What an appropriate announcement on September 11, 2006. . . Newell Rubbermaid (NYSE: NWL), makers of Sharpie, Paper Mate, Waterman, EXPO, Rubbermaid, Calphalon, Graco, Goody, BernzOmatic, IRWIN and LENOX, announced today they hired Magnus Nicolin as President of Newell Rubbermaid Europe. As far as I am concerned, you can kiss all of these brands goodbye...or at least their business on the other side of the Ocean.HWH worked for this guy in the United States along with his henchwoman Helena Wong at Esselte, the worldwide office products company, they managed to ....er..........."let's just say the company is a shadow of its former self." We worked for Esselte long before Magnus and that little snot Helena showed up.
It probably won't be too long before Magnus hires his crony whom he met at P&G. He did that at Esselte. They like to work together as a team flashing their P&G backgrounds around because, in my opinion, they are totally clueless, socially and professionally.
Nicolin is very handsome, and his movie star good looks cover up for other weaknesses. The picture of Magnus here doesn't make him look like the debonair devil that he is. But trust me, he is very tall and distinguished looking. He is one of those people that make you stop and stare.
Helena is just the opposite. I don't know what her talents are but in my experience she had about as much authority being the Chief Marketing Officer for Esselte as I have being Miss USA. In all my years working (40 years this past Sept 9th), I have never met someone so condescending and misinformed than she.One day she decided that Esselte needed a big idea to make the company famous. She asked HWH and two other agencies to present creative ideas. I don't know what happened at the other presentations, but during ours she spent the entire time telling us we were worthless. I have never experienced this before and the only reason why I didn't wipe the walls with her is because I thought I owed some respect to her two lieutenants, Chris Ang and Chris Curran.They applauded our ideas in a preview meeting but disassociated themselves when she mouthed off. I have never forgiven myself for not putting her in her place, especially when she announced that Samsung, one of our other clients, was not a good example of the great work we were doing. Samsung, as far as she was concerned, was an inferior brand stuck in a garage some place. The Chris' slid down in their chairs from embarrassment.
The meeting got even worse but I will save those details for anyone who wants a first hand account of the dragon lady. When I tried to contact Magnus to tell him that Helena was a disaster, he never returned phone calls. He was off globetrotting. Why sweat the small stuff and HWH obviously fell in that category. That's okay. We went on to bigger and better things while Esselte fell apart. Perhaps it was the big idea Helena fell in love with:
She selected an agency that told her to drop a sizeable paper plane branded with the name Esselte on it off the Empire State Building to generate big news.
Needless to say that idea was never executed but the company was.
341 comments:
1 – 200 of 341 Newer› Newest»So tell us what you didn't like about thew dastardly duo...
:-)
Having been a part of Esselte (a successful company in business for more than 120 years) for 24+ years, I had the misfortune to witness what these two "professionals" accomplished in a very short time--destroyed morale, alienated major customers, forced talented professionals to resign and recruited people as clueless as they.
--And yet, like cats, they land on their feet!
I have been a part of Esselte for 20 years in the Finance area and saw the execution coming. Yes, I accepted the voluntary severence pkg just in time. The ship has been sinking and continues to. Your article is dead on and I could not agree with you more. It is a shame what happened to a once well run organization.
When you're right, you're right!
These two are Wharton grads - yikes!
As we all know, it's who you know (and can bullsh*t) that's more important than what you know.
I'm sorry for the folks victimized by these elitist snobs.
Thank so much for giving voice to what the folks at Esselte have been thinking for the past couple of years.
If you work for Newell, PRAY and often!
Magnus Nicolin How can you sleep at night taking away employees pay, job's and benifit's while you were CEO of Esselte?
You came to our plant in Union, Mo. and lied about giving us pay raise's. I hope some day some body take's away what you have worked all your life for. Magnus!!
well, just to let you all know that Mr Terminator already started the destruction a few months ago...at Sanford. To be noted, the consistency of quick-fix ideas, the bringing on board of the clueless and, a masterclass in how to treat people like disposable pens. Stay tuned for more announcements out of Newell Europe in the new year (he can't very well go and spoil the Xmas season now can he?!)
Helena's next target for demise... http://www2.oregonscientific.com/about/profiles.asp
And yes, the fall has begun here as well... People like this must have dirt on someone out there to keep getting these positions.
Wow, reading this is like deja vu. Up until recently I worked at OSI (Helena's new stomping grounds) but after working with her for only a few weeks (eternal weeks) I quickly made a job change. She was quick to stamp out moral and demean people, even when it was clear that she had no expertise on the subject at hand.
A moment that stands out in my mind was getting berated for making one of our packages green and yellow. Apparently she disliked the colors and went on and on about the poor choices. Finally she asked why there was a John Deere logo on it. Of course, I responded by saying it was a package for a John Deere product and that was why it was green and yellow. She barked, "John Deere? Who is this John Deere?!" It was a defining moment regarding my departure, to say the least.
