Newell Brands Inc. is an American manufacturer, marketer and distributor of consumer and commercial products. The company's brands and products include

Rubbermaid Rubbermaid is an American manufacturer and distributor of household items. A subsidiary of Newell Brands, it is best known for producing food storage containers and trash cans. It also produces sheds, step stools, closets and shelving, laundry ...

storage/or waste disposal containers; home organization and reusable container products; Contigo and Bubba water bottles;

Coleman Coleman may refer to: Places Antarctica * Coleman Glacier (Antarctica) * Coleman Peak, Ross Island Canada * Coleman, Alberta * Coleman, Ontario * Coleman, Prince Edward Island United Kingdom * Coleman, Leicester, England United States * C ...

outdoor products; writing instruments (

Berol Berol (stylised as ''Bẽrol'') is a British stationery brand of Newell Brands and former stationery manufacturing company, based in Lichfield, Staffordshire. The company was established in 1856 and manufactured a wide range of products including ...

, Expo Markers,

Paper Mate Paper Mate is a division of Sanford L.P., a Newell Brands company that produces writing instruments. Paper Mate's offices are located in Oak Brook, Illinois, along with those of Newell Rubbermaid's other office products divisions. Its product ...

, Dymo, Mr. Sketch,

Parker Pens The Parker Pen Company is a manufacturer of luxury writing pens, founded in 1888 by George Safford Parker in Janesville, Wisconsin, United States. In 2011, the Parker factory at Newhaven, East Sussex, England, was closed, and its production tran ...

, Sharpie, Reynolds,

Prismacolor Prismacolor is a brand of professional visual arts supplies originated in 1938 by the Eagle Pencil Company (rebranded to Berol), and now currently manufactured by Newell Brands. Prismacolor products include, colored and graphite pencils, soft pa ...

Rotring Rotring (stylized rOtring) is a manufacturing company, manufacturer of technical drawing tools and writing implements. Established in Germany in 1928 as a fountain pen manufacturer, Rotring went on to be acquired by Newell Brands in 1998. The ...

X-acto X-Acto is a brand name for a variety of cutting tools and office products owned by Elmer's Products, Inc. These include hobby and utility knives, saws, carving tools and many small-scale precision knives used for crafts and other applications. A ...

, Waterman) glue ( Elmer's, Krazy Glue); children's products (Aprica, NUK, Tigex, Babysun, Baby Jogger and Graco); cookware and small appliances (Calphalon,

Sunbeam A sunbeam, in meteorological optics, is a lightbeam, beam of sunlight that appears to radiate from the position of the Sun. Shining through openings in clouds or between other objects such as mountains and buildings, these beams of light scatter ...

Rival A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

Crock-Pot A slow cooker, (also known as a crock-pot after a trademark owned by Sunbeam Products, but sometimes used generically in the English-speaking world), is a countertop electrical cooking appliance used to simmer at a lower temperature than ot ...

;

Holmes Holmes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Holmes (surname), a list of people and fictional characters ** Sherlock Holmes, a fictional detective * Holmes (given name), a list of people * Gordon Holmes, a penname used by Louis Trac ...

, FoodSaver,

Oster Oster (, ; ) is a city in Chernihiv Raion, Chernihiv Oblast, Ukraine. It is located where the Oster River flows into the Desna. Oster hosts the administration of Oster urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Its population is Today O ...

Osterizer Osterizer is a brand which has been used by Oster Manufacturing for its line of blenders since 1946. History It has been claimed to be the first mainstream brand of blender,Young though technically the Waring blender ''brand'' was introduced ...

, and

Mr. Coffee Mr. Coffee is a brand of automatic drip-brew kitchen coffee machines and other kitchen appliances owned by Newell Brands. Founded in the early 1970s to make a pioneering coffeemaker, Mr. Coffee established itself as the industry's top-selling ...

) and fragrance products (

Yankee Candle The Yankee Candle Company, Inc., doing business as Yankee Candle, is an American manufacturer and retailer of scented candles, candleholders, accessories, and dinnerware. Its products are sold by thousands of gift shops nationwide, through ca ...

