Newell Brands (NYSE: NWL) is a bit of a Smithsonian.
It arguably has one of the greater collections of brand names of any U.S. company. Sunbeam, Shakespeare, Blue Diamond, Oster, Coleman, Sharpie, Rubbermaid, Elmer's, Rawlings, to start. Each brand is well-known in its sector, well respected and unfailingly iconic, even if that is an overused word. Most often, and this is key to brands, it is either the leader in the category, or still better, the sole owner. Think Elmer's Glue, Ball jars, X-ACTO knives, Crock-Pots, and even those Dymo label printers, ubiquitous in every Mad Menoffice.
In some sectors like Dymo, it is the inventor of the category; think Mr. Coffee, Yankee Candle and Rubbermaid. In other situations, it has become the best known provider in a dependable but un-glam product sector, such as Graco baby products, NUK binkies, Stearn's life vests, Calphalon cookware and First Alert fire detectors.
