DANAHER CORP

Competition" for additional details. In order to compete effectively, we must retain longstanding relationships with major customers and continue to grow our business by establishing relationships with new customers, continually developing new products and services to maintain and expand our brand recognition and leadership position in various product and service categories and penetrating new markets, including high-growth markets. Our ability to compete can also be impacted by changing customer preferences and requirements (for example increased demand for products incorporating digital capabilities or more environmentally-friendly products and supplier practices) as well as changes in the way healthcare services are delivered (including the movement of some care from acute to non-acute settings and increased focus on chronic disease management). Cost containment efforts by governments and the private sector, particularly in the healthcare industry, are also resulting in increased emphasis on products that reduce costs and improve efficiency and effectiveness. In addition, significant shifts in industry market share have occurred and may in the future occur in connection with product problems, safety alerts and publications about products, reflecting the competitive significance of product quality, product efficacy and quality systems in our industry. Our failure to compete effectively and/or pricing pressures resulting from competition may adversely impact our business and financial statements, and our expansion into new markets may result in greater-than-expected risks, liabilities and expenses. In addition, the Company’s competitors and customers have from time to time introduced, and may in the future introduce, private label, generic or low-cost products that compete with the Company’s products at lower price points. New, disruptive technologies may also emerge and displace the Company’s existing technologies resulting in an adverse effect on the Company’s business and financial statements.

Our growth depends in part on the timely development and commercialization, and customer acceptance, of new and enhanced products and services based on technological innovation.

We generally sell our products and services in industries that are characterized by rapid technological changes, frequent new product introductions and changing industry standards. If we do not develop innovative new and enhanced products and services on a timely basis, our offerings will become obsolete over time and our business and financial statements will suffer. Our success depends on several factors, including our ability to:

correctly identify customer needs and preferences, predict future needs and preferences, anticipate and respond to our competitors’ innovation and allocate R&D funding accordingly;