Sara Lee

Businessman Nathan Cummings bought the C.D. Kenny Co., a Baltimore coffee, tea, and sugar wholesaler, in 1939. Cummings soon purchased several grocery firms and later changed the company’s name to Consolidated Grocers—1945. The operation went public in 1946 and was renamed Consolidated Foods Corporation in 1954. Two years later CFC bought the Kitchens of Sara Lee, a Chicago bakery founded by Charles Lubin 1951. Introduced in 1949 and named after Lubin’s daughter, Sara Lee cheesecake had become his most popular product.

Soon after, CFC began building its international markets with its first European acquisition in 1962. Subsequent to that purchase, it expanded its global presence with the purchases of Douwe Egberts (coffee, tea, and tobacco; the Netherlands; 1978), Nicholas Kiwi (shoe care and pharmaceuticals, Australia, 1984), and Dim (hosiery and underwear, France, 1989). Using one of its most respected brand names to enhance the public’s awareness of the company, CFC changed its name to Sara Lee in 1985.1

While cheesecake might have brought the company fame, it’s the underwear and hot dogs that bring in more than half of Sara Lee’s sales. The company operates five separate business units in the U.S. and abroad, these include: Sara Lee Foods--a major U.S. packaged-meat processor with brands such as Ball Park and Jimmy Dean, Sara Lee Bakery Group--the number two bakery company in the U.S. (behind Interstate Bakeries) and responsible for fresh bread as well as frozen cheesecakes, The Branded Apparel group—which tops in U.S. intimate apparel and hosiery (Hanes L’eggs, Playtex, and Wonderbra), its Coffee & Tea Worldwide group—that creates beverage sales worldwide, while the Household & Body Care group sells Endust furniture cleaner, Kiwi shoe polish, and body care products in non-U.S. markets.

Chicago-based Sara Lee Corporation is a global manufacturer and marketer of high-quality, brand-name products for consumers throughout the world. They have three lines of businesses: Food and Beverage, Branded Apparel, and Household Products. Sara Lee has operations in 58 countries, with products in nearly 200 nations and has 150,400 employees worldwide. Some may wonder how one company, with thousands of employees in numerous locations, makes sure everyone is basing his or her decisions on the corporation’s values. These are questions Sara Lee executives and em...

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...Lee’s decentralized structure, for this problem.

Although COO McMillan has worked to change this, by centralizing 10 separate meat companies into one, they still have remnants of these decentralized firms. This is why the corporation is currently depending on their newest addition to the firm, Brenda Barnes. Sara Lee is banking on Barnes to bring her operational and branding skills to her new position. Barnes’ resume is filled with successes at well-known consumer product companies, which include Pepsi-Cola North American division. Although Barnes will be starting from behind when she takes over Sara Lee’s day-to-day operations and segmentation strategy, the corporation remains optimistic in her attempt to get Sara Lee cooking.6

Sara Lee's mission is to feed, clothe and care for consumers and their families the world over. Keeping this in perspective is what Sara Lee will need to remain focused, and reclaim their throne as one of the most successful retailers in the industry. Though this accomplishment may not come easy, with hard work and strategic planning, Sara Lee has the ability to become number one in its class.