The funniest thing is that she was touted as a giant success at Esselte and P&G and used examples from her great ideas there constantly. I always wondered how she could have done so well at her previous positions, since my experience with her proved to be like working with Darth Vador (Darth Vador? Who is this Darth Vador?!).
Anyway, thanks for the background...
Is there any thing we can do to about people like Magnus and Helena?
I had the bad luck to suffer a quite similar experience with Helena , I can't agree more with your comments !! With more time I will relate what happens at this time..
What about Paul Krumpe with Union, Mo. Esselte. As for as liar's goes he's right at the top with them.
I joined Newell about two years ago and since he joined his first ID was to relocate the Newell Rubbermaid EMEA headquaerters from Waterloo (Belgium) to a more "costeffective" PARIS!! This now makes a lot of people speculate about some office closures...
Who's next...
Hello,
I linked your post on my blog (Restructuration, in french, sorry). I'm one of the employees of Newell Europe, (Sanford Division). Thef factory (Reynolds Pens) where I worked will be closed soon, and my blog tell this story. I tried to write in english here : Reorganization, but not fluent enought in english, and no time enought !
Happy New Year.
Best regards.
I think Esselte in Union Mo. should have offered a reward when their employee's child was kidnapped. Thank heaven he was found today.
Interesting. Hi.. I'm currently considering a job with NWL and will oversee Europe and Asia. How do I get finer details of "that meeting" and this dragon lady? Thanks, ( thesullster aht gee mayle dohht comm )
Reply to Redza
Magnus will not recruit Helena his time... Another dragon is already in place, leading the marketing team of Sanford Europe (a division of Newell )to disaster. This Lady (Bestabe Sollente) is a time bomb for the whole organisation. She has great expertise in destroying morale, discourage true innovation. Of course she has no clue about the business and she has never seen any customers. I do not know your plan at Newell; it might be wiser waiting 2 or 3 years before accepting any position in this company.
Well Magnus' big plan has not yet materialised as he does not retain hold on Sales/Marketing or the actual European GBU's. So looking after Corporate, HR and IT will be his lot.
I feel sorry for the Irwin people who are being taken over by Sanford mafia, a division who have been dying for the last 5 years.
He is aleady saying he is lined up for a big job in the US. So those who move into the secret new office in Paris, had better hope his replacement likes Paris or you'll all be moving again.
OMG. I am so glad I found this blog. I am a graphic designer and saw a posting for a position at Newell Rubbermaid in NC. I thought I had heard in passing that Rubbermaid was bad to work for. Glad I did not waste my time with submitting my resume. My heart goes out to current employees.
Irwin RCP and Graco are just as much clueless as Sanford when it comes to marketing. The whole of Newell Rubbermaid is a marketing disaster. Thanks to that dwarf galli it's full of second (third) rate pseudo-marketeers.
Sanford is already reporting to Nicolin and soon so will the other GBUs.
Look out for some high profile hires taking over sales soon.
Along that same line of thought, look forward to some high profile dismissals. Especially Benedikt and Rahn from Graco who are trying to sabotage the plan Ketchum has for Europe. It's backfiring but they won't realize that until lightning strikes them.
Lucky Rubbermaid people !!!
From the Esselte’s waste you got the beauty , while the dragon beast dropped over the poor guys at Oregon Scientific.
I haven’t seen such a bad manners with teams and such an arrogance coming from someone so clueless.
People are now either looking for a job change or just cashing the salary without any faith on the future.
Lucky Rubbermaid people !!!
From the Esselte’s waste you got the beauty , while the dragon beast dropped over the poor guys at Oregon Scientific.
I haven’t seen such a bad manners with teams and such an arrogance coming from someone so clueless.
People are now either looking for a job change or just cashing the salary without any faith on the future.
Sanford is in for some serious liposuction to trim it of all its fat. It's the other GBU's which will have to pay for this though.
You are wrong. Sanford people are taking over all senior and middle management positions in Europe. If you don't work for Sanford, best to start heading for the exits.
Let's see how quickly RCP, Graco and Irwin get managed into unprofitability (which is what Sanford management is good at).
As ever with Sanford in charge there is no progress , we still have no fancy new office and the plans are turning to dust......They were supposed to move into the new office by May....they haven't even got one chosen yet....
How is Sanford's profitability in Europe without Dymo?
Is it true that the Dymo acquisition is disguising years of sub par management performance within Sanford Europe?
Lois: You didn't win the contract. You lost a major account. Move on.
Others: Fight or flight. If the career you value is being threatened by vision vacant, morally bereft, incompetent animated gerbils; then, take them on and get rid of them. Or, get out.
Corporate Survival Rule of Thumb #1: You are in control of your own life. Get to know the little pilot inside.
Corporate Survival Rule of Thumb #2: All bullies are cowards. Learn to deal with them effectively. It is surprising how quickly they crumble.
