Greetings, and welcome to the Helen of Troy Limited Fourth Quarter 2020 Earnings Call. At this time, all participants will in a listen-only mode. A brief question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation. [Operator Instructions] Please note that this conference is being recorded. At this time, I'll turn the conference over to Jack Jancin, Senior Vice President of Corporate Business Development. Sir, you may begin.

Thank you, Operator. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to Helen of Troy's Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2020 Earnings Conference Call. Today each member of our earnings team is in their homes and in different locations across the United States, and since this is the first time we're conducting our earnings call remotely we hope you will pardon any technical glitches. Before discussing today's agenda, I would like to call your attention to a change in how we define our sales. As detailed in this afternoon's earnings release, we now define core as strategic business that we expect to be an ongoing part of our operations, and non-core as business that we expect to divest within a year of its designation as non-core. Previously referred to as core business, organic business now refers to net sales revenue associated with products lines or brands after the first 12 months from the date the product line or brand is acquired, excluding the impact that foreign currency measurement had in our reported net sales. The agenda for the call this afternoon is as follows: I'll begin with a brief discussion of forward-looking statements. Mr. Julien Mininberg, the company's CEO, will comment on the financial performance of the quarter and year, our response to the COVID crisis, and discuss current business trends. Then Mr. Brian Grass, the company's CFO, will review the financials in more detail and reflect on considerations from the COVID-19 pandemic uncertainty as we enter fiscal year '21. Following this, we will open up the call to take your questions. This conference call may contain certain forward-looking statements that are based on management's current expectation with respect to future events or financial performance. Generally, the words anticipates, believes, expects, and other words similar are words identifying forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause the anticipated results to differ materially from the actual results. This conference call may also include information that may be considered non-GAAP financial information. These non-GAAP measures are not an alternative to GAAP financial information and may be calculated differently than the non-GAAP financial information disclosed by other companies. The company cautions listeners not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or non-GAAP information. Before I turn the call over to Mr. Mininberg, I would like to note that a copy of today's earnings release can be posted to the Investor Relations section of our Web site, at www.helenoftroy.com. The earnings release contains tables that reconcile non-GAAP financial measures to their corresponding GAAP-based measures. The release can be obtained by selecting the Investor Relations tab on the company's homepage and then the News tab. I will now turn the conference call over to Mr. Mininberg.

Thanks, Jack. Good afternoon, everyone, and thanks for joining us. On behalf of Helen of Troy I would like to share my heartfelt hope that you, your families, and loved ones are staying safe and healthy during this extraordinary time. As we all know, COVID-19 has brought unprecedented disruptions to the global community, which in turn is experiencing an unparalleled impact on the economic activity across most sectors in all geographies. Situation is so dynamic that each day brings new developments. In response we are rapidly and continually adapting our business and leaning into categories where our Leadership Brands play a vital role right now, such as Vicks, Braun, PUR, and part of Honeywell and OXO. We have also taken major steps to protect our people, increase our liquidity, temporarily reduce our costs, and safely continue our operations. We have done all of this guided by our values with a focus on preserving the outstanding capabilities and systems we have built during our transformation. We came in to the crisis with momentum, and believe our actions have positioned us to serve all of our four major stakeholder groups, our associates, consumers, customers, and shareholders. We will give detail in each of these areas during today's call. Given the highly unpredictable nature of the COVID-19 situation we will not be providing guidance for fiscal '21 at this time. While we are taking actions every day to work through the current crisis, we remain focused on our Phase 2 plans and financial targets. With such a broad range of topics to discuss, my comments will first give perspective on our excellent fourth quarter and full-year results. They marked an outstanding conclusion to the first year of our Phase 2 transformation. Next, I will discuss our response to COVID-19 and how we are…