, Chesapeake Bay Candle, Millefiori Milano, and WoodWick). The company's global headquarters is in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

History

Newell Company

The Newell Manufacturing Company was founded by Edgar Newell in

Ogdensburg, New York Ogdensburg is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,064 at the 2020 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and developer Samuel Ogden. T ...

, in 1903 as a manufacturer of metal

curtain rod A curtain rod, curtain rail, curtain pole, or traverse rod is a device used to suspend curtains, usually above windows or along the edges of showers or bathtubs, though also wherever curtains might be used. When found in bathrooms, curtain rods t ...

s. The

F. W. Woolworth Frank Winfield Woolworth (April 13, 1852 – April 8, 1919) was an American entrepreneur, the founder of F. W. Woolworth Company, and the operator of variety stores known as "Five-and-Dimes" (5- and 10-cent stores or dime stores) which featured a ...

retail chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, Management, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate many retail markets, dining markets, and service categories ...

became the first customer for Newell's

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

–

plated Plating is a finishing process in which a metal is deposited on a surface. Plating has been done for hundreds of years; it is also critical for modern technology. Plating is used to decorate objects, for corrosion inhibition, to improve solderab ...

curtain rods in 1916, making them the first Newell products to be distributed nationally. This marked the beginning of Newell's mass merchandising strategy. As the business grew, the company built a new 15,000-square-foot facility in Ogdensburg, New York. The company purchased Barnwell Mfg. Co. of Freeport, Illinois in 1921, renaming it Western Newell Manufacturing Company. Freeport's access to

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

lines facilitated shipping products west. Kresge, the department store chain (later

Kmart Kmart ( ), formerly legally registered as Kmart Corporation, now operated by Transformco, is a department-store chain and online retailer in the United States and Territories of the United States, its territories. It operates four remaining Kma ...

) was one of Western Newell's larger accounts. Daniel C. Ferguson was named president in 1965 and developed a growth-by-acquisition strategy, intending to build a strong, multi-product company. The Newell Company went public in 1972, opening on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (

NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...

, a then-recently established stock exchange) at $28 per share. In 1974, they acquired EZ Paintr Corporation, then the world's largest maker of

paint Paint is a material or mixture that, when applied to a solid material and allowed to dry, adds a film-like layer. As art, this is used to create an image or images known as a painting. Paint can be made in many colors and types. Most paints are ...

applicators. Newell was listed on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...

with the ticker symbol NWL in 1979. In 1979, Newell moved into its first corporate headquarters in a historic former bank building in Freeport, Illinois. In 1983, the company entered the cookware market with the purchase of Mirro. In 1985, William P. Sovey was announced as the new president. Daniel C. Ferguson continued as vice chairman and chief executive officer of the company. In 1987, the company acquired

Anchor Hocking Anchor Hocking Company is a manufacturer of glassware. The Hocking Glass Company was founded in 1905 by Isaac Jacob (Ike) Collins in Lancaster, Ohio, and named after the Hocking River.

Corporation, a specialty manufacturer of glassware, flatware, cookware and other products. The deal included the purchase of Amerock, a maker of cabinet hardware and window components. In 1992, they acquired Sanford, a manufacturer and marketer of writing instruments, including the Sharpie and Expo brands. A year later, they acquired Levolor, a manufacturer and marketer of window treatments. They also entered the beauty and style category by acquiring Goody hair care accessories, including Ace men's grooming accessories.They also acquired Stuart Hall a Kansas City stationery company which they held until 1998. In 1997, Newell acquired Cooper Industries' Kirsch, a company specializing in

drapery Drapery is a general word referring to cloths or textiles (Old French , from Late Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Late Latin ). It ma ...

hardware, and custom

window covering Window coverings are considered any type of materials used to cover a window to manage sunlight, privacy, additional weatherproofing or for purely Window treatment, decorative purposes. Description and design Window coverings comprise materia ...

s. In 1998, the company expanded in cookware with the purchase of Calphalon Corporation, a manufacturer of cookware marketed primarily to upscale retailers and department stores. The company also purchased Panex, a cookware maker in South America. In 2016, Newell moved its corporate headquarters from Atlanta to Hoboken, New Jersey. In 2019, it returned to Atlanta.