Corporate Survival Rule of Thumb #3: If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. No explanation required.
Corporate Survival Skill #1: There is strength in numbers. Devise an effective planning and decision-making methodology among cross-functional teams to deal with incompetent leadership.
Corporate Survival Skill #2: Maintain perspective / Keep your head on straight. You are only a victim if you let people treat you as a victim. Spite, cynicism and ridicule stand on the platform of anger – the second to last stop on the rail line to depression.
Corporate Survival Skill #5: Realize that Life is Short. Ask your friends and loved one’s if you’ve been moaning or ranting a lot lately. If the answer is ‘yes’ that’s a strong signal to revisit CSRoT #1.
Sanford survivel rule nr 1: force all non-Sanford businesses to move to Sanford office / facilities (even if the other way around or not at all would make more economic sense) and let the non-Sanford businesses pay for Sanford's increased profitability.
How much is the Paris office farce going to benefit NWL's shareholders?
"Sanford, a division who have been dying for the last 5 years."
Make that 5+1!
Pity for all the smart, hard working people in Home & Family, RCP and IRWIN who do have a clue about running a business but will see all their good work go to waste to cover for Sanford failures.
sounds like some things never change. She was the same at Western Union. The marketing department called themselves POWs "Prisoners of Wong"
So quiet at the moment!
Is it the quiet in front of the storm or are the probs solved at NWL or Sanford ?
staff is still waiting for infos...announcements of Paris office are out and nothing else.
Magnus is looking out for his profit only, not the company's. He wants to do it fast and eliminate anyone that could block him in the process. He will crash the Europe.... I will have fun watching!
How much is the Paris office farce going to benefit NWL's shareholders? About as much as as the band on the Titanic kept water from rushing in below decks, I'm guessing. NWL did the same thing in the States, moving corporate HQ to a fancy new address in Atlanta from their famous "farm house" HQ in Fairlawn. The thinking behind it seems to be "Hey, if you show looking like you're the smartest guys in the room, people will think you're the smartest guys in the room, right?" If they can't do it, they can fake it, and the poor rubes that work for them and buy their products won't know the difference.
Well, you can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but NWL can't fool anybody. The iceberg's getting closer, Fred Fleet is on a coffee break, and it's just a matter of time.
"And the band played on..."
MN's strategy for Europe will be a deasaster for all brands. All these American brands like Papermate,(mee - too products from China at double the market prices) Graco, Irwin etc. will have no future in Europe. Any cent invested will be a cent too much.
They are trying to go directly into markets of which they do not have a clue at all, total failure is pre-preprogrammed.
Magnus is the man. Every day he's gaining more power.
Power alone does not mean anything,key is the intelligent use of it. Just look how he worked down Esselte until they had no choice but to sell off Dymo to Sanford.
Strong local brands like Reynolds
(he has virtually destroyed this brand) are disappearing and are being replaced by almost unknown, uncompetitive mee-too products made in PRC.
You don't know what you are talking about: he realized hundreds of millions in shareholder value by selling off Dymo.
Ha, that's the typical way of thinking in short term "one time" numbers but where is a long term strategy which can generate a lasting turn around of Newell brands in Europe?
I cannot agree more, watch out what will be happening with Reynolds and rotring brand, Sanford will lose millions of sales
with what they are going to impose on the markets.
magnus may be smart and powerful but he's surrounded himself with amateurs
they are not even that, they are simply ignorant, almost the whole marketing team has no clue at all what is going on in the markets, you can judge on desasterous state of Newell/Sanford brands in Europs.
remember the Jane Fonda movie China Syndrom? In Europe we have something called the Sanford Syndrom: how to run a business into the ground as quickly as possible
in reality all Sanford brands have already been "grounded",and... some very strong local brands have basically disappeared because of their brand strategy and now the helpless move to rejuvenate the image of Parker by adding some products from other brands + a lot of scrap from China.
Question: how many Sanford people does it take to change a light bulb?
Please share this with us.
With Sanford in charge there typically is no progress so it takes 3 Sanford people (one to break the existing light bulb, one to buy a very expensive new one, one to screw up changing the old one for the new one and of course these 3 people debate what to do endlessly during this process without making clear decisions).
Then typically non-Sanford people have to come in and clean the mess.
Who are these ignorant amateurs around Magnus? Spill the beans!
Byron Gibson, also known as the nutty professor
what about betsabeh
knows nothing about customers or marketing but likes making fantasy presentations
Roberts is going to give magnus one hell of a time in Sanford Europe. At least finally the Sanford mess will be cleaned up once and for all.
It's payback time Magnus.
In Europe, you will never be able to clean up the Sanford mess unless you remove the ex Gillette guys which are still in place as VP's, Directors and Country Managers. It's because of them the Sanford business is in such a dreadful state of affairs.
