Newell Rubbermaid

Newell Company: The Rubbermaid Opportunity In October 1998, Newell Company was considering a merger with Rubbermaid Incorporated to form a new company, Newell Rubbermaid Incorporated. The agreement would be through a tax-free exchange of shares valued at $5.8 billion. Newell had revenues of $3.7 billion in 1998 across three major product groupings: Hardware and Home Furnishings, Office Products, and Housewares. Rubbermaid is a renowned manufacturer of a wide range of plastic products ranging from

market, Newell Rubbermaid's strategy has long been one of acquisition. One of the company's strengths has become its ability to quickly integrate new companies into the Newell Rubbermaid business. But with each acquisition, the IT and business teams were left struggling to manage additional independent brands with very divergent sets of technologies. With the emergence of e-business as an increasingly important opportunity for driving down costs and providing better service online, Newell Rubbermaid

of Newell and Rubbermaid seems very attractive. Newell had a proven track record of acquiring companies and turning them around to deliver shareholder value. Since the 1960s, Newell had made over 35 strategic acquisitions of commodity producing manufacturing firms with low operating margins. Acquisitions usually added to shelf space, increase supplier power and rounded out Newell’s ‘good, better, best’ multiproduct offering. Also, acquired companies were typically market leaders. Rubbermaid was

Introduction In 1998, Newell Company set out to expand its revenue base through strategic acquisition of two major companies. Newell's CEO at that time was John McDonough, who was in charge of positioning the publicly traded company to an improved revenue base through differential product mix. The idea to broaden Newell Company through acquisition was an energetic and very optimistic strategic initiative to increase shareholder value in a shortened period of time. Unfortunately, the company compromised

Financial Condition Newell Rubbermaid (NYSE: NWL), just like most organizations, took a large hit in the financial crisis of 2009, when in just 2008; the company recorded the highest revenue in recent years (Morningstar). As seen in the growth of the stock price over the past five years in Exhibit E, Newell has seen an increase in both sales and stock performance. In regards to performance, Newell has had a consistent current ratio of over 1.0, meaning they have enough market liquidity to cover

1) Does Newell have a successful Corporate Strategy? Does it add value to its business? Five forces –Tests This case has represented high rivalry due to the price war between the competitors of Rubbermaid and the corporations in the industry resulting in price reduction. The price the company was placing was high for the bargaining power of buyers. The buyers are home storages and commercial products which are bought by retailers and end-consumers. This is the reason why Rubbermaid could not

they will not order it or they will start complaining to the company they ordered the product from. Delivery on time is a very important part of running a business such as Rubbermaid. 4. Do you think Newell acted too hastily in discharging Schmitt and other top executives so soon after the merger? Why or Why Not? I do believe Newell acted too hastily in discharging Schmitt and other top executives so soon after the merger. I believe this for many different reasons. First off, the two companies just

Does Newell have a successful corporate-level strategy? Does the company add value to the businesses within its portfolio? Newell Company’s strategy is to acquire different companies that will help them grow their business in the basic home and hardware products industry before 1994 and started diversifying into unrelated field such as writing instruments and window treatments to grow the company as a whole. These companies are mostly underperforming and suffer from high cost thus Newell would

1. What opportunities and threats did Newell face in the late 1990s? Using the industry analysis in the model of environmental threats identified Newell company opportunities and threats revealed the industry. Newell has gain opportunity in the entry industry by acquiring the foreign businesses by gaining a new market to Newell it increases more self-space in international market. Another opportunity Newell faces is supplier leverage in 1997, the company products spread consist of consumer products

(Student No. 578723)Word Count: 996 Submission Date: May 15, 2012 | Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 1. Newell Case Study 3 Question 1: 3 Question 2: 4 Question 3: 4 Question 4: 5 List of References 6 1. Newell Case Study Question 1: Does Newell have a successful corporate-level strategy? Does the company add value to the business within its portfolio? Newell has a successful corporate-level strategy which has definitely proven itself over nine decades with annual revenue