Helen of Troy contracts with unaffiliated manufacturers in the Far East, primarily in the Peoples' Republic of China, to manufacture a significant portion of its products in the appliance, accessories and housewares product categories. Most of the grooming, skin care and hair care products are currently manufactured in North America. For fiscal 2008, 2007 and 2006, goods manufactured by vendors in the Far East comprised approximately 87, 83 and 86 percent, respectively, of the dollar value of all segments' inventory purchases.

Many of Helen of Troy's key Far East manufacturers have been doing business with The Company since it went into business. In some instances, The Company is now working with the second generation of entrepreneurs from the same families. Helen of Troy believes these relationships give The Company a stable and sustainable advantage over many other companies in the same consumer product categories.

Manufacturers who produce Helen of Troy products use formulas, molds, and certain other tooling, some of which it owns, in manufacturing those products. Both The Company's business segments employ numerous technical and quality control personnel to assure high product quality. Most Helen of Troy products manufactured outside the countries in which they are sold are subject to import duties, which increases the amount The Company pays to obtain such products.

The Company's customers seek to minimize their inventory levels and often demand that Helen of Troy fulfill their orders within relatively short time frames. Consequently, The Company policy is to maintain a several months supply of inventory in order to meet The Company's customer needs and, accordingly, The Company orders products substantially in advance of the anticipated time of their sale to its customers. While Helen of Troy does not have any long-term formal arrangements with any of The Company's suppliers, in most instances The Company will place purchase orders for products several months in advance of receipt of orders from its customers. The Company's relationship and arrangements with most of its manufacturers allow for some flexibility in modifying the quantity, composition and delivery dates of orders. Most purchase orders are in United States dollars.

In total, Helen of Troy occupies approximately 1,987,000 square feet of distribution space in various locations to support its operations. At the end of February 2007, The Company completed the consolidation of its domestic appliance, housewares, men's grooming, skin care and hair care inventories into a single 1,200,000 square foot Southaven, Mississippi distribution center. Products that are manufactured in the Far East and sold in North America are shipped to the West Coast of the United States and Canada. The products are then shipped by truck or rail service to distribution centers in El Paso, Texas, Southaven, Mississippi, and Toronto, Canada, or directly to customers. The Company ship substantially all products to North American customers from these distribution centers by ground transportation services. Products sold outside the United States and Canada are shipped from manufacturers primarily in the Far East, to distribution centers in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Venezuela or directly to customers. The Company ships products stored at the distribution centers in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Brazil, Peru and Venezuela to distributors or retailers.