Newell Brands – the owner of Pure Fishing – has announced plans to restructure its business in a plan that could see it selling off its smaller consumer operations.
The group is to focus on nine core divisions with approximately $11 billion in sales which includes leading brands in global consumer-facing categories. It is exploring ‘strategic options’ for its smaller businesses. The fishing companies, which include Shakespeare, Abu Garcia, Berkley and PENN, were not mentioned in the press release issued on the transformation plan.
Michael Polk, Newell Brands CEO, said: “This announcement is a significant acceleration in our transformation plan. We believe that exiting non-strategic assets, reducing complexity and focusing on our key consumer-focused brands will make us more effective at unlocking value and responding to the fast-changing retail environment.
“A stronger, simpler and faster Newell, together with leading brands, brilliant marketing and outstanding innovation and an advantaged e-commerce capability, better positions us to win in these dynamic times.”
The announcement came as the New Jersey business revealed its preliminary results for 2017, which saw core sales growth of approximately 0.8% – below the previous guidance of between 1.5% to 2%.
Polk added: “Despite a very difficult commercial outcome in the second half of 2017, the vast majority of our brands are performing well in the marketplace. Our e-commerce business grew at a strong double-digit pace, our market shares have continued to increase and sell-through growth has accelerated with fourth quarter growth last year ahead of 2016 rates in the US, which strengthens our confidence in our brand, design and innovation-led strategy.”
Newell also announced that former Jarden Corporation executives, Martin E. Franklin and Ian G.H. Aitken, who joined its Board of Directors when the business was bought for $15.4 billion in April 2015, have resigned.