How's the hotshot new cfo doing in europe?
I cannot agree more, the worse of all ex Gillette guys was sombody from UK we used to call "brown nose". Anybody an idea whether he is still around?
Has Roberts gotten rid of Wong carbon copy Beastabeh yet?
let him first get rid of Nicolin, the others will follow then.
Beastabeh, hotshot CFO, etc. have as much business being in their roles as Joe had being CEO of newell
how much value are these people really adding to the business besides blowing smoke up ketchum's ass?
Nicolin acts as if Newell is P&G, with the "slight" difference that P&G offers world class brands but Newell almost only "scarp" products and "local" brands.
yes,agree who the hell in Europe needs Sharpies, ViseGrip, Amerock, Bernzomatic, Goody, Levelor or Kirsch.
wow, never heard of one of these, is somebody out there in Europe familiar with such (american???) brands.
did sanford brands complete 2007 with good results?
in which region?
europe
sanford in 2007?
terrible year, 2008 can only be better
especially with magnus now strongly in charge and almost all negative resisters (soon to be) fired or promoted away where they can do less harm
can only be better is not much.
Just because Magnus is "stronly in charge" ???(whatever this means), If you want to grow you need an excellent portfolio of products but Sanford brands are definitely not in it.
Papermate is simply a desaster, Parker range overmatured, Waterman no direction at all, strong local brands like Reynolds and rotring are disappearing. The only exception is Dymo which is still bakced up by the ex Esselte team, Sanford has not taken power yet (hope it never happens).
Where can Sanford still grow???
Who has already been promoted away? Aren't these simply cost cuttings?
But with betsabeh in charge, Sanford will be saved in Europe
Without Sanford Group, do any other GBU have factory left in Europe?
yes Tools still have some manufacturing in Sweden and in Nederlands
well so fare i can tell sll of you so far, with Newell are no sales pros working in the euro division! there is a saying by the paris people around Magnus: this company is to overwight on the sales side! any question! In Graco Div. they keep on loosing huge Millions in europe. the hired people for product managers, from food to Graco and so on..i´m happy to be out now
The crux with Newell / Sanford in Europe is that they are trying to act as being another P&G.
Unfortunately there is no basis for it as P&G offers a world class innovative portfolio of products and they are market leaders in quite a number of countries and product categories.Their marketing (trade and cunsumer) is more than state of the art.
Both key factors are just the opposite in Newell. An overmature, mee too productportfolio, basically no innovation and to a large extent unknown brands in Europe on one side and a very weak and unexperienced marketing on the other. They will need to invest billions of Euros to achieve some break through. I haven't seen anything so far (exception Dymo). Believe me despite of all claims of being a marketing company Newell will remain a "finance" company" when they do not chane their mentality completely.
Nicolin will never suceed in Europe!!!
Just read that Newell will have vaccum cleaners in their product portfolio...thus....more hot air is coming from them....
wow..
I was considering applying for a position at the (near) Paris office..
Any more details about Bethsabe Solente ?
if you don't mind working for a tyrannical witch, then you'll just love it
What happen to Sanford export team In Hamburg ? It seems they have moved part of the office to Dubai and fired the rest of the team !!
Are they still loosing money , promoting smuggling, parallel activities and seling over stocks at below cost prices?
I’m sure the ex-Gillette teams are having fun and enjoying Golf and Horse racing while other are struggling
Are there any connection between the European office and the IRS investigation on the RABOBANK / Newell scandal for $450Million ? isn't Dubai office activities controled by the same group in France ?
Yes, the Dubai Office is controlled by Paris Office (M's team.)
No, the Sanford export team is still (but for how long???) largely in place as only the management team (JH + MK) have been relocated to Dubai to benefit from all the privileges there.
Yes, both ex Gillette guys have always been and still are experts in parallel trading.(Entrack!!!)
JH + MK are sucking every penny they can get out of newell
nothing new compared to what they did in the gillette days
somebody very high up will lose his job over the $450Million scandal
in meantime, the workers have to work even harder
Can you be a bit more precise, what kind of "450 Mio. scandal" are you talking about.
the I.R.S is invetigating Newell record where they have sold their recievables to Rabobank at discounted price and deduct it from the tax , the estimated amount claimed is $450M and some say it is even more , it was all over the news
Is Entrack still active? i though DM in Moscow requested some control over their activities due to the fact that most of his goods end up there instead of India where he claim the goods are going !!! .
another way of getting benefits, MN with JH & MC aproval has managed to secure special prices in $ instead of GBP for some of his clients in the middle east against some special deals , in additional to giving free goods which no one notice it ( perfect deal ;-) especially when newell loosing margin .
I wonder if there is any control over these people activities or performance
DM is back to UK since quite some time and Entrack is active as ever, nothing goes to India, it's parallel trading at perfection.
Whenever sales are needed....they step in......
