Newell Brands
Careers at Newell Brands
Mission
Newell Brands’ mission is to help people flourish every day, where they live, learn, work, and play.
History
In 1902, the W.F Linton Company was incorporated in New York for the manufacture of brass curtain rods. In 1903 the firm went bankrupt. Later that year entrepreneur Edgar A. Newell purchased it and renamed it Newell Manufacturing Company. The first few years were rocky, but in 1908 Newell experienced a rise in profits when it bought machines that produced rods faster than all competitors.
Newell began making bronze-plated curtain rods, and in 1916 the F.W. Woolworth retail chain became the product’s first customer. This made the rods the first of Newell’s offerings to be distributed nationally, and also signified the start of its mass merchandising strategy. As the company continued to grow, it constructed a 15,000-square-foot facility to meet demand.
Newell expanded its presence further by acquiring Barnwell Manufacturing Company in 1921 and renaming it Western Newell Manufacturing Company. The firm’s access to railroad lines made it simpler to ship items to the western U.S. Kresge, a department store chain that would later go on to become K-Mart, became a customer and eventually one of Western Newell’s biggest accounts.
In 1972 Newell went public and was listed on the NASDAQ; in 1979 it was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The next few decades saw the company pursue a growth through acquisition strategy. It acquired manufacturers of cookware, glassware, flatware, paint products, writing instruments, window treatments, hair care/grooming accessories, and drapery hardware.
All of these purchases enabled Newell to diversify its portfolio and greatly expand its capabilities. In the late 1990s it saw another opportunity. Rubbermaid had made Wal-Mart the near-sole distributor of its offerings. When it realized it needed to raise prices to compensate for growing operating expenses, Wal-Mart refused due to its "everyday low price" (EDLP) policy and contract stipulations.
As a result of this situation, Rubbermaid’s business collapsed. Newell decided to merge with the company in 1999. The combination almost doubled its size and significantly augmented its brand portfolio. The acquisition was ten times as large as its last largest acquisition. However, Newell’s shareholders lost much of their value, and in 2002 Newell wrote off $500 million in goodwill.
Over the next decade, the newly named Newell Rubbermaid made many more acquisitions, including Gillette's stationery products business, American Tool Companies, DYMO, Ignite Holdings, and Elmer’s Products. In 2015 it revealed that it would be buying Jarden, a consumer products company, for $15 billion. With the purchase Newell Rubbermaid was renamed Newell Brands.
Business model of Newell Brands
Customer Segments
Newell Brands has a segmented market business model, with customer groups that have slightly different needs. The company targets its offerings at consumers and businesses.
Value Proposition
Newell Brands offers three primary value propositions: accessibility, innovation, and brand/status.
The company creates accessibility by providing a wide variety of options. Its portfolio includes products in a broad range of categories, including the following: Appliances & Cookware, Consumer & Commercial Solutions, Outdoor & Recreation, Writing, Baby, Home Fragrance, Food, Fishing, Process Solutions, Safety & Security, Home & Family, Team Sports, Fine Writing, and eCommerce.
The company embraces innovation as a part of its culture. It maintains the Design Center, a program that acts to integrate innovation throughout the development process and proactively explores cutting-edge solutions. Through the program, different functions at the company collaborate – for example, marketing staff work with engineering staff and research and development staff. A central design team examines each division to project what customers may need from them in five years.
The company has established a strong brand due to its success. It is one of the leading consumer goods companies in the world, with hundreds of millions in customers and over $16 billion in annual sales. Its portfolio features many prominent brands, including Paper Mate, Sharpie, Dymo, EXPO, Parker, Elmer's, Coleman, Jostens, Marmot, Rawlings, Oster, Sunbeam, FoodSaver, Mr. Coffee Rubbermaid Commercial Products, Graco, Baby Jogger, NUK, Calphalon, Rubbermaid, Contigo, First Alert, Waddington, and Yankee Candle.
Channels
Newell Brands’ main channels are retail chains. It sells its products through a wide variety of retail formats, including warehouse clubs, department stores, grocery/drug stores, mass merchants, sporting goods stores, office supply stores, office superstores, travel retailers, online retailers, contract stationers, and specialty retailers.
The company promotes its offerings through its website, social media pages, advertising, and participation in trade shows and conferences.
Customer Relationships
Newell Brands’ customer relationship is primarily of a self-service nature. Customers utilize its products while having limited interaction with employees.
Key Activities
Newell Brands’ business model entails designing, developing, manufacturing, and distributing its products for customers.
Key Partners
Newell Brands’ key partners are the suppliers that provide it with the raw materials and equipment it needs to manufacture its products.
Key Resources
Newell Brands’ main resources are its human resources, who include the engineers, scientists, and product experts, that design, develop, and/or manufacture its products. The company also maintains important physical resources in the form of its manufacturing plants. Lastly, it places a high priority on its intellectual property, with numerous patents and trademarks important to its business.
Cost Structure
Newell Brands has a cost-driven structure, aiming to minimize expenses through significant automation and low-price value propositions. Its biggest cost driver is cost of products sold, a variable expense. Other major drivers are in the areas of sales/marketing and administration.
Revenue Streams
Newell Brands has one revenue stream: revenues it generates from sales of its products to customers.