Thank you, Julien. Good afternoon everyone, and thank you for joining us. I'd like to echo Julien's comments and pass along my sincere wishes for the health and safety of you, your families and to your colleagues, the health and safety of our associates has been our greatest consideration since COVID-19 began, and it will continue to be as we move forward. As humbling as it has been, I've never been more proud of the company in the spirit of togetherness within it. I want to start by reiterating that the fundamentals of Helen of Troy's businesses remain strong. Even though the current operating environment has presented its share of challenges and uncertainty, our view of the longer-term opportunities we see ahead to further grow our business has not changed, nor has our view of the key strategies we have chosen in pursuing them. With our proven diversified business model and product portfolio efficient and scalable operating platform, strong balance sheet and ample liquidity. I believe we are well positioned to actively manage the things in our control and successfully navigate the current crisis, and a protracted economic downturn if that should occur. For discussing the quarter in more detail. I'd like to make a couple of broad points, first, consistent with our strategy of focusing on our leadership brands. During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, we committed to a plan to divest certain assets within our mass market, personal care business and recorded an after tax non-cash impairment charge of $36.4 million related to its goodwill and intangible assets. The assets to be divested including intangible assets, inventory, and fixed assets related to the company's mass channel liquids, powder, and aerosol products under brands such as Pert, Brut, Sure, and Infusium. We expect the divestiture to occur within…

Thank you. And this time, we'll now be conducting the question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions] And our first question is coming from the line of Olivia Tong with Bank of America. Please proceed with your questions.

Thanks. Good afternoon. Hope everyone is well. I want to dig further into your visibility on demand across your key business segments over the balance of the year considering all the volatility across your channels. If you can give us a sense of either of performance since quarter close, any volatility from early March to now? If you could also discuss the retail relationship, and also how you're going about planning for the next three quarters given potentially very different scenarios we could be in? And then secondly, what you're doing on advertising to create awareness in Braun, Vicks, Honeywell to the extent that you have product to satisfy the demand while also supporting some of the more discretionary businesses? Thanks.

Got you. Yes, hi, Olivia. Thanks, a bunch of things in there, and nice to talk to you. Sorry it's a virtual one today, but you've come through loud and clear. In terms of the questions, starting with the demand that we're seeing now, in our prepared you heard, I hope, some bright spots. There's some significant attention to our products, first of all starting in health and home, and we are seeing a lot of demand in all the categories mentioned, and in thermometers included, and first among them for obvious reasons on COVID-19. Extends beyond though into the humidifiers, the inhalants, I think cold and cough; the cough especially, and in the case of the water purifiers and, importantly, also air purifiers. In OXO, where the brand specifically -- you heard the comments that we made, and OXO has been holding up especially well online, and in stores that are open, that the year-over-year comps are very, very good, in fact ahead of a year ago. In the case of Beauty, we're also seeing now and it's getting better week by week especially as the supply situation unfolds, to see significant demand, especially around the Volumizer franchise, and also to see the growth week-over-week and depending on which store. Stores like Target, Walmart, Amazon are three very large examples in our top five customer group that are experiencing that trend on Beauty, so that this is good to see. In terms of supporting them, we are supporting them, especially where the stores are open. There's -- the company has gotten very good online. We're far from perfect, but we're miles ahead of where we were just a couple of years ago. So we're supporting the dotcoms very precisely, and we can advertise on their sites, and on Amazon, tremendous amounts of support in terms of digital marketing where we have product and where the customer is able to shop. So that's happening. And in the case of demand in general, where it's poor is in the places where the stores are closed, obviously. And with brick-and-mortar still bigger than online in total sales, that's why Brian made the comments of its net got some damage in it, just like everybody else, but with Helen of Troy more developed online than pretty much anyone else that we're aware of in our industry. We think we're faring better than most, and also having those healthcare products makes a big difference. I think there was another question inside your comments. I may have missed that one, Olivia. Sorry.

No, no worries. I guess wanted to also ask you about the divestiture, why now? Because we know it's not your favorite business, but is there something else you're looking to do, a desire to create liquidity or something else? Just trying to better understand the timing given where deal multiples are now post versus pre COVID.

Olivia, it's Brian. I can start, maybe then Julien can jump in. I just want to address it's not liquidity driven. We had made the decision to do this far -- well, not far before, but sometime during the fourth quarter before COVID-19 had begun becoming what it is today. So no, it wasn't liquidity-driven. We just feel it's the right time to focus on our leadership brands. And we think the asset is better off in somebody else's hands who can give it the time and attention it deserves.

