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 several core items in baby-care portfolio Graco, a spokesperson told Reuters on Friday.

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

Snacks and soda giant PepsiCo said on Tuesday it would cut prices on crowd favorites 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.

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

Newell's shares fell about 14% premarket on Thursday after it forecast annual adjusted profit below estimates.

The company in December cut 900 jobs and took up to $90 million in restructuring charges. It also closed about 20 Yankee Candle stores in the U.S. and Canada.

Newell, which makes discretionary products such as storage boxes, candles and baby gear, said in October it had raised its expected tariff costs to $180 million from $155 million for 2025.

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.