The giant conglomerate that is Newell manages a ton of different brands which include Irwin, Lenox and Hilmor under their tool division but also Graco Car Seats and Yankee Candles and many many more. We are guessing it is hard to effectively cover so much ground and at nearly $2 billion this is not chump change. Stanley, Black & Decker obviously does well in the tool space so this is a smart acquisition for them picking up a good portion of saw blade market with Lenox and a good chunk of the hand tool market with Irwin. Investor reports are saying cost savings (combining management and manufacturing) could be up to $90 million in the next 3 years.
What does this mean for the future of Lenox, Irwin, Dewalt, Porter Cable, Mac Tools, B&D and other Stanley brands? We would guess these are all going to stay intact to maintain shelf space in various big box locations as well as brand loyalty. It will also probably mean shared manufacturing and technology, probably won’t be long until carbide tooth recip blades from Dewalt or diamond hole saws are on the shelves. The hope would be we will see better products at lower prices when it’s all said and done. The only short term concern is can they move all the ducks around without too much disruption.