Criticism

Newell Rubbermaid has been criticized in the UK for closing British factories, including those of Parker Pen, and relocating them to Nantes, France, and China. Similarly, they have been criticized for their handling of Toolmakers Berol, Record and Marples. Newell Sistema products has been criticized for requiring workers in their Auckland, New Zealand, factory to work in unsafe conditions during the COVID-19 outbreak and lock down without adequate distances between workers and proper personal protective equipment. After a WorkSafe NZ visit, workers were told they would not have to go to work and would be on full pay for the four week lock down.

Mergers

Rubbermaid

In 1999, Newell acquired the Rubbermaid and Graco brand names in a megamerger worth $5.8 billion, renaming the combined firm Newell Rubbermaid. This was an acquisition ten times larger than the last biggest acquisition Newell had made, nearly doubled the company's size, and significantly increased Newell's

portfolio Portfolio may refer to: Objects * Portfolio (briefcase), a type of briefcase Collections * Portfolio (finance), a collection of assets held by an institution or a private individual * Artist's portfolio, a sample of an artist's work or a ...

of brands. In 2003, the merger was dubbed the "merger from hell" by ''

Businessweek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...

'' 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.

Other mergers

In 2000, Newell Rubbermaid acquired

Gillette Gillette is an American brand of safety razors and other personal care products including shaving supplies, owned by the multi-national corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G). Based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, it was owned by The Gil ...

's stationery products business, including the

Parker Parker may refer to: People * Parker (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Parker (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname Arts and entertainment * ''Parke ...

, Waterman and

Liquid Paper Liquid Paper is an American brand of the Newell Brands company marketed internationally that sells correction fluid, correction pens, and correction tape. Mainly used to correct typewriting in the past, correction products now mostly cover handwr ...

brands. In 2002, they acquired American Tool Companies, adding the Irwin, Vise-Grip, and Marathon brands to their portfolio. In 2003, Newell Rubbermaid acquired American Saw and Manufacturing Company, a manufacturer of linear-edge

power tool A power tool is a tool that is actuator, actuated by an additional engine, power source and mechanism (engineering), mechanism other than the solely manual labour, manual labor used with hand tools. The most common types of power tools use electric ...

accessories, hand tools, and band saw blades marketed under the Lenox brand. In 2005, the company acquired DYMO, designing, manufacturing, and marketing on-demand labeling solutions. The company expanded its presence in this market with the 2006 purchases of CardScan business card scanners and Mimio interactive

whiteboard A whiteboard (also known as marker board, dry-erase board, dry-wipe board, and pen-board) is a glossy, usually white surface for making non-permanent markings. Whiteboards are analogous to blackboards, but with a smoother surface allowing for ...

products along with the 2007 acquisition of postage company

Endicia Endicia is an internet postage service provider based in Mountain View, California. History Endicia was founded as a technology consultant known as PSI Associates by Harry Whitehouse, Amine Khechfé, and Scott Montgomery in Palo Alto, California ...

and its Picture-it-Postage brand. In 2005, Mark Ketchum was named president and CEO. The company added the slogan of "Brands That Matter" to their

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name that it represents, as in ...

to emphasize the change. In February 2008, Newell Rubbermaid acquired Aprica Kassai, a Japanese maker of strollers, car seats, and other children's products and Technical Concepts, in the away-from-home restroom market. The company created a global headquarters in the

Atlanta metropolitan area Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Roswell metropolitan statistical area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the sixt ...

to consolidate numerous brands and functions under one roof. In July 2011, Michael B. Polk joined the company as president and CEO. On July 21, 2014, Newell Rubbermaid announced a $308 million acquisition of Ignite Holdings, a Chicago-based maker of reusable water bottles and thermal mugs. Ignite sold its products under two brand names: Avex and Contigo, also acquiring Ignite's proprietary closing mechanism, Autoseal. On October 5, 2015, Newell Rubbermaid announced that it would acquire

Elmer's Products Elmer's Products, Inc. or simply Elmer's, is an American-based company that has a line of adhesive, craft, home repair, and office supply products. It is best known as the manufacturer of Elmer's Glue-All, a popular PVA-based synthetic g ...

