Newell Brands to cut prices at Rubbermaid, Graco as consumers turn frugal

By Juveria Tabassum

Feb 6 (Reuters) – Newell Brands is cutting prices by up to 15% at its Rubbermaid food storage brand and on some core items in baby-care portfolio Graco, a spokesperson told Reuters on Friday, as the Sharpie maker faces steep tariffs and weak consumer spending.

Consumer packaged-goods companies such as Newell, which hiked their prices for several quarters to counter the impact from tariffs, are now facing some pushback from consumers battling high costs of essentials.

Snacks and soda giant PepsiCo said on Tuesday it would cut prices on key brands such as Lay’s and Cheetos by up to 15%, after a round of feedback from consumers showed that they were feeling the strain on their budgets.

“While pricing on some products remains modestly above late-2023 levels, Newell has lowered MSRP on several core items, including the Pack ‘n Play playard and the Turn2Me car seat,” a spokesperson for Newell Brands said.

The company had raised prices of Graco products, which are made in China, over the last year.

Prices are being lowered at Rubbermaid as Newell invested in domestic manufacturing capability to offset tariff impact, the spokesperson said.

The company reduced sourcing exposure to China to below 10% in 2025, the spokesperson added.

Newell expects lower cash tariff payments in 2026 compared with 2025. Newell had raised its expected tariff costs to $180 million from $155 million for 2025 in October.

GENERAL MERCHANDISE DEMAND REMAINS WEAK

Newell’s shares fell nearly 15% premarket on Thursday, after it forecast annual adjusted profit below estimates and CEO Chris Peterson said in a statement the company was not assuming an improvement in underlying category demand this year.

“We think this is reasonable, though further category deterioration is a risk given waning consumer sentiment,” said Nik Modi, analyst at RBC Capital Markets.

Newell’s portfolio of general merchandise products such as storage boxes, candles, kitchen equipment and baby gear is heavily exposed to middle- and lower-income consumers.

These consumer groups have been increasingly wary about spending in the U.S. amid student loan repayments, high food costs and a choppy job market.

It targets normalized earnings per share of 54 cents to 60 cents for full-year 2026, compared with analysts’ average estimate of 60 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Fourth-quarter revenue of $1.90 billion edged past estimates of $1.88 billion.

(Reporting by Anuja Bharat Mistry and Juveria Tabassum in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)