Research Paper on:
Failed Merger Between Rubbermaid and Newell

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
case study goes on to say how it was adored for quite awhile, but by the time the mid-1990s rolled around, Rubbermaid began to go down hill (2000). In  part, it ws due to the inability to meet service demands of Wal-Mart, its primary customer (2000). What happened was that its stock decreased by 40% which left the firm  ready for a take-over, something that did occur when Newell acquired Rubbermaid on March 24, 1999 (2000). Former Rubbermaid CEO Wolfgang Schmitt felt duped as after two months from  the time of the merger, he was virtually ignored and he did not even have an office at the headquarters (Hartley, 2000). He felt betrayed as while he had  a nice compensation package, he was no longer in control of the operations of the company (2000). Others also felt the pinch as three of Rubbermaids five division presidents  had been replaced (2000). What happened was a blood bath. Rubbermaids executives were out and Newell was large and in charge. Newell believed it could change Rubbermaids poor customer service  record and please Wal-Mart at the same time (2000). But while Newell had high hopes, expectations were never met. When all is said and done, despite Newells promises, Wal Mart  did not want to pay more for Rubbermaid products, especially when the on-time guarantee was just not there (2000). Rubbermaid had already invested in computer technology that would enable them  to meet Wal-Marts demands (2000). It was too little, too late. The merger was a disaster, and there are questions as to why it occurred anyway. The merger probably occurred  because Rubbermaid was ripe for the buyout, but perhaps Newell was too hopeful. The client base was not there. Rubbermaid had depended on Wal-Mart for too long and it was