Former long-serving Eveready East Africa chief executive officer (CEO) Steven George Smith, who died this week, waged a memorable and relentless battle against counterfeiters and the dumping of cheap batteries from Asia in the Kenyan market.
Smith is also remembered for a transformative business eye that saw Eveready lift from a single product producer and dealer, into a distributor of more than 100 items under popular brand names Energizer, Schink, and Eveready and publicly listed on the present Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).
He became the face of opposition to counterfeit and cheap products being dumped into the country, constantly piling pressure on the government to take action on the vice that was hurting the fortunes of manufacturers including Eveready which he headed.
The anti-counterfeit noise by Smith and fellow manufacturers saw the government bow to pressure and form the Anti-Counterfeit Agency through an Act of Parliament in 2008 to fight the menace. The agency has since been renamed Anti Counterfeit Authority.
Smith’s crusade against counterfeits was directly reflected in his woes at the helm of the Nakuru-based company, whose fortunes had been dipping for five successive years before his exit on May 31, 2011.
Although he was credited for Eveready’s listing on the NSE in 2006, the company’s fortunes took a turn for the worse soon after, amid dwindling profits and sales that made it difficult for the company to pay dividends to shareholders over the five years until when Smith retired.
For example, Eveready’s annual revenues dropped from Sh2.3 billion in 2005 just before it was listed to Sh1.6 billion in 2010, accompanied by a 67 percent profit slump compared to the previous year.
The company’s share price consequently became of the worst performing on the bourse and way below the initial public offering price of Sh9.50.
The dip in Eveready’s performance was linked to counterfeits, cheap imports mainly from China, and rising production costs especially fueled by the high cost of zinc which is used to manufacture dry cell batteries, that accounted for more than 80 percent of Eveready’s sales at the time.
Despite the torrid times, Smith, who hailed from coastal North Carolina, maintained a brave face even as he exited after 13 years at the helm of the company.
“From the day that I joined Eveready in 1998, I have been inspired by the dedication, passion, and hard work of the people that I work with and by the goals and mission of this company,” he said in a statement on February 11, 2011, when he announced his impending retirement from the company.
“We have worked together as a team and made tremendous achievements and I am proud to say that I will be leaving a dedicated organisation,” he added.
Smith was heavily involved in initiatives promoting businesses in Kenya and was a member of multiple lobby groups that championed this cause.
He was a member of various professional business organisations, including the Kenya Private Sector Alliance(Kepsa) where he served as fourth chairperson.
He was also a member of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, Eastern Africa Association, the Federation of Kenyan Employers, and Vice President of the American Chamber of Commerce of Kenya.
Apart from business, Smith was involved in development and peace programmes in the country.
“ Smith will be remembered for his outstanding role in leading the private sector to champion peace during the 2007/08 post-election violence, which elevated the voice of the business community in matters of peace and stability in Kenya,” Kepsa said in a condolence message on Friday.
Smith retired from Eveready Battery Company after a combined 37 years of service that ran from 1974 to 2011.
Before his 1998 assignment to East Africa, he was the Plant Manager for P.T. Eveready Battery Company Indonesia in Jakarta, Indonesia.
After he retired from Eveready East Africa, Smith relocated back to his home country to join his family.
He held a Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Technology from East Carolina University (1973) and did postgraduate work at East Carolina University, Ohio State and the University of Michigan.
Eveready’s fortunes are yet to recover with the company remaining in a loss-making territory as of 2023.
For instance, during the year that ended September 30, 2023, the company made a loss of Sh43.77 million from a loss of Sh50.86 million the previous year.
The company in 2023 sold a majority 35 percent stake to a Dubai-based investor InvestAfrica-FZCO (InvestAfrica) to help turn around its operations hit by years of loss-making, that saw the closure of its dry cell manufacturing plant in 2014 and placed a 18.5-acre parcel of land on auction in 2016.
