Sara Lee Corporation - Business Description

Sara Lee Corporation (Sara Lee), along with its subsidiaries, manufactures, distributes and sells various branded consumer products including meats, baking, beverage and household products. The company has more than 270 food processing and consumer product manufacturing plants, warehouses and distribution facilities. The company principally operates in the US with an employee base of 41,000 people.

The company operates through six business segments namely, North American Retail Meats; North American Fresh Bakery; North American Foodservice; International Beverage; International Bakery; and Household and Body Care.

The North American Retail Meats segment of the company markets a variety of packaged meat products to retail customers in North America. Its products include smoked and dinner sausages, premium deli and luncheon meats, bacon, hot dogs and corn dogs, breakfast sausages and sandwiches, and cooked and dry hams. All these products are sold under the Hillshire Farm, Ball Park, Jimmy Dean, Sara Lee, Bryan, State Fair and Kahn’s brands. In the fiscal year ended June 2009, the North American Retail Meats segment recorded revenues of USD 2,767 million, as against USD 2,613 million, representing an increase of 5.9% over 2008.

The company, through its North American Fresh Bakery segment, sells a variety of fresh and frozen baked products and specialty items to retail customers in North America. Its products include muffins, specialty bread, frozen pies, cakes, bread, buns, bagels, rolls, cheesecakes and other desserts. These products are sold under the Sara Lee, Earth Grains, Colonial, Rainbow, Holsum, IronKids, Mother’s, Sunbeam, Sun-Maid, Healthy Choice and Heiner’s brands. The company offers direct delivery to retail customer stores and warehouses through its direct-store-delivery system. In the fiscal year ended June 2009, the North American Fresh Bakery segment recorded revenues of USD 2,200 million, as against USD 2,028 million, representing an increase of 8.5% over 2008.

The company’s North American Foodservice segment sells a variety of meat, bakery, and beverage products to foodservice customers in North America. Its products include bagels, rolls, muffins, breakfast sausages and sandwiches, smoked and dinner sausages, premium deli and luncheon meats, bacon, meat snacks, hot dogs and corn dogs, cooked and dry hams, bread, buns, specialty bread, refrigerated dough, frozen pies, cakes, cheesecakes, roast, ground and liquid coffee, cappuccinos, lattes, teas and a variety of sauces, dressings and condiments. It also offers direct delivery of beverage products to restaurants and warehouses through its direct delivery system. In the fiscal year ended June 2009, the North American Foodservice segment recorded revenues of USD 2,092 million, as against USD 2,186 million, representing a decrease of 4.3% over 2008.

The International Beverage segment of the company markets coffee and tea products in major markets worldwide, including Australia, Europe, and Brazil. Its products are sold under the Maison du Cafe, Douwe Egberts, Senseo, Marcilla, Merrild and Pickwick brands in Europe and Cafe do Ponto, Cafe Caboclo, Uniao and Cafe Pilao brands in South America. The company also offers direct delivery to restaurants and warehouses through its direct delivery system. In the fiscal year ended June 2009, the International Beverage segment recorded revenues of USD 3,041 million, as against USD 3,215