Privacy Policy

Introduction

The Watkins Co. is committed to respecting your privacy and recognizing your need for appropriate protection and management of contact information you share with us (the phrase "contact information" means any information by which you can be contacted, such as your name, mailing address, email address, telephone number, etc.). The purpose of this privacy policy is to inform you what contact information we may collect from you, how we use such information, and the choices you have regarding our use of, and your ability to review, correct and opt out of our use of, the information.

As a part of our commitment to your privacy, The Watkins Co. supports and adheres to the guidelines and practices adopted by the Direct Marketing Association´s "Privacy Promise to American Consumers." We have agreed to (1) provide customers with notice of this ability to opt out of information rental, sale or exchange with other marketers; (2) honor customers´ requests not to share their information with other marketers; and (3) honor customers´ requests not to receive mail, telephone or other solicitations from The Watkins Co.

This Privacy Policy applies to your use of all The Watkins Co. websites. The policy does not apply to your use of sites to which the Web Site only links. This policy covers only information collected on the Web Site and does not cover any information collected offline by us.

Collecting Information About You

There may be times (such as when you purchase or order a product, subscribe to a service, register to receive catalogs, or to participate in contests, sweepstakes or promotions, etc) when we ask you to provide certain information about yourself, such as your name, shipping/billing address, telephone number, email address, credit card information, birth date, gender, occupation, personal interests, etc. We may also maintain a record of your product purchases.

Whether or not to provide such information is completely your own choice. But if you choose not to provide the information we request, you may be unable to purchase products, or access certain services, offers and content on our web site. In addition, we may need to contact you via phone, email or mail to address questions or issues specific to your order, entry, etc., even if you have opted to not receive communications from us.

In general, you can visit many of our web pages without telling us who you are or revealing any contact information about yourself. We may track the Internet protocol address (IP) from which people visit us and analyze this data for preferences, trends or statistics, but individual users will remain anonymous, unless you voluntarily tell us who you are.

Using Information About You

We use the contact information you provide for internal purposes, such as confirming and tracking your order, subscription or registration, analyzing preferences, trends and statistics, informing you of our new products, services and offers, and providing you with information from and about The Watkins Co.

We understand the value of excellent service. Part of the value of shopping with Watkins is the opportunity for you to receive personal service and in–depth product information from a Watkins Consultant, should you so choose. If you do not have a Watkins Independent Consultant when you register as a customer and you so choose, we will forward your name, address, and e–mail address to one of our Watkins Independent Consultants so that he/she can offer you his/her service. Because the Watkins Independent Consultant may offer to send you catalogs periodically, offer special sales, or help you select the products appropriate to your needs, most of our customers find this a value–added service; however, you are free to decline this offer of additional service. Just let your Watkins Independent Consultant know that you will be ordering direct.

If you decide to enlist the value–added service of your own Watkins Independent Consultant, we will not share your personal information with any business or third party except to Service Providers to complete the function you have requested (credit card companies, delivery companies). We may also periodically send you announcements about new products and services, discounts, special promotions, or upcoming events.

From time to time we might establish a business relationship with other persons or entities whom we believe trustworthy and whom we have asked to confirm that their privacy policies are consistent with ours. These are known as our Select Partners. If you order directly from The Watkins Co. (not connected to a Watkins Independent Consultant), we might rent, exchange, share and/or cross–reference information, including contact information about you that will enable such persons or entities to contact you regarding products and services that may be of interest to you. To serve you better, we may combine information you give us online or through our catalogs. We may also combine that information with publicly available information and information we receive from or cross–reference with our Select Partners and others. We use that combined information to enhance and personalize the shopping experience of you and others with us, to communicate with you about our products and events that may be of interest to you, and for other promotional purposes.

Regardless how you chose to order from The Watkins Co., we contract with companies or persons to provide certain services including credit card processing, shipping, data management, promotional services, etc. We call them our Service Providers. We provide our Service Providers with the information needed for them to perform these services. We also ask our Service Providers to confirm that their privacy practices are consistent with ours.

Although unlikely, in certain instances we may disclose your contact information when we have reason to believe that it is necessary to identify, contact or bring legal action against persons or entities that may be causing injury to you, to The Watkins Co., or to others. We may also disclose your contact information when we believe the law or legal process requires it. We will release specific information about you or your account to comply with any valid legal inquiry or process such as a search warrant, subpoena, statute or court order. We will also release specific information in special cases, such as if there is an attempted breach of the security of the websites, or a physical or property threat to you or others. We may also transfer user information, including personally identifiable information, in connection with a corporate merger, consolidation, the sale of related assets or corporate division, or other fundamental corporate change.