All is "tolerated" and the person in charge has very close relations to the export management and sales team, looks like they are closing a (ore more) blind eye.
Most of the markets are dead !!, who is still buying after they moved the production line to China ? which market they can still do paralel (even iran is dead ) ?
are there still liquidation deals through canadian surplus and Scholar-Dubai for sanford and papaermate brands ? and is it still at the same old prices( 15-20% of the cost ).
Do you have the mobile No.of JH or MC in Dubai ?
You are pretty well informed.
Try the old cell phone numbers, I guess they are still active.
Sensational new product development from Sanford, they open a new chapter with:
"A Sharpie designed to write on paper" without bleeding through.
It's input from the consumers, they say.Uuups, what a move after 40 yeas (LOL)
who do you suggest will lose his job over the IRS scandal?
* corporate CFO (Robinson)?
* european CFO (Trujen)?
* leader of tax-treasury (Martin)?
* somebody else?
Sanford team taking care of themselves. Wauters gets a new job (with joining bonus) but before joining quickly negotiates his severence with Newell. Workers in factories have to work harder to pay for this.
Vincent Wauters appointed Amer Sports Senior Vice President, Supply Chain and Information Technology
Mr. Vincent Wauters has been named Amer Sports Senior Vice President, Supply Chain and Information Technology. The newly created position has been established to reinforce the company's efforts in developing synergies through common platforms in the areas of Supply Chain and Information Technology. Mr. Wauters will join Amer Sports on September 1, 2008.
Mr. Wauters holds a Post Graduate degree in geopolitics from U:L:B Brussels University, Belgium. He is joining Amer Sports from Newell Rubbermaid (www.newellrubbermaid.com) in Paris, France, where he held the position of Vice President, Supply Chain, EMEA. Mr. Wauters will relocate to Helsinki, Finland and will be based at Amer Sports headquarters.
Mr. Wauters will report to Mr. Roger Talermo, Amer Sports' President and CEO and will be a member of the Executive Board.
what does "very close relations to the export management and sales team" mean?
...especially american companies are strictly against it.....
You need to ask JH and MC about their relation with Pratap in Dubai ,in order to understand what is a close relation mean ;-)
Having good friend always helps !!!, a friend in need is definatly friend indeed ( isn't it right MN ;-) )
also you need to enquire about Samir and Ali deals and relationship in Egypt ( That is a real Friend !!! )
In Regards to US companies regulation ( You must be kidding ) , sanford never stoped exporting to Iran even during the tough sanctions , they used to ship to dubai and then smugle it to iran and they granted MEHDI and Kish Afzar special discounts and prices to cover any expences that ocure ( Scholar was created by WDZ for such deals )( In this regards don't worry they are real Patriots!!! ), don't forget that they have the Gillette experiance in smugling . ( Ask JH how they screwed one of their distributors in Dubai by selling the brand to him and the next month they made a paralel deal with the CEO of the former distributor and start smugling goods into the teritory ., and what a surprise when you find that the master mind behind the deal is JH ) I wonder how much out of the 11.8M deal was cashed as expences :-)
Is there any one left within the Newell management team that has an ounce of common sense left?
Who is looking at the fundamentals of this business and removing the for-ex changes?
Has any of the business units grown sales? Are any of them profitable? Why does a low cost consumer goods company need a HQ in one of the most expensive cities in the world?
My take on this is the US management are so focused on their US problems they will not spend any time whatsoever looking at the problems so all of their analysis will come from their pown team who can not see another way. Will turkeys vote for Christmas?
I think the only way forward is for a break up bid but who would want to fund this and why would you invest in NWL vs other sectors.
NWL has never had a thought through or effective European strategy. What exactly are they trying to achieve? Why does this business exist?
Until someone can answer this fundamental issue lots of people will be posting blogs as they are going to be very unhappy everyday in what they do.
Close the HQ and create a market & customer driven business with a few executives at the top and put us all out of our misery.
Can anyone explain to me how JH survives?
he has been ripping off Newell by selling to customers who dump product back killing their own markets for years and is paid how much?
if you know his nickname, it will explain why.....
I was never referring to this type of relations.....
Who is WDZ?
don't leave people guessing, what is his nickname?
WDZ is the one who hand over the export to JH before he retire with a golden hand shake .
JH use to be one of the sharholders of parker when managment team took over and even though he made big gain selling his share to Gillette , he kept his job and always find a way to make extra bucks.
trace his historical achivment all around the world and you will definatly be amazed ( Entrack, Pratap, Ferozudeen,GI, Khodeir, Jamjoom,...etc )
I cannot agree more to the post stating that within the Newell management almost nobody is left with an ounce of common sense.
No strategy, no real investmentinto brands, no sales growth since Sanford aquired the first European Stationery companies (Berol, rotring and Reynolds)everything was just short term. All these brands, although real "local heros" have virtually disappeared or are going to.
