Stronger commercial execution and go-to-market expertise are helping to secure growth above market rates:

• Reinforced marketing capabilities and innovative marketing campaigns are driving category growth.
• A renewed focus on eCommerce has boosted online sales to 10.5% of net sales.
• Revenue Growth Management discipline is simplifying our portfolio and maximizing the value of our assortment by reducing SKUs by 30%, contributing to a 70% increase in net sales per SKU between 2019 and 2023 (estimate). The resulting price and mix benefit will outpace volume and inflation headwinds. 

BIC is also strengthening growth through innovation and M&A:

• Innovation is flourishing, with 10% of sales coming from new products introduced in the last three years. The number of patents granted remains high: 311 in 2022 and 21 patents filed for EasyRinse alone.
• New consumer-centric, data-backed product innovations continue to address specific consumer challenges and offer solutions not previously available, providing opportunities to trade up while enhancing brand perception.
• The BIC Blade-Tech B2B business model enables BIC to tap into a growing disruptor space in refillable systems
• Increased M&A activity has strengthened how we anticipate changing consumer behavior, deliver compelling on-trend products, and expand category growth. BIC’s value add as an accelerator drives additional upside, with M&A activity contributing €75 million to net sales in 2022. The acquisition of AMI enables BIC to rethink writing through an exciting digital lens, using magnetic components.

New capabilities have been introduced to deliver operating efficiencies:

• BIC’s centralized value-added procurement capitalizes on its global operations to deliver cost savings, ensure reliability of supply, and advance sustainability goals.
• Direct and indirect procurement drives incremental cost savings and efficiency gains, while countering inflation and supply risks.
• Value engineering helps focus on consumer value through product optimization, while reducing raw material use, lowering costs, and enhancing sustainability benefits.
• Manufacturing and supply chain efficiencies are lowering end-to-end costs by optimizing our global footprint and sourcing. This increases BIC’s flexibility and agility, while reducing lead time to shelf and CO₂ emissions

Focus on maximizing free cash flow:

• In 2023, the Company will deliver over €200 million in free cash flow for the fifth successive year.
• Stringent capex controls keep the Company’s average annual capex at approx. €100 million.
• Faster collections improve accounts receivable, allowing working capital management efforts that shorten the cash conversion cycle. The Company has already achieved its Horizon goal for DSO improvement by reducing its DSO by 10 days since the start of the Horizon strategic plan. We focus on inventory optimization whilst maintaining strong customer service, targeting DIO reduction by at least 10 days per year through the rest of the Horizon strategic plan.