Newell confronts its next hard sell; Wall Street buys in, but will consumers?(stock of Newell Rubbermaid Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

Crain's Chicago Business, June, 2002 by Gallun, Alby

Newell Rubbermaid Inc. President and CEO Joseph Galli Jr. has sold his story on Wall Street. Now, he has to sell more products to consumers. The stock of Freeport-based Newell has soared 25% this year-hitting a two-year high last month-owing largely to Mr. Galli's persuasive powers and a streamlining plan that is saving money.

But that stock price reflects the expectation that Mr. Galli will deliver on his promise to get sales growing again at Newell, whose diverse portfolio includes Sharpie pens, Rubbermaid trash cans and Vise-Grip pliers. ``My sense is, he's got some of the low-hanging fruit, but the big challenge is to rev up the growth rate, and given the category he's in, that's going to be a pretty good challenge,'' says Franklin Morton, director of...

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