Again, my build on that, Olivia, is we've seen some tremendous strength in the Leadership Brands. You heard the numbers we just reported for the year, also the quarter, and then over the last three years-plus in Beauty now -- the three years in Beauty, and many quarters in a row we've demonstrated not only the ability to grow in appliances, but now also the ability to grow the appliances sufficiently to make the whole segment the biggest in a decade, that you heard in the prepared remarks. In terms of the Personal Care, as Brian said, yes, it's probably better off in the hands of a company for which that's core, those types of mass market personal care products. And then in our case it's not only a matter of focus, just a matter of where we're having success and where we want to put the next dollar, and from a liquidity standpoint it's far from our minds. In fact it's not even on our minds. Well, we have tremendous amount of liquidity now. We have low debt; we have high cash flow coming into the crisis. So it's not like we're selling the furniture. And then in terms of what we do with the proceeds and all of that, those are high quality problems to have if the times comes, and at that moment we'll put it to work on something that's [pouring future] [Ph] for us.

Great, thanks. And then just lastly, just a little bit more color around the decision to delay the guidance for fiscal '21, obviously understand, a very challenging backdrop. But is it -- can you talk about like what your biggest worries are, is it just the COVID-19 obviously was a big piece, is it recession, or is there something specific internally as you look into 2021 that kind of gives you pause, because obviously we understand the term, any divergent trends, and all that? Thanks.

It's a great question, and I'm very glad you asked so that all can hear and in the public call here. That the sole reason we're not giving guidance is COVID '21 uncertainty that I think the vast majority of other companies have done exactly the same. It's -- I don't know if I an say this the right way but I'll try, which is I think it would almost be irresponsible for us to give guidance at this point for the simple reason that not only do we not know from a future standpoint the shape of the pathogen, what it will take, the course it will take. But I think anyone who says they do is almost certainly wrong. And I don't want to judge for other people, but I think it would be hard for a serious company to say, "We've got this, and we know exactly where it's going. And we can see the entire next 12 months." I don't think anyone can say that with certainty, and in the case of Helen of Troy there's no other reason, whether it's a V shape, a W shape, and L shape, a U shape, and we've heard it all. What we're doing is looking at our business and the prospects that we have, and making what we think are the best decisions, but there's no other reason whatsoever on the subject of guidance. Brian, I know you had a build there.

No, I would just say, I mean, knowing when stores, retail stores will open in earnest and be open consistently, and when the consumer will be in those stores is a huge gap in visibility that's very difficult to give guidance against. Also, we were chasing demand in a few areas leading into the crisis. And then there was Chinese New Year and the crisis on top of that, which has put a lot of disruption into the supply chain that we also still have to work through. And so you combine some supply disruption from COVID-19 along with low visibility on demand, and I think that points you in the direction of that giving guidance would be irresponsible, as Julien said.

Okay, thanks so much, great to hear from you.

Thank you. The next question is from t line of Bob Labick with CJS Securities. Please proceed with your question.

Good afternoon and great to hear your voices. And I hope everyone on the call is doing well, and safe and healthy. Wanted to start, maybe you could talk a little bit about some of the hurdles for some of your brands to shift to almost -- nearly 100% online. Is there enough inventory in the marketplace? Are you forced to use air cargo to replenish? And maybe specifically talk a little it about, because you mentioned Amazon obviously, and have they -- I've read that they had shifted to not taking on inventory of nonessential items. How does that impact or how has that impacted Hydro Flask or Drybar or things like that? Just give us a little sense of what's going on with some of the lack of bricks-and-mortar retail and how you're trying to get supply to market.

Yes, you bet, great question, and nice to hear from you, Bob. We've been on our quite period for a long time, so it's nice to come out and be able to chat. In the case of the shift to online, it is big. I think it's important that people know, and I think they do, that not all brick-and-mortar is closed. In the drug channel the pharmacy stores are open, and in the mass market channel, the Walmart, Target is two huge examples, if generally open. Not every department and not every place are perfect, but there is a footprint out there, and then when it comes to online, stores that are closed, like an ulta.com as an example, but there are so many others where the -- bedbathandbeyond.com, and on it goes. There's plenty of online activity that it's surging, and is multiples of its historical run rates even taking into account the growth. So if something is growing 25%-30% year-over-year, just double its size and then grow on top of that. This is what we're talking about, so these are big. In terms of us supplying those, your point about essentials is important. Originally, and this is like a month ago or maybe even three weeks ago, big players like Amazon were restricting the product assortment to what they would call, essentials, and they would literally have a list with a capital E of what's in and what's not. And then over the course of the last two or three weeks the list of essentials has been growing longer and longer. And we, and I'm sure other companies, but certainly we have been pretty successful in getting many of our products added to the essential list, including I'd say probably 90% of Hydro Flask at this point.…

Yes. Sorry, Julien. Bob, it's Brian. I know you asked about air freight. Yes, we've done -- make sense both from a demand perspective and a cost perspective. There's a situation now where it's become very costly to do that. So we have to be even more choiceful when we decide to do it, or we're not doing it, but yes, it's something we did in the fourth quarter.