, the makers of Elmer's

glue Adhesive, also known as glue, cement, mucilage, or paste, is any non-metallic substance applied to one or both surfaces of two separate items that binds them together and resists their separation. The use of adhesives offers certain advantage ...

, Krazy Glue, and

X-Acto X-Acto is a brand name for a variety of cutting tools and office products owned by Elmer's Products, Inc. These include hobby and utility knives, saws, carving tools and many small-scale precision knives used for crafts and other applications. A ...

, among other brands, for $600 million. The company also announced plans to divest its window covering brands Levolor and Kirsch. On December 14, 2015, Newell Rubbermaid announced that it would acquire

Jarden Jarden was an American consumer products company. Formed by the spin out of Ball Corporation's canning business, the company became a wider conglomerate of consumer brands, particularly in the outdoors and home appliances market. Jarden was a ...

for over $15 billion of cash and stock. The combined company would be known as Newell Brands, and 55% would be owned by Newell's shareholders. The combined company would have estimated annual sales of $16 billion.

Divestitures

In 2014 Newell Rubbermaid sold Ashland Hardware Systems, Bulldog and Shurline. In 2017, Newell sold

K2 Sports K2 Sports, LLC, known simply as K2, is an American sporting goods company headquartered in Seattle, Washington focused primarily on winter sports equipment. K2 operates under the labels K2 Snow and K2 Skates, as well as its subsidiaries Backcou ...

Völkl Völkl (or Voelkl; ) is a German sports equipment brand, founded in 1923 in Straubing, Bavaria. The brand currently produces alpine skiing and tennis equipment and accessories. Since 2017, the Völkl ski brand has been part of Bellevue, Washingt ...

Diamond Match Company The Diamond Match Company is a brand of matches and toothpicks, and formerly other wood products and plastic cutlery, that has its roots in a business started in 1853 by Edward Tatnall in Wilmington, Delaware. Ownership passed to William H. ...

, Levolor and Kirsch. In January 2018, Newell announced that it would sell off several businesses, mostly former Jarden units, in a refocusing effort. In May 2018, Newell sold Waddington to Novolex. In June 2018, Newell sold

Rawlings Rawlings may refer to: *Rawlings (company), a U.S. sports equipment company *Rawlings, Maryland, an unincorporated community in Allegany County, Maryland *Rawlings (surname) Rawlings is an English-language surname. Notable people with the name in ...

to Seidler Equity Partners. In August 2018, Newell sold

Goody Goody, Goodies, or Goody's may refer to: Brands * Goody (brand), a brand of hair styling products owned by ACON Investments, LLC. * Goody's Powder, a pain reliever sold primarily in the southern United States * Goody's (restaurant), a fast food ...

ACON Investments ACON Investments is an American international private equity investment company that administers private equity funds as well as special purpose partnerships which invest in Latin America, the United States, and Europe. The organization was star ...

. In November 2018, Newell sold its Pure Fishing line of business to

Sycamore Partners Sycamore Partners is an American private equity firm based in New York specializing in retail and consumer investments. The firm has approximately $10 billion in aggregate committed capital. History Founding Sycamore Partners was founded in 2 ...

for $1.3 billion and

Jostens Jostens Inc. is an American manufacturer of memorabilia. The company is primarily known for its production of yearbooks, academic regalia, and class rings for various high schools and colleges as well as championship rings for sports. For over 5 ...

Platinum Equity Platinum Equity, LLC is an American private equity investment firm founded by Tom Gores in 1995, headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. The firm focuses on leveraged buyout investments of established companies in the U.S., Europe and Asia. ...

for $1.3 billion. In June 2019, Newell Brands announced the sale of the

United States Playing Card Company The United States Playing Card Company (USPC, though also commonly known as USPCC) is a large American producer and distributor of playing cards. It was established in 1867 as Russell, Morgan & Co. and founded in Cincinnati, Ohio in its current ...

to Belgian card manufacturer Cartamundi Group.