Editing, Updating, Correcting and Deleting Information About You

We want to communicate with you only if you want to hear from us. If you prefer not to receive direct marketing from us or from our Select Partners, or if you would like to opt out of our rental or exchange of your information with other marketers, please let us know by contacting us through the following methods:

• By postal mail:
• Watkins Incorporated
• 150 Liberty Street
• Winona, MN 55987

• By E–mail:
• Contact Us

Please be sure to include your full name, email address, mailing address, and specifically what information you do not want to receive. If you would like to update or correct your email address, mailing address or other contact information with us please contact us the same way.

Please note that any requests to remove or update your contact information may take up to ten days for your email request and 6–8 weeks to process your postal mail request.

Non–Personal Identification Information

We collect non–personal identification information through the use of, without limitation, the following types of methodology:

• "Cookie" technology: A "cookie" is an element of data that a website can send to your browser, which may then store it on your system.
• "IP address tracking": An "IP address" is a number that is assigned to your computer when you are on the Internet. When you request pages from our Sites, our servers log your IP address.
• "Web beacons": A "Web beacon," or "clear gif," is a small graphic image on a webpage or web–based document that a website can use to determine information about a user.
• "Correlated" or "Related" items: purchase and content use history, which we sometimes aggregate with similar information from other customers to create features like Top Sellers, or related items.

Non–personal identification information might include the browser you use, the type of computer, technical information about your means of connection to our Web Site such as the operating systems and the Internet service providers utilized, and other similar information. Our systems may also automatically gather information about the areas you visit and search terms you utilize on our websites and about the links you may select from within our websites to other areas of the internet.

We use such information for our business purposes, and, in particular, to administer the websites, better manage advertising on the websites, and, in the aggregate, to understand how our users as a group use the services, features and other resources provided on our websites. This way we know which areas of our Web Site are favorites of our users, which areas need improvement, and what technologies are being used so that we may continually improve our websites.

We may share this aggregate statistical information with our partners, suppliers and other third parties, but we will not share any individual names, personal navigational or other personal information. For example, we may use a third–party advertising company to serve ads when you visit our websites. We may share demographic and preference information with this company to allow them to display appropriate advertisements for you.

Further, from time–to–time we contract with a third party web analytic provider to help manage and optimize our websites. We use this service to help us measure the effectiveness of our advertising and how visitors use our websites. To do this, we use web beacons and cookie technology on the websites. The type of information we collect includes such information as the number of hits a webpage receives, type of browser used, and number of times a visitor makes a purchase from a particular promotion. By supplementing our records, this information helps us learn things like what pages are most attractive to our visitors, which products and services most interest our users, and what kinds of offers our users like to see. Although this third–party provider logs the information coming from our websites on our behalf, we control how that data may and may not be used.

Security

We take precautions, including use of sophisticated encryption and authentication tools, to protect the security of your contact information that you share with us. Unfortunately, however, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your contact information, we cannot guarantee or warrant the security of any information you transmit to or from our web sites, and you do so at your own risk.

We urge you to keep your password in a safe place and not to divulge it to anyone. Also remember to log off your account and close your browser window when you have finished your visit. This is to ensure that others cannot access your account, especially if you are sharing a computer with someone else or are using a computer in a public place such as a library or coffee shop.

Links to Third Party Sites

Our websites may contain links to web sites operated and maintained by third parties, over which we have no control. Privacy policies on such linked sites may be different from our privacy policy. You can access such linked sites at your own risk. You should always read the privacy policy of a linked site before disclosing any personal information on such site.

Consent To Transfer

The websites are operated in the United States. If you are located in Canada, the European Union or elsewhere outside of the United States, please be aware that any information you provide to us will be transferred to the United States. By using our websites, participating in any of our services and/or providing us with your information, you consent to this transfer.

Policy Changes

By using the websites, you signify your acceptance of our Privacy Policy, your promise to comply with the representations you make and contained in the Privacy Policy, and your understanding of the scope and limitations of the protections provided under the Privacy Policy. If we decide to change our privacy policy in whole or in part, we will inform you by posting a notice on our web site. Those changes will go into effect on the effective date posted in the notice and at the end of the revised Privacy Policy. The new policy will apply to all current and past users of our Web Site and will replace any prior policies that are inconsistent. Your continued use of our Web Site or services constitutes your consent to be bound by the revised Privacy Policy.

Your Feedback

To help us improve our privacy policy and practice, please give us your feedback. You may email us at Contact Us or call us at 800.243.9423.

Effective Date: January 22, 2020.