Newell Rubbermaid

Newell Rubbermaid (NYSE: NWL) is a global marketer of consumer and commercial products including such well-known brands as Rubbermaid food storage, home organization, and refuse container products; Sharpie, PaperMate, Parker and Waterman writing instruments; Calphalon gourmet cookware; Goody beauty and personal grooming products; Graco children's products; Irwin and Lenox construction tools and accessories; Levolor and Kirsch blinds, shades, and window fashions; Dymo home and business labeling solutions; and BernzOmatic torches and patio heaters.

The company's corporate headquarters () is located immediately north of Atlanta, in the Perimeter Center edge city in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States.^[1]

History

Newell Company

The Newell Manufacturing Company was founded in Ogdensburg, New York in 1902 as a manufacturer of curtain rods. From 1910 to 1921, affiliated companies were founded in Freeport, Illinois, and in Canada.

The F. W. Woolworth retail chain became the first customer for Newell's bronze-plated curtain rods in 1916, making them the first Newell products to be distributed nationally. This marked the beginning of Newell's focus on volume purchasers.

In 1962, the affiliated Newell Companies, including Western Newell, Newell Window Furnishings and Newell Manufacturing were consolidated into a single corporation and was headquartered in Freeport, Illinois. Daniel C. Ferguson was named president in 1965 and developed a growth-by-acquisition strategy based on his intention to build a strong, multi-product company.

Newell went public in 1973. A year later, they acquired EZ Paintr Corporation, then the world's largest maker of paint applicators. Newell was listed on the New York Stock Exchange with the ticker symbol NWL in 1979. In 1982, they acquired propane blow torch makers BernzOmatic from Medina, New York. A year later, Mirro, a cookware maker was acquired. They made the largest purchase by the company up to that time in 1987 with Anchor Hocking Corporation (which included Amerock), a manufacturer of cabinet hardware and window components.

In 1992, they acquired Sanford, a leading manufacturer and marketer of writing instruments, including the Sharpie, Sanford and Expo user brands. The same year they acquired Intercraft, a leading picture frame manufacturer. A year later, they acquired Levolor, a leading manufacturer and marketer of window treatments. Additionally, they acquired Goody hair care accessories and LeeRowan closet organization products.

Newell became the world's largest manufacturer of picture frames, framed art and photo albums with the acquisition of Holson Burnes in 1996. 1997 saw the acquisition of Kirsch, a leader in branded drapery hardware and custom window coverings. In 1998 they purchased Calphalon Corporation, a manufacturer of gourmet cookware marketed primarily to upscale retailers and department stores.

Rubbermaid Incorporated

Rubbermaid Incorporated was incorporated after the growing popularity of the Rubbermaid brand. In 1984, Rubbermaid acquired Little Tikes.

The Newell Rubbermaid merger

In 1999, Newell Company acquired the Rubbermaid and Graco brandnames in a megamerger deal worth $5.8 billion, and later re-named the combined firm Newell Rubbermaid. This was an acquisition ten times as big as the last biggest acquisition Newell had made before. This nearly doubled the company's size, and significantly increased Newell's portfolio of brands. According to the November 10, 2004 Frontline documentary series' "Is Wal-Mart Good for America?" episode, Newell's chance to buy the Rubbermaid brand resulted from the original Rubbermaid corporation's bankruptcy and fire sale-style liquidation of its remaining assets. The original Rubbermaid had risen to enormous marketshare and profits by making Walmart the near-sole distributor of its products -- shifting away from a previous, years-long policy of diversifying its product distribution by using multiple retailers. At some point after it had become dependent upon Walmart for almost all of its sales, Rubbermaid claimed that it needed to raise the retail price of its products by a small, single-digit percentage. Rubbermaid said that this price increase was needed to keep pace with operational costs and inflation, without sacrificing its legendary product quality. Despite Rubbermaid's insistence that it literally couldn't afford to stay in business without it, Walmart -- citing its strict commitment to its "everyday low price" (EDLP) policy, and language in their contract with Rubbermaid allowing it to control pricing -- refused Rubbermaid's request. Rubbermaid's business collapsed shortly thereafter. Most of its physical assets had to be sold off at discount prices to satisfy its creditors; its biggest remaining asset was the Rubbermaid brandname itself.

In 2000, they acquired Gillette's stationery products business, including the Paper Mate, Parker, Waterman and Liquid Paper user brands. In 2002, they acquired American Tool Companies, adding the powerful Irwin, Vise-Grip, and Quick-Grip brands to their portfolio.

However, the merger in 1999 was dubbed as the 'merger from hell' by Business Week magazine. Newell shareholders lost 50% of their value in the two years following the closing and Rubbermaid shareholders lost 35%. In 2002, Newell wrote off $500 million in goodwill.

In 2003 they acquired American Saw and Manufacturing Company, a leading manufacturer of linear-edge power tool accessories, hand tools and band saw blades marketed under the Lenox brand. In 2005, they acquired DYMO, a global leader in designing, manufacturing and marketing on-demand labeling solutions, to further strengthen the company's office products portfolio and enter the office technology segment.

Following the continued financial disaster from the merger, a new leadership was instated and the company again reorganized their focus. In 2006, the company added the slogan of "Brands That Matter" to their corporate logo. They modified the portfolio with the divestiture of the Little Tikes and Home Decor Europe businesses, and announced a major replatforming of their operations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East to leverage the growth opportunities of these important regions.

In February 2008, Newell Rubbermaid acquired Aprica Childcare and Technical Concepts. The company has relocated headquarters to metro Atlanta. As of October 2010, more than 10 years after the merger, the Newell stock price (NYSE: NWL) was still valued at less than half of the 1999 pre-merger price.

Brands and Products

The charts below contain the Brands that belong to Newell Rubbermaid, and its products. ^[2]

Home & Family

Office and Writing

Tools and hardware

• American Saw Manufacturing Company (Lenox, acquired in 2003)
• Ashland Hardware Systems (2001)
• Bulldog hardware
• Irwin (formerly American Tool Companies, acquired in 2002)
• Pelouze (2006)
• Shur-Line, paint applicators (2000)

References

External links

• Official website