Why Newell Brands is trimming its brand portfolio: CEO

Shares of Newell Brands (NWL) are trading higher on Friday after the company posted its first quarter report, revealing an increase in gross and operating margins. However, the company saw net sales for the quarter fall 8% year-over-year, citing the impact of unfavorable foreign exchange and business exits.

Newell Brands CEO Chris Peterson joins Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi to give insight into the company's performance for the quarter and the logic behind its strategic operations.

Peterson elaborates on the company's focus with certain brands: "We made the strategic choice to focus on the top 25 brands. Over the course of the last nine months, we've already reduced the company's brand portfolio from 80 brands down to about 60, so the quality of the portfolio is improving. Similarly, we made choices on geographies. We play in about 42 countries around the world, but the top ten countries represent about 90% of our sales and profit, so that's where we're focused... I don't believe that the large-scale M&A is needed to drive shareholder value for the company in the next few years."

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This post was written by Nicholas Jacobino