from a promotional or pricing standpoint.
I mean, and we are continuing to see our average sale prices increase.
RACHELLE AKUFFO: Well, I'm sure if I see that catalog come through the door from target or Amazon, I'll have to hide it from my kid. I know she'll probably try and grab whatever the newest gadget is. I appreciate you taking the time to join us this morning. Mark Barrocas, SharkNinja's CEO. Thank you so much.
MARK BARROCAS: Thank you.