Got it, okay, great, and then just…

Yes, I want to say on certain areas, sorry, I just want to make sure people knew that in the healthcare essentials, our standard is a little different for the air freight. We will lean in a little bit more there just because we appreciate the essential reality, and it's we still want to profitable and do all the right things on the one hand, the other hand that people just need the product.

Got it, okay. And then last quick one for me. You mentioned the Drybar integration is kind of on track, but just can you give us a sense, I don't remember if we knew this from before the world seems to have changed online. How is their ability to sell online through their own site and through some -- and then also as it relates to them, how are the synergies and manufacturing and procurement going, or is that impacted in the short-term?

Yes, the second one first, not impacted. We're making very good progress on the subject of manufacturing. We're bigger by maybe 10, 20 times something like this. I'd have to do the math on the appliance side, especially and Drybar and get a little bit more of the ability to leverage our scale and a much broader supplier base. We know the Drybar suppliers well and we've been working with them and one of them is a current major supplier to us and we've been working with them. They're cooperating nicely. So the terms and the scale advantages are going well. The other is one that we know well, but don't work with as much. And we're working now to improve the overall situation for the benefit of both. On the liquid side, the team is fully intact and Drybar, and is very active supplying the liquids. Back to the first question of how Drybar is doing in the dot com and all of that, people should know a couple of things, and we've announced before that the salons themselves which are all closed today represent roughly the 20, 80 or 20% of the Drybar sales for products. The 80 is primarily split between Ulta and Sephora, both of which on a brick and mortar side are closed, but are booming online, and so, the Drybar sales online for those two, Ulta and Sephora are doing extremely well, but it's not enough to overcome the brick and mortar. And in the case of the Drybar stores, there is an active direct-to-consumer aspect and that is extremely active right now on if you were on their mailing list for example, you could see a lot of offers and reminders and the things for home like think dry shampoos and taking care of yourself at a time when wellness matters and people that kids climbing the walls and all that. Just to give people a chance to take care of themselves during that time. I know Brian has got some builds here.

Not, Julian, I think you covered all the points I would have made.

All right, thank you very much.

Sure. Thanks, Bob.

Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Rupesh Parikh with Oppenheimer. Please proceed with your question.

Good afternoon. Thanks for taking my question. So the first year I wanted to start helping home, so we get a lot of questions on your thermometer business, so just want to get a sense of your ability to ramp up capacity and also whether you currently serve the B2B channel and whether that's an opportunity going forward.

Yes, it's a great question. So thermometers are booming in general, and nobody likes the reason COVID-19, but we don't cause the problem. We're very glad to be a part of the solution to the extent that we can be there for people. We have production facilities that we work with these are third parties through China and also in Mexico. And some parts, for example, the probe covers for the infrared thermometers or the Braun, ear thermometers same product is in the United States. So it's not just a China thing or a transport thing. This is a capacity thing. So, on the savage of capacity, we've been greatly improving the capacity out of Mexico, a significant numbers at double-digit kind of increases to get the maximum number of red thermometers into the marketplace now, and we don't have the Pacific Ocean to cross there. So, there's a speed aspect to it as well. In the case of the probe covers where the demand is more than doubled and that's a very important product for hygiene for, helping to prevent contagion and also the accuracy of the thermometer measurements themselves. That demand is easily running it, that's made in the United States. And then we've made significant double-digits improvements in the capacity there as well. And on China as the factory production comes back online, it's actually generally almost full strength now. There are some government interventions in China especially in March where a lot of the product was being directed in China by the government for China during their peak for COVID. As that has come down and their restrictions are easy, that product is flowing much better now. And we work with multiple suppliers across all different models. So there's lots of different places to do the different types. On the B2B side, it is an opportunity and as I mentioned in my remarks, I'm glad your customers are picking up on it, not what we said, but with a B2B, which is that employers want their facilities to be safe. They want their people to be safe, and they're increasingly wanting to measure temperatures on people's way in the door, especially in a no contact with noninvasive types of things for it as an example of that. We make a lot of forehead thermometers, and now the B2B demand is extremely high. From a sales channel standpoint, it creates a development opportunity for us. And while I can't predict what the new normal will be like on the other side of COVID-19, if you think back to 911, you know, the kind of airport security that this year to this day, what's that 20 years on? There is just a new normal in that world. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a new normal in the temperature checking world, but it's hard to predict such things in the heat of the moment. Either way, it's an opportunity for us.