Many negative comments were given how badly they handled Parker and Waterman but Newell topped that by far. These brands were a real treasure but what are they today, you often find them in "dump bins"
and "organised" parallel trading has added to this downward trend.
Does anybody out there see a real progress after MN has restructured
the complete European organisation???
If you see the sales teams everywhere struggling against all the internal administrative hurdles and restrictions you cannot but pity them as instead of being in the market (s) visiting customers and achieving sales they have spend a huge amount of time and energy to overcome these.
Ahh, I thought it was WDS, can you guess how "golden" this handshake was?
let say it is enough for his Sky club member ship for a very long time
i wonder when JH will get the same, i'm sure it will help in developing his huge land in scotland
sound like same JH we knew in moscow..
Most probably, he also tolerated or even supported that huge, huge amounts of Parker products (you can probably not imagine how much within a few years) were "deviated" to Russia through a parallel channel.
there is nothing called tolerated with Jim H. , every thing is planed, wether it is screwing a distributor in Moscow,Iran, Ukrain,Saudi, Dubai or it's a simple dumping of over stock or damaged goods .
dealing with him you have to consider that you are dealing with a real hipocrate who have 2 asistant one is arogant and crook and the other is dum ( I leave it to your imagination to name them ;-).... ).
he has exceelent experiance in that !!!!
Are you talking about MK and MN both now in Dubai?
MN is in Dubai ??? is he going to the office or as usual at the horse race ?
are they on holiday there or for work ? I heard people are moving their offices out from Dubai due to over priced rent and living expences !!! but as usual Newell do the oposit ( They are over smart ).
horse race, or hookers?
maybe both ;-)
horse race during office hours , and hookers in the free time .
I don't think that to discuss on such a level is appropriate.
it seems soon all of us will be looking for new job !!
Share price is down to $15.45 within less than 15 days , and expected to reach single digit soon .
Sales are very bad .
it's either the ROBOBANK story is going in the wrong direction or there is some thing worse that no one is talking about ??
some roomers that they are selling some writing instruments brands and manufacturing units in Europe , and reducing work force ( more layoff).
things are totally unclear, any news ???
....when were sales ever good in EU (minus the favorable exchange rate effect)? Its been a long time now....I´m not even talking about high performance standards but rather what even these amateurs should be capable of...
Be carefull guys, Helena Wong was just fired from IDT/Oregon Scientific (thanks God!)
Maybe Magnus hire her to work with him again.
Wow...
HW would not be too bad for the lame brand marketing in Paris.
when will the nutty professor finally be gone?
We heard last week 2008 bonus will be very low (strongly by terrible Sanford results)
Is this the great European turnaround?
No turnaround in Europe ever with this structure and the ex Gillette people still in many key positions.
They are just interested in their bonusses and are blocking everything which makes life difficult for them.
It seems the ex- Gillette team will lose their advantage soon (many will have the golden hand shake much sooner than they expect)
Some of the remaining manufacturing plants in Europe are on offer, and there is a talk even on selling brands names and business of the factories which has been closed earlier.
3d quarter will be extremely tough and stressful for the European team.
It seems some one want quick and immediate cut of expenses in additional to immediate or short term return ( we will see if this will be crazy or very smart move ), they don’t want any excuses , they are acting like very nervous tyrant .
I feel sorry for all the remaining good people who will be smashed with this move.
Robinson, Truijen, Martin
Everybody in Atlanta knows one of these three has already been made redundant.
I am joining Newell soon, who are these ex gillette people?
It's me again. Reading this message board leaves me worried. Is it unsafe as a new hire (high risk of being let go?). Seems like a very unstable environment.
if you have alternative , don't even think twice.
NWL is a place to make quick cash or short term benefit , and then if you are smart you dump them or they will dump you.
JH, MC, MN, DM, ........etc.( The list is long ),
you have the real ex-Gillette , and then you have the people who has been infected by the Ex-G attitude.
In short this is hopeless enviroment , and NWL should sell these divisions soon to survive .,
this is their only hope to save the remaining .
Sell what? And why? You do not believe in acceleration or ketchum or magnus?
you must be joking .....
check the history and achievment of each of them and then start dreaming ,,, if you can .
Excellent. Just left a stable job for more money and promise of a consumer-driven enterprise at NWL. I show up and there are no resources in place to do the job I'm supposed to do. Then I read this!
You are not the first , nor the last .
Good Luck
now the nutty professor has left, average European HR community and ELT IQ has boosted to three digits
possibly magnus will succeed after all?
http://messages.finance.yahoo.com/Stocks_%28A_to_Z%29/Stocks_N/threadview?m=tm&bn=13096&tid=24783&mid=25838&tof=2&rt=2&frt=2&off=1
this is truth?
Unfortunately NR has never been and will never be a marketing/consumer driven company.
It is and will remain finance driven. They simply don't have the skills in their marketing departments and also lacking an attractive product range.
