Ninja (brand)

SharkNinja, Inc.
FormerlyEuro-Pro Operating LLC
Company typePublic
NYSE: SN
IndustrySmall Home Appliances
Founded1994; 30 years ago (1994)
FounderMark Rosenzweig
HeadquartersNeedham, Mass., USA
Key people
Mark Barrocas (Chief Executive Officer)
BrandsShark, Ninja
Number of employees
2,800
Websitewww.sharkninja.com

SharkNinja, Inc. is a global product design and technology company based in Needham, Massachusetts.[1][2] Founded in 1994 by Mark Rosenzweig and led by CEO Mark Barrocas, who joined the company in 2008 as President, the company's name is formed by combining its two primary brands: Shark and Ninja.

SharkNinja's product portfolio spans 27 household sub-categories, across cleaning, cooking, food preparation, home environment and beauty.[3] SharkNinja has grown from less than $250 million in net sales for the 12 months ended March 31, 2008 to over $3.7 billion in net sales for the fiscal year end of December 31, 2022.[3]

SharkNinja is a U.S. public company listed on the NYSE[4] with more than 2,800 employees located in nine countries and across 25 offices. The company possesses a portfolio of over 3,000 patents in force in various jurisdictions, including the United States, Canada, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France.[3]

History

The company has its origins in Euro-Pro Operating LLC in 1994, when Mark Rosenzweig of Montreal, whose family had run the business for generations prior to its incorporation, developed steam cleaners and upright vacuums. In 2003, Rosenzweig moved the headquarters from Montreal to Needham, Massachusetts.[5][6]

The Shark brand was founded in 2007 by Rosenzweig with the launch of the No-Loss-of-Suction vacuum technology. Shortly thereafter, the executive bench was expanded to include Mark Barrocas as SharkNinja's president, driving the launch of the Ninja brand in 2009.[3]

The company changed its name in 2015 to capitalize on its brand names' prominence and popularity.[7] In 2013 the company registered an entity in the United Kingdom and began selling products in the UK under the Shark brand.[8]

In 2017, CDH Private Equity[9] acquired a stake in the company.[2][10] It was then structured as a subsidiary of JS Global, an investment holding company.[11] SharkNinja accounted for almost half of JS Global's revenue in 2018.[12]

On July 31, 2023, SharkNinja completed its separation from JS Global and became an independent public company, with its ordinary shares trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "SN".[13]

Products

Shark Floorcare

  • Vacuum Cleaners: Corded and Cordless Vacuums (upright, stick, canister and handheld variations)
  • Robotic Vacuums
  • Steam Mops
  • Wet/Dry Floor Cleaning

Shark Home Environment

  • Air Purification
  • Fans

Shark Beauty

  • Hair Dryer

Ninja Motorized Kitchen Appliances

  • Blenders (full-size and single service)
  • Juicers
  • Food processors
  • Ice cream makers

Ninja Heated Cooking

  • Air Fryers
  • Ovens
  • Indoor Grills
  • Outdoor Grills
  • Multi-cookers
  • Waffle makers
  • Toasters

Ninja Beverage

  • Coffee Systems
  • Water carbonation and flavoring system
  • appliances

Lawsuits

In 2014, Dyson sued SharkNinja for infringement of three vacuum technology patents, but after four years courts ruled the patents had not been infringed.[14]

In 2019, SharkNinja sued the manufacturer of the Emeril Lagasse Pressure AirFryer for patent infringement, but the case was dismissed.[14]

In January 2021, iRobot sued SharkNinja for false advertising and patent infringement related to robotic vacuum cleaners. As of March 2023, the case is still pending before the United States International Trade Commission.[14]

In October 2023, SharkNinja was sued over an allegedly misleading advertisement claiming that their frying pans, which are coated using titanium and ceramic plasma for an extremely scratch-proof and non-stick surface, are "heated to 30,000 °F (16,600 °C; 16,900 K)", which is about 3 times the effective temperature of the Sun (9,930 °F [5,499 °C; 5,772 K][15]) and 6 times the boiling point of aluminum (4,478 °F [2,470 °C; 2,743 K]). In contrast, the pans are rated for cooking at temperatures only up to 500 °F (260 °C; 533 K).[16]

References

  1. ^ "SharkNinja". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on July 11, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "CDH Private Equity Acquires SharkNinja Operating". mergr.com. Mergr. 2017. Archived from the original on July 13, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d "SharkNinja, Inc. Prospectus". www.sec.gov. June 28, 2023.
  4. ^ "SharkNinja CEO reveals what consumers are looking for now". Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  5. ^ Schulties, Rachel (2020-08-28). "Mark Rosenzweig, Founder, and Mark Barrocas, President, SharkNinja named 2021 HomeWorld Business "People To Watch"". Marketsmith, Inc. Archived from the original on 2023-02-14. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  6. ^ Cave, Andrew. "How Shark Ate Dyson's Lunch In America". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2023-04-12. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  7. ^ "Euro-Pro Cleans Up with New SharkNinja Identity" (Press release). Newton, Massachusetts: SharkNinja Operating LLC. July 22, 2015. Archived from the original on July 12, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2020 – via PRNewswire.com.
  8. ^ "Shark Anti Hair Wrap & About Shark". Which Vac?. Archived from the original on 22 November 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  9. ^ "CDH Acquires Stake in Home Appliance Brand SharkNinja". The Free Library. August 17, 2017.
  10. ^ "SharkNinja aims to suck up Dyson vacuum business". Financial Times. 2018-10-16. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
  11. ^ "JS Global Lifestyle Co Ltd, 1691:HKG profile - FT.com". markets.ft.com. Retrieved 2023-08-17.
  12. ^ "Chinese owner of SharkNinja revives Hong Kong IPO amid US tariff risks". South China Morning Post. 2019-12-09. Archived from the original on 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  13. ^ "SharkNinja Becomes Independent, Publicly Traded Company and Begins Trading on New York Stock Exchange". July 31, 2023. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  14. ^ a b c "Roomba, SharkNinja, and the $3 billion battle of the robot vacuums". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 2023-03-22. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  15. ^ "Sun Fact Sheet". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  16. ^ Roth, Emma (20 October 2023). "Frying pan company sued for claiming temperatures that rival the Sun". The Verge.