Okay, great. And then going back, I guess this is falling onto Olivia's question earlier, just in terms of trying, so at least in retail, it appears, at least in recent weeks, you see an acceleration maybe driven by some of the stimulus out there. So if you look at some of your more discretionary product properties, like maybe Hydro Flask. Have you also seen maybe, I guess consumers retrenching late March, early April, and then, feeling better, maybe seamless, is helping and trends picking up look at any more color just in terms of how some of those discussion and categories are performing recently?

Yes, I'll make a broad comment and then specific to Hydro Flask. So broadly we are seeing week over week demand improve. So this is just true in general. It's especially true online, and it's now also true in the brick and mortar stores that are open, and it's also true for Hydro Flask. So whether you're talking about a volumizer, the OXO products that we called out specifically, and we can go through, which categories it's helpful to you, and other beauty products and now also Hydro Flask. You say, why now, it's because of the essentials list thing. So the online for Hydro Flask the essentials listing has improved and that has helped us considerably. And then consumers themselves it's possible what you say would be speculative for me to confirm or deny, but I think it makes sense that as consumers feel more comfortable that they've got the stimulus checks, and they can have at least some visibility into the current situation. The idea of making purchases like that maybe makes a little more sense than two or three weeks ago. Consumers are also just kind of clamoring. I think, I don't -- just common sense that the two words that Hydro Flask stands for in it's selling line, which are let's go probably is about the best two word summary of how 7 billion people on the planet earth feel, which is let's get outside and do some stuff. And I think, it's springtime in the Northern hemisphere, the weather is improving, the restrictions are losing.

Okay, great. Thank you for all the color. I'll pass it along.

Yes. Hopefully it's enough. I really can't predict the future. Nobody I can, but I can say the week over weeks, they're simply improving and that there are meaningful improvements. And I can say that the trends are - it's not like, oh, this week is better than last week. So we'll tell you it's been every week for the last couple of weeks, and then the trends I just mentioned are all happening. The health and home, it's a bit different. That one is more symptom and a COVID driven. So that that's different than how consumers feel or how brick and mortar stores are behaving. It's simply that people want to have humidifiers and air purifiers, water purifiers, and they need the monitors. You'll see recommendations and there is some pretty big and widespread newspaper articles on humidifiers our products. I think they were five recommended in one very prominent newspaper national distribution. And they highlighted three favorite products or five favorite products. Three of them were ours. So it means that we're getting pretty good attention. I think people are also getting an education now, especially Millennials and others who might think that I don't need that for my parents, thermometer, humidifier or something like that, and now they're all looking to buy them, so there's just good trends out there.

Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Linda Bolton-Weiser with D.A. Davidson. Please proceed with your question. Yes, hi Linda.

So I just wanted to kind of clarify, I mean your tone quite frankly is very positive across categories that I wouldn't expect it even. So I guess just in thinking forward, I mean, I think there's a consensus view out there that we're in a severe recession. And in the last recession, your revenue did decline. I think it was in the mid single digits, if I'm remembering correctly. And your portfolio is not exactly the same, but it's largely the same as it was back then, I guess with the addition of Hydro Flask. So how should we think about the overall portfolio this time around versus the last recession? Maybe, once we get past this surge and demand for certain COVID related stay at home items, how should we think about your business a couple of quarters out? And maybe you could also talk about just the trading down phenomenon in some of your more premium priced product lines? And whether you anticipate there might be some of that that might happen? Thanks.

