In a Thursday interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer, Clorox CEO Linda Rendle detailed how her company managed to recover after a cyberattack last year disrupted production and seriously hurt business.
“We entered this fiscal year with strong operational momentum, we had fully restored distribution, we had fully restored supply and most of our market share,” she said, adding that the company continued to make progress over the past quarter and has recouped its market share losses. “This is due to the fact that we’re investing in our brands through advertising, and sales promotion, and ensuring that we have a great innovation plan.”
The company — which is behind a number of well-known consumer brands, including its namesake bleach products, Glad trash bags and Burt’s Bees skin care line — posted a solid earnings report and lifted guidance on Thursday.
Rendle discussed the serious nature of the attack, saying the company was “operating in manual mode for nearly two months” and added that Clorox lost about a third of its distribution and market share. Its cat litter brand, Fresh Step, was hit particularly hard as cat owners who switched brands due to shortages were reluctant to switch back. But Rendle said the cat litter business has been on the rebound, regaining much of its lost market share, but admitted that “we have a lot more work to do in that category.”
She also expressed gratitude towards retailers who worked with Clorox during that time and added that these partnerships are stronger coming out of the attack. And while Rendle maintained that the company’s core business is their primary priority, she left the door open for acquisitions in the future.
“There’s opportunities for us out there,” she said. “It’s starting to see the deal market heat up a bit, and we are looking for that next growth opportunity that could either be, you know, focused on the core, or could take us beyond in a category we feel has great trends.”