Monthly/Quarterly and half year results are to achieved in what way ever by cutting (marketing) budgets + a number of other P&L manipulations.
The strengthening US$ is posing another problem to the European organisation.
Your experience with NR is what has happening frequently, they simply don't care too much about their staff, ....just their own bonusses. Try to escape as early as you can.....
truijen is becoming president corporate development?
what? I thought he was dismissed?
how could it be the case considering he's been invited to join the aspire program?
Some of the gossip on this site really is over the top.
Truijen is not becoming the new Blaha (although Blaha is on his way out). He is also not joining the Aspire program.
He has been made redundant and Sweet is already recruiting his replacement.
The million dollar questions are why has he been dismissed and how can a CFO still be allowed to stay on for so long?
With Magnus gone january, will katja von raven really become president of europe?
who is replacing truyen?
Where do you get your first statement from??
MN is leaving? Okay...
Jean-Christophe Hyvert will replace Peter Truijen. Is this good or bad news?
A very big rumour that it is KVR for president. Can't manage the business out of madrid
JCH at least does not lie about his credentials.
Can't manage the business, period
I have heard she is never in Luxembourg, always in Madrid.
Trying to get a handle on this information. Trying to figure out who KVR is. Help :-)
Katja Von Raven - KVR
Why Madrid? She isn't responsible for the sales team and all of the marketing team is in Luxembourg. I guess people will get let go in order to continue paying for KVR's expensive travel costs which add nothing to RCP. Is a VP even needed for the role of marketing manager of a rather small business like RCP?
Look at the bottom line of all businesses and than comment
She stepped in and took all the credits for what DI had put in place and on top smoking regulation gave her a free lunch. She added nothing to the business but costs.
Bestabe Sollente and KVR a pair alike
With KVR gone, who will be the boss of Rubbermaid
TC will run RCP from the UK
Grand rumur in paris, newell is entering the next stage of efforts to destroy the european business
More than 30 million in costs to be cut in europe, hundred or more sales people will be extermine as well as it, hr, finance
no surprise after recent announcements but who believe this will solve real problems? will clients be happy with madrid and kopenhagen office closing?
why cluster leaders southern and northern get fired?
the entire management teams in these clusters (leader, marketing, finance) will be fired, so will 25 percent of the sales force
do not worry, dobbelstine will manage north cluster, he is very qualified: he has a high school diploma in the subject of bullshit
This is horrible
Come Newell, it is like management only gets more rich while employees (and stock holders) get more poor
will west cluster then take over south cluster?
Come now, West cluster management can't manage their way out of a paper sack, let alone the south cluster. one bright idea, put the sales structure back into the GBUs and do away with the whole cluster management.
Sure, put the sales structure back under the GBU's where they'll be led by third rate marketeers who'd better focus on being good at marketing than on trying to act like general managers.
Does anybody know what will be happening with the cluster which manages the distributor markets headed by JH now based in Dubai?
I think most of the posters of this forum have no clue what is actually happening in Newell Europe, I haven't heard such a nonsense since a long time!!!
10.17 3.22 post: HR, get back to doing real work!
What does it mean? Retrenchment of personel?
Will customer service mess up be the next wauters project getting extermine?
What is the other wauters project to get stopped?
I've been contacted to join Newell Rubbermaid in a Group Vice-President Finance position, based in Atlanta.
What are the + and - of this position with Newell Rubbermaid?
Don't take it there are far too many VPs today and more than enough finance people.
I would think twice before joining Newell, they have a huge turnover of employees and they have been rated some time back "the worse employer" in the States and since then things have certainly not improved, on the contrary....
Avoid Newell like the plague unless you are desperate for a job.
Especially in Atlanta there's immense panic, who knows how long it will last.
Which Group are they interviewing for?
It is for a new position covering all of the business units.
How much power do these seperate BUs really have?
Only in Newell could somebody with JCH's experience become CFO, and somebody with Pat's performance remain CFO
Story is now KVR will be retrenched next week. Magnus stays?
I cant believe any competent VP would ask this audience what they thought of the company....what did you expect to get as feedback?!?
What do you mean by the term retrenched?
So... No news on the Retrenchment..
Don't worry EMEA, Magnus will take good care of ELT members.
Southern cluster leader is rumored to get a gold plated retirement package.
Northern cluster leader is rumored to become SAP project leader for EMEA.
What will happen with the Dubai devil? KVR?
Odd choice for SAP project lead.. still who knows in the current circus..
Question.
How does reducing number of sales people improve financial results in Europe?
Sales people sell. less of them = less sales.
Interesting solution to the problem. Who thought that one up?
You got it all wrong. We're a company of Brands that Matter so our products will sell themselves. You should listen to your CEO a bit more.
How could i have forgoten that! i guess we will end up with just Magnus and co. sat in Paris and all the brands sell themselves. perfect solution!