Sure. Yes, it's a good question. Nobody's immune to recession. But I think it's important to break products into two groups. One is things people need, so think of staples and separately, things people would like, but maybe there's a substitute that's trading down or cheaper to your to your point. I think it's also good to look at the last major recession and ask what happened, so you've already answered one, which is you can see what our portfolio did. We've made some significant improvements in our portfolio since then, but if the question of what happened last time, there's a good mathematical answer and like you said we had not such a big decline compared to so many other companies. Some products that you might think are premium and essential, premium yet essential like OXO kitchen things, you might think people will trade down like crazy. Why I buy the $10 can opener when you could buy the $2 can opener, especially if you just don't have a job, and nonetheless, during the Great Recession about a decade ago, OXO grew 25%. So this was there was no global pathogen. There was no pandemic, there was no multi-trillion dollar government stimulus directly to consumers at that time, it was due to TARP program, and there it was mostly asset and banking. There were other things happening a decade ago that are happening today. So I don't know if it's directly comparable. I can also say that a lot of our products are thriving. So think of the Health & Home ones that we've mentioned in this environment because of the essentiality and on things like Beauty, the volumizers where the demand is so strong, that even in this environment, we can't keep up with this on the supply standpoint. We're working very hard to improve that by the way, but seeing good stuff. And on the store closures, this is the difference this time that wasn't true last time that all the stores were closed for a month or something. But that is the case this time. And there's not a great cure for that if you can't buy at a store that is not open, and you can't go to a store if you're supposed to stay in your house, and the last thing I'd say is very different is online. Helen of Troy was a low single digit online player, a decade ago today it's 24% online players reported in the numbers we gave just an hour ago, and those numbers are significantly better and the market for online products is way more penetrated. Younger people are buying Amazon Prime, and none of these things existed a decade ago. There's a little perspective and some comparison but it's not the same, it's not the same drivers, not the same recessionary environment.

Yes, this is Brian. I just add I mean, the weight of Beauty 10-years ago was dramatically different than it is today. Beauty was a core business. At that time, we had acquired OXO that we hadn't even acquired the healthcare type business. So we have a healthcare business today. We have a business OXO that that grew consistently and robustly last time this occurred. And we have a lower weight of Beauty and what we do have in Beauty, it's very high in demand now, and we've seen that consistently and as Julien said, the trends have actually improved. So we are having trouble keeping up with the demand for the volumizer and our Beauty business. And then I would agree that we weren't penetrated online like we are today. And I think we're ahead of our peers in terms of online penetration. So I think our portfolio actually works in our favor and the comparison to 10 years goes relevant, but I think we're a different company than we were in.

On the downside, I'd say Drybar, the launch close right now, just to start right there, but also, that's a much higher end product, and it's one that's more discretionary. So women will I believe soon enough to want some time away that wants meet time, they want some pampering, they always want to look good, and I wouldn't be surprised if there's a rush on nails, hair color, and also haircuts and blowout style, and the social events and travel and all that pick up over time. And all the reasons why Drybar thrive so much will presumably be the back in the shelf.

Okay, that's all for me. Thank you.

Nice to talk to you.

Thank you. Our final question is from the line of Steve Marotta with CL King & Associates. Please proceed you're your questions.

Good evening, Julien, Brian, and Jack. Julien, would you say that the largest supply demand dislocation of all your product lines is currently occurring in thermometers. And I diligently took notes in what you're doing to endeavor to remedy the supply chain from a thermometer standpoint, when do you think based on current levels of demand, current levels that supply chain can catch up to that?

Sure, yes. Let's start with the first one. Just repeat the second one, I get. The first ones make sure I hear it one more time, please.

You've noted a couple of product categories that are current, where demand is currently outstripping supply where you're chasing product volumizers being one of them, I'm asking these thermometers, the leading category where demand is outstripping?

Yes, I'd say the answer is yes. I might have to go back in triple check just to make sure I don't take it down the wrong path, but I believe the answer is yes. It's not alone though because of the volumizer comment. And so it's important. It's not just that one we're seeing demand very high in a couple of other categories. On the thermometer side, we're talking historic kind of situation, this is a global pandemic. It's unlike others. The only other pandemic I'm aware of in the lifetime probably most of the people on this call was this Swine Flu pandemic, which was roughly a decade it goes 2009, 2010 like that period of time, and at that time, it's not the kind of situation that we're in now because I don't think too many people died from Swine Flu. And there was none of the social distancing and two week incubation and the quarantine and other things that are being seen today. So I don't think that those two pandemics are so comparable. So the thermometer thing is off the charts. And then high fever spikes are highly correlated to the early symptomology for this disease, so thermometer is a big deal, that's the driver. So yes, I think it's likely that that's the outside. And Brian, I think you had a comment on this and then we'll move to these other questions.

