Table of Contents SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549 FORM 10-K ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED COMMISSION FILE NUMBER DECEMBER 31, 2003 1-9608 NEWELL RUBBERMAID INC. (EXACT NAME OF REGISTRANT AS SPECIFIED IN ITS CHARTER) DELAWARE 36-3514169 (State or other jurisdiction of (I.R.S. Employer incorporation or organization) Identification No.) 10 B Glenlake Parkway, Suite 600 30328 Atlanta, Georgia (Zip Code) (Address of principal executive offices) Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (770) 670-2232 Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: NAME OF EACH EXCHANGE TITLE OF EACH CLASS ON WHICH REGISTERED Common Stock, $1 par value per share, and associated Common New York Stock Exchange Stock Purchase Rights Chicago Stock Exchange Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No o Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of Registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. o Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Exchange Act Rule 12b-2). Yes x No o There were 274.8 million shares of the Registrant’s Common Stock outstanding (net of treasury shares) as of February 29, 2004. The aggregate market value of the shares of Common Stock (based upon the closing price on the New York Stock Exchange on June 30, 2003) beneficially owned by non-affiliates of the Registrant was approximately $7,560.0 million. For purposes of the foregoing calculation only, which is required by Form 10-K, the Registrant has included in the shares owned by affiliates those shares owned by directors and officers of the Registrant, and such inclusion shall not be construed as an admission that any such person is an affiliate for any purpose. * * * DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE Portions of the Registrant’s Definitive Proxy Statement for its Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held May 12, 2004. TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I ITEM 1. BUSINESS ITEM 2. REAL PROPERTIES ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS ITEM 4. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS PART II ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES PART III ITEM 10. DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE REGISTRANT ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANTS' FEES AND SERVICES PART IV ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES AND REPORTS ON FORM 10-K SIGNATURES EXHIBIT INDEX By-Laws Statement Re: Computation of Earning Per Share Stmt of Computation of Earnings to Fixed Charges Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Officers Significant Subsidiaries of the Company Consent of Ernst & Young LLP 302 Certification of Chief Executive Officer 302 Certification of Chief Financial Officer 906 Certification of Chief Executive Officer 906 Certification of Chief Financial Officer Safe Harbor Statement Table of Contents PART I ITEM 1. BUSINESS “Newell” or the “Company” refers to Newell Rubbermaid Inc. alone or with its wholly-owned subsidiaries, as the context requires. WEBSITE ACCESS TO SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION REPORTS The Company’s Internet website can be found at www.newellrubbermaid.com. The Company makes available free of charge on or through its website its annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as soon as practicable after the Company files them with, or furnishes them to, the Securities and Exchange Commission. GENERAL The Company is a global manufacturer and full-service marketer of name-brand consumer products serving the needs of volume purchasers, including department/specialty stores and warehouse clubs, home centers and hardware stores, and office superstores and contract stationers. The Company’s basic business strategy is to merchandise a multi-product offering of everyday consumer products, backed by an obsession with customer service excellence and new product development, in order to achieve maximum results for its stockholders. The Company’s multi-product offering consists of name-brand consumer products in five business segments: Cleaning and Organization; Office Products; Home Fashions; Tools and Hardware; and Other. The Company’s financial objectives are to achieve above-average sales and earnings per share growth, maintain a superior return on investment and maintain a conservative level of debt. The Company’s six transformational strategic initiatives are as follows: Productivity, Streamlining, New Product Development, Marketing, Strategic Account Management, and Collaboration. Productivity is the initiative to reduce the cost of manufacturing a product by at least five percent per year, every year in order to become the best cost supplier. Streamlining is the commitment to reduce non-value added costs and cut out excess layers. New Product Development represents the commitment to develop and introduce cutting-edge, innovative new products to the market and develop best-cost products to meet end-user needs. The Marketing initiative represents the Company’s commitment to transform from a “push” to “pull” marketing organization, focusing on the end-user. The Strategic Account Management initiative represents the Company’s program to allocate resources to those strategic retailers the Company believes will continue to grow in the future. Collaboration is the Company’s initiative for the divisional operating units to work together and maximize economies of scale and the use of best practices. Refer to the forward-looking statements section of Management’s Discussion and Analysis for a discussion of the Company’s forward-looking statements. BUSINESS SEGMENTS In 2003, the Company made several organizational changes, divided the company into two major groups, and named two chief operating officers. As of December 31, 2003, the Company realigned its reporting segments to reflect the changes in the Company’s structure and to more appropriately reflect the Company’s focus on building large consumer brands, promoting organizational integration, achieving operating efficiencies and aligning the businesses with the Company’s strategic account management strategy. The realignment streamlines what had previously been four operating segments (prior years’ segment data has been reclassified to conform to the current segment structure). The Company reports its results in five reportable segments as follows: 2 Table of Contents Segment Description of Products Cleaning & Organization Indoor/outdoor organization, storage, food storage, cleaning, refuse Office Products Ballpoint/roller ball pens, markers, highlighters, pencils, office products, art supplies Home Fashions Drapery houseware, window treatments, frames Tools & Hardware Hand tools, power tool accessories, manual paint applicators, cabinet hardware, propane torches Other Operating segments that do not meet aggregation criteria, including aluminum and stainless steel cookware, glassware, hair care accessory products, infant and juvenile products, including toys, high chairs, car seats, strollers, outdoor play equipment CLEANING AND ORGANIZATION The Company’s Cleaning and Organization business is conducted by the Rubbermaid Home Products, Rubbermaid Food and Beverage, Rubbermaid Commercial Products, Rubbermaid Europe and Rubbermaid Canada divisions. These divisions design, manufacture or source, package and distribute indoor and outdoor organization, home storage, food storage and cleaning products. Rubbermaid Home Products, Rubbermaid Food and Beverage, Rubbermaid Commercial Products, Rubbermaid Europe and Rubbermaid Canada sell their products under the Rubbermaid®, Brute®, Roughneck®, TakeAlongs® and Stain ShieldTM trademarks. Rubbermaid Home Products, Rubbermaid Food and Beverage, Rubbermaid Europe and Rubbermaid Canada market their products directly and through distributors to mass merchants, warehouse clubs, grocery/drug stores and hardware distributors, as well as regional direct sales representatives and market- specific sales managers. Rubbermaid Commercial Products markets its products directly and through distributors to commercial channels and home centers using a direct sales force. OFFICE PRODUCTS The Company’s Office Products business is conducted by the divisions of Sanford North America, Sanford Europe, Sanford Latin