You all are unbelievable, if you really that much hate working for Newell, than why not looking for a new job and stop bitching??
What us regular workers hate is seeing executive management ruin this company at the expense of livelihood of employees and of stockholders:
the brands will sell themselves when the day comes (and the day always comes in newell world) where business is divested after management break business (but not before something in economy happens which newell can blame for it)
sales person as sap project leader, no wonder sap project is a horror in newell
does north cluster lead have any experience implementing erp? process design? large change programme management?
was HR sleeping again when this happened?
How ignorant are you that because
Newell claims that they have brands that matter they will sell by themselves. I guess you are just the right guy for the European marketing team.
Deedle didle, deedle doo
What kind of animal can you find in the Paris zoo?
Magnus Nicolin summarized
1: make a lot of promises
2: fail to deliver on them
3: blame poor results on the economy
4: give cushy jobs and fat bonuses to ELT members to keep them quiet
5: fire more than 200 people in Europe who will pay for his mistakes with their jobs
HR a Paris should be more diligente so the liste with 218 names is not lying at the printer all day
So Nielsen got fired while Dobbelstine got promoted. Another sign that in the new Newell Rubbermaid what is most important is being friends with nicolin and / or being from the Sanford mob.
The best cluster leader gets fired and in the meantime Sanford dreadful performance has started to affect all the other businesses!
Jean-Christophe Hyvert needs to get his head out of the asses of the group CFOs
his view will increase tremendously
After the upcoming Xmas massacre being orchestrated by Chaney and Nicolin there'll only be sanford people left in most key positions.
If you're not from Sanford, prepare for a big cheque to come your way and enjoy the view of the titanic sinking
Any news on what is happening following the announcement in the US? Also a strong rumour that Magnus is off to the US, who is lined up to replace him?
10% salaried workforce reduction... no pay raises this year.
Good thing I never bought that house in Atlanta. I'll watch it sink and hope for the best for myself and family.
Sigh... wish I had found this blog before taking the gig!
I doubt Magnus will go to the US seeing as the company is looking to reduce costs. The sensible thing to do would be to fix what is broken and focus on value add employees get rid of pointless positions...
nicolin could become the new group prez office products?
lelievre becomes prez of sales europe?
Never seen so many "pointless" positions in a company.
First step is to remove the division president level.
Then all the corporate fat at top. And it IS bloated. There's 3 floors of corporate (of 12) in Atlanta. It's only a 7b company. We don't need VP's of "Innovation and Insights" when neither innovation nor insights are coming out of corporate. Strategy Director? VP of Corporate Marketing? Huh? Corporate does nothing related to strategy or marketing... that's all at the business unit level.
Then streamline "shared services" into group-level functions rather than dedicated to each business unit. Every business unit with it's own VP of Marketing, Finance, R&D, Sales... ridiculous.
Have one Communications group for all of Goody, Graco, Calphalon, etc. One Finance. One Supply Chain. One Consumer Insights. That's how other companies do it... because it makes sense. Isn't that why Ketchum disrupted hundreds of families and forced moved from Toledo and soon Philly... "One Newell Rubbermaid".
And separate sales organizations calling on the same accounts? POINTLESS.
And what if Calphalon wanted in WM? We have a WM team somewhere in the building, right? Or Goody into Bed Bath.... endless possibilities.
Right now the only thing in common is the cafeteria and the Starbucks. And a bunch of unused meeting space and a parking deck.
Then... could someone please explain what Ted Woehrle does? Jay Gould for that matter?
Would not surprise me if the combined salaries and bonuses of all of marketing approached the actual marketing expenditure. It might actually exceed media.
What a stupid, stupid company.
What are the rumors right now? I'm hearing Ketchum is out. Thoughts?
It's funny.... they blamed oil prices over the summer. Now that oil is down to $40 a barrel the economy is the latest excuse.
But NWL was sick long before $100 oil....
FACT: ex P&G employees are worthless outside of P&G. And apparently incapable of original thoughts. I've worked with enough of them to know... they all say the same BS and it always seems out of context.
You can't force a cultural change. You can't create P&G outside of P&G.
Well said above two comments, all this GBU/RAGBU cluster rubbish. There are more VPs than you can shake a stick at.
Does this blog have censorship? Nothing is being posted.....
I think it has, but why? Can the "blog author please explain?
I think people are just getting bored and tired of the whole thing. The new leadership are not Performance Leaders they are mainly tyrants. We are now just dictated to by rude arrogant people who are not delivering any sort of results.
Oh, come on. Magnus always delivers in the end.
Not all the problems can be blamed on the management everyone has their part to play. Maybe stop compaining so much and put your energies into making positive change.
I for one think Magnus is the best thing that ever happened to Newell in Europe.
I think most people are vigorous supporters of magnus. he is just the medicine europe needs!
Poor friends and fans of Magnus
You don't know what's happening behind the doors. Just have a look to Newell's share price.
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