Brands

Newell's brands include the following.

Home Appliances

* Breville * Calphalon * Crock-Pot *

* Oster *

* Cadence

Baby and Health

* Aprica Kassai * Baby Jogger * Graco * NUK * Century * Tigex * Lillo * Billy Boy (condoms)

Commercial Solutions

* Quickie * Rubbermaid Commercial Products * Spontex * MAPA

Food

* Ball & Kerr * Food Saver *

Sistema Plastics Sistema Plastics is a New Zealand company which manufactures food storage containers. It is based in Auckland and owned by Newell Brands. History Brendan Lindsay founded Sistema Plastics from his home in Cambridge, New Zealand in 1987. The comp ...

Home Fragrance

* Chesapeake Bay Candle * WoodWick *

* Millefiori Milano

Outdoor & Recreation

* Aerobed * Avex * Bubba *

Campingaz Campingaz, formerly Camping Gaz, is a brand of products with compressed, mixed butane/propane gas supplied in small, lightweight, disposable canisters and larger, refillable cylinders designed for use as a fuel while camping and Recreational vehi ...

* Contigo *

Esky Esky is a brand of portable coolers, originally Australian, derived from the word "Eskimo". The term "esky" is also commonly used in Australia to Generic trademark, generically refer to portable coolers or ice boxes and is part of the Australi ...

* Exofficio * Mad Dog *

Marmot Marmots are large ground squirrels in the genus ''Marmota'', with 15 species living in Asia, Europe, and North America. These herbivores are active during the summer, when they can often be found in groups, but are not seen during the winter, w ...

* Sevylor * Stearns

Writing (stationery)

* Dymo * Elmer's *

Liquid paper Liquid Paper is an American brand of the Newell Brands company marketed internationally that sells correction fluid, correction pens, and correction tape. Mainly used to correct typewriting in the past, correction products now mostly cover handwr ...

* Mr. Sketch *

* Reynolds Pen *

Expo An expo is a trade exposition. It may also refer to: Events and venues * World's fair, a large international public exposition * Singapore Expo, convention and exposition venue ** Expo Axis, one of the world's largest membrane roofs, construc ...

* Sharpie *

Waterman pens The Waterman Pen Company is a major manufacturing company of luxury fountain pens and inks, based in Paris, France. The firm was established in 1884 in New York City by Lewis Waterman, being one of the few remaining first-generation fountain pe ...

Former brands

* Ashland Hardware * Amerock * Bulldog Hardware *

Bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...

Irwin Irwin may refer to: Places ;United States * Irwin, California * Irwin, Idaho * Irwin, Illinois * Irwin, Iowa * Irwin, Nebraska * Irwin, Ohio * Irwin, Pennsylvania * Irwin, South Carolina * Irwin County, Georgia * Irwin Township, Venango Co ...

* K2 *

Little Tikes Little Tikes is an American manufacturer of children's toys, with headquarters and manufacturing located in Hudson, Ohio. The company also has other manufacturing and distribution facilities in Asia and Europe. Little Tikes' products are mostly l ...

* Marker * Pure Fishing *

* Shurline *

* Waddington * Seal-a-Meal * GrillMaster * Health o Meter * Margaritaville *

* VillaWare * White Mountain Products * Fiona * Lillo * Bernardin * Tableluxe * Luma Home * Calypso * Crawford * Lehigh * Mucambo Professional * Virulana * Vitomit * Y-O-U * Rexair *

* Lifoam * First Alert * BRK Electronics * OneLink ;Notes

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Companies Conglomerate companies of the United States Manufacturing companies based in New Jersey Companies based in Hudson County, New Jersey Hoboken, New Jersey American companies established in 1903 Manufacturing companies established in 1903 1903 establishments in New York (state) Companies listed on the Nasdaq American brands Home appliance manufacturers of the United States Food manufacturers of the United States Sporting goods manufacturers of the United States 1970s initial public offerings