Yes, there's definitely a constraint in thermometers, but the advantage we have there is some of our key skews are manufactured in Mexico. So the lead time is shorter, and then the things that aren't manufactured in Mexico, thermometers because they're small lend themselves to being efficient from an airfreight perspective. So we can more efficiently airfreight the supply and when we're constrained on the thermometers, then we can and hairdryers and some of the bigger items. So, yes it is there, demand is very, very strong and hard to keep up with it from a supply perspective but our supply chain structure and the nature of the devices do make it better in terms of being able to ramp-up the supply and get the product here where we need it. So it's a little bit better in that sense, but still a challenge because the demand is so strong.

Yes, and I think I mentioned earlier and also in the Western Hemisphere, the probe covers for the ear thermometers we're the overwhelming market leader by 20, 30, 40 share points, these kind of numbers in ear thermometer. So we're the big player that the number of probe covers we sell you'll think of it as like a number like 1 billion, that that's a big number. The demand is multiples of that. So it's not like we could just one more and one more shift and make a few more of course we've done all of that, you maxed out the molds, maxed out the shift work, maxed out all the materials and all this stuff has been done. We've also made some, I'd call it lever interventions with the suppliers to increase the capacity from there and take in numbers of like 20%, 30% this kind of thing and in the case of the ear thermometers, it's also the case we've increased the capacity. Then in China, where there's plenty of production, the demand is overwhelming. So we're getting the absolute most we can out of the supply chain there, in every single day, we're shipping thermometers, people should not hear that just because they see it out of stock in the store that we don't have any, it's that we're allocating what we have making more as fast as we can and putting it into the market, but the demand is high enough that there's just not enough. In the case of volumizers, it's a completely different driver. It's just the product is extremely hot and people want them even in this environment. It's hard to create enough, so we've brought on other suppliers, other component suppliers like motors, and we have expedited to the point where it pays out like we're trying to stay on top of air freight. Yes Brian?

Yes, COVID-19 had an extreme impact on the ability to have volumizers to meet demand, it happened right on top of Chinese New Year. And it took a while for factories to be able to have the labor or the components to be able to do production again because the componentry was also limited by other factories that weren't able to open. So COVID-19 had a very large impact on the demand and as Julien said, our capacity has ramped up now to 90%, 95% getting close to 100%, but there's lead times on production from China and airfreight is very expensive right now. So we will have to be choiceful on what costs we choose to add to meet the demand.

Great, that's helpful, thank you very much.

Yes, pleasure. You had a second question there. I don't know if it got enough attention, Steve.

I'll take it offline. Good, thanks.

Okay. Yes, no problem. And I hope people do understand it's important that they know that the supply it's not like we don't have product, we don't have enough product, which is a good problem to have, but we would like to be able to satisfy the market in full and that's where the 24/7 is happening, and then in other areas, we're doing fine on that. I think the net of it all and Brian mentioned this in his prepared remarks is there's not enough stores open to overcome all the goodness. So, the net is tough to grow in the environment, but every single place where we can be successful we are, and the places where the demand is surging, we're selling literally everything we have, and in the places where we can help develop or feed the market like online where we're strong, we're not only feeding it, but the market itself is strong, and then we're supporting those brands to make sure that consumers have awareness, it facts out the digital marketing when the press inquires and we answer the very best we can to keep the information accurate in the marketplace and to make sure people know what to do at a time when everybody is worried about health and let's do the very best for their family. And when it comes to more discretionary things like the OXO type of products, maybe you've seen it in your own homes, the demand for cooking-related, cleaning-related, storage, this kind of stuff is super high and the products are benefiting meaningfully from that situation, and that being close together as we put in our script, children, old and young, and I could say that, you know, at the age of 55, I'm doing a lot more cooking than I ever had in my life. Thank you.

There are no additional questions at this time. Let's make any final comments.

Yes, thank you, Operator. We appreciate everyone being here with us today, as well as your support. We're very, very proud of our strong fourth quarter and the full-year performance we just posted for fiscal 2020. We're also proud of the outstanding start that that represents for Phase 2. It was the first year of Phase 2 and it was a great one. We are working very hard to address the COVID-19 crisis to continue to advance our Phase 2 plan and to emerge strong as the economy reopens. We look forward to speaking with many of you, and this will happen in the coming days and weeks. We thank you very, very much, and hope you have a wonderful evening. Thank you.

This concludes today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. We thank you for your participation.