Theron Marketing Ltda.

Theron Marketing Ltda. is a Sao Paulo-based marketing and distribution company that served as the exclusive authorized distributor of WD-40 products across Brazil prior to its acquisition by WD-40 Company in 2024. The company built a distribution network reaching hardware retailers, auto parts stores, industrial suppliers, and mass-market retailers across major Brazilian states.

Theron Marketing also provided local brand-building, trade marketing, and regulatory compliance support for WD-40 Company in the Brazilian market. Following the acquisition, Theron Marketing became a direct subsidiary, enabling WD-40 Company to control its Brazilian go-to-market strategy and capture distribution margin previously earned by the independent intermediary.

The Brazilian maintenance chemical and consumer product market represents a long-term growth opportunity for WD-40 Company following the Theron Marketing acquisition. Brazil has a large and growing base of vehicle owners, home improvement consumers, and industrial users, all of which are target customers for WD-40 Multi-Use Product and WD-40 Specialist product lines.

As a now-direct WD-40 Company operation, Theron Marketing is positioned to benefit from increased marketing investment, local manufacturing or sourcing initiatives, and expanded retail partnerships as WD-40 Company commits more capital to the Brazilian market. Currency risk remains a structural challenge given the import-dependent nature of specialty chemical products in Brazil.

Theron Marketing possessed deep relationships across Brazilian retail and industrial distribution channels built over years as the exclusive WD-40 representative in Brazil. The company understood local regulatory requirements, import logistics, and the preferences of Brazilian trade customers in the hardware and automotive aftermarket channels.

The company benefited from the strong global brand recognition of WD-40 products in Brazilian retail, making demand generation and product placement more straightforward than typical marketing distributor relationships. This brand tailwind, combined with regional expertise, made Theron Marketing a valuable strategic asset that WD-40 Company chose to acquire rather than replace.

As a single-brand marketing distributor, Theron Marketing was highly concentrated in its principal relationship with WD-40 Company, with no material revenue diversification outside of WD-40 product sales. This concentration made the business vulnerable to any changes in WD-40 Company distribution strategy for Brazil.

The company also operated in a challenging Brazilian macroeconomic environment characterized by currency volatility and complex tax structures that affect import-dependent product companies. As an independent intermediary, Theron Marketing had limited pricing power relative to direct-operating companies with full control over their local channel economics.

Theron Marketing historically operated on a wholesale distribution margin model, purchasing WD-40 products from WD-40 Company at transfer prices and reselling to Brazilian trade customers at a markup reflecting local market conditions, import costs, and competitive dynamics.

Following the acquisition by WD-40 Company, the entity pricing model transitioned to an internal cost center or direct-market operation structure where pricing decisions reflect WD-40 Company global pricing strategy adapted for local Brazilian market realities, including currency, tariff, and retailer margin expectations.