Newell Rubbermaid, the manufacturer and marketer of leading brands in household, office and hardware products, is expanding its presence in the Middle East due to a significant growth in sales of its products, which have been available here for many years.
Jim Haggerty, Newell Rubbermaid’s Managing Director of Emerging Markets, says the company is seeing double digit growth for many of its categories in the Middle East despite an economic downturn in other parts of the world.
With a staff of 24 located in Dubai Airport Free Zone, and additional regional sales staff, the office is ideally located for business as it facilitates travel and makes meeting global clients easier.
“Our local presence helps us build stronger relationships with our retail distributors and also enables us to better understand the specific needs of our Middle East consumers”, says Haggerty. “By studying consumer demands, tastes and reactions to our brands, we can continue to innovate our products to meet their needs.”
The company has seen a sales increase in brands such as Graco, which is the leading Baby & Parenting product brand in the Middle East. Haggerty puts this down to the rapid demographic growth in the region, “Families tend to be large with many children,” he explains; “Governments are recognising the importance of child safety, an example being in the use of infant car seats”. Newell Rubbermaid plans to introduce other premium brands such as Aprica (engineered in Japan) and Teutonia (engineered in Germany).
Office products constitute 60% of Newell Rubbermaid’s sales in the region, and the Company have introduced Paper Mate, the leading stationery brand. Other brands such as Parker and Waterman will be re-energised with new promotions across some regional markets, and the company will be introducing a line of luxury leather goods to complement this category.
Other brands experiencing a rapid increase in sales due to the Middle East construction boom, include the Lenox and Irwin professional brands of Tools, and Rubbermaid Commercial Products brand, one of the leading providers for a full line of professional janitorial equipment for hotels, hospitals, commercial buildings, and educational institutions.
About Newell Rubbermaid
Newell Rubbermaid Inc., an S&P 500 company, is a global marketer of consumer and commercial products with sales of over $6 billion and a strong portfolio of brands, including Rubbermaid(R), Sharpie(R), Graco(R), Calphalon(R), Irwin(R), Lenox(R), Levolor(R), Paper Mate(R), Dymo(R), Waterman(R), Parker(R), Goody(R), Bernzomatic(R) and Amerock(R). The company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia – United Sates of America, and has approximately 22,500 employees worldwide.
