The rivalry between rechargeable battery manufacturers Uniross and Energizer today reached a new level as Uniross issued a fierce statement refuting Energizer?s claims to the rechargeable battery crown. Energizer, which has in recent month?s has boasted of being ?market leader in the rechargeable batteries sector?, received a public ticking off by rivals Uniross. In a statement, the French manufacturer said: ?The fact is that Uniross is overall market leader nationally with a market share through all retail outlets of 60%. This market is worth over £60 million in the UK.?

?We understand that the claims by Energizer are based upon stocking of Energizer rechargeable batteries through supermarkets. However, supermarkets account for only a small proportion of sales of rechargeable batteries.

?Uniross batteries by contrast are sold in a very wide range of outlets from supermarkets and chain stores to specialists such as photographic shops. We are also a large presence in wholesalers supplying smaller shops nationwide.?

?In the last three years the rechargeable message has been understood by consumers and sales are growing rapidly worldwide. This is due, in part, to concerns about the environment, the billions of throw-away batteries discarded each year, and to big changes in technology which make recharging faster and adds higher power capacity to rechargeable batteries.

?One result of this growing maturity is that Uniross is facing competition from the multinational companies which dominate sales of throw-away batteries. Those companies now see that rechargeable batteries are becoming big business and they have vast marketing resources and budgets at their disposal.?

?Nonetheless, Uniross remains market leader in all senses of the word: from market share, to leadership in technology and concern for the environment.?

More information is available about both companies at www.energizer.co.uk and www.uniross.co.uk