Newell Brands

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Newell Brands is a big American company that owns many well-known brands across home, writing, outdoor, baby, and personal care products. Its products include storage containers, water bottles, cookware, writing instruments, and fragrances. Major brands you might recognize include Rubbermaid, Contigo, Bubba, Coleman, Graco, Baby Jogger, NUK, Aprica, Goody, Sharpie, Paper Mate, Elmer’s, Dymo, Calphalon, Mr. Coffee, Oster, Yankee Candle, WoodWick, and more.

A quick look at its history
- 1903: Founded in Ogdensburg, New York by Edgar Newell as the Newell Manufacturing Company, making metal curtain rods.
- Early growth: Gained national distribution and expanded manufacturing.
- 1972: Went public on NASDAQ (later moved to NYSE); ticker NWL.
- 1980s–1990s: Expanded through many acquisitions (Anchor Hocking, Sharpie/Expo, Levolor, Goody, Calphalon, and more).
- 1999: Merged with Rubbermaid to form Newell Rubbermaid, a takeover that dramatically enlarged the company.
- 2000s–2010s: Continued acquiring brands like DYMO, CardScan, Mimio, Endicia, Aprica, and Goody among others.
- 2016: Acquired Jarden for about $15 billion and was renamed Newell Brands. The corporate headquarters moved to Hoboken, New Jersey.
- 2018: Began a refocusing effort, selling several businesses and moving headquarters back toward Atlanta, Georgia.
- 2018–2020s: Sold several units (e.g., Pure Fishing; Jostens; Goody; Rawlings) to focus on core brands.

Today
- Headquarters: Atlanta, Georgia area.
- Leadership: Robert Steele (chairman) and Chris Peterson (CEO).
- Business scope: Owns a broad portfolio of everyday consumer and professional products across writing, kitchen, kids, home organization, outdoor gear, and fragrances.
- Revenue and size (recent): About $8.13 billion in 2023; net loss around $388 million; operating income around negative $85 million; assets about $12.2 billion; equity around $3.11 billion.
- Employees: Roughly 24,600 (as of 2023).
- Ownership: Large investors hold meaningful stakes (for example, Pzena Investment Management and Icahn Capital).

Notes on recent changes
- The company has slimmed down some brands to focus on higher-potential core products.
- It has pursued cost reductions and reorganizations to streamline operations after the big Jarden merger.

In short, Newell Brands is a long-running, diversified consumer goods company built from a century of growth through many brand acquisitions, now focusing on a more focused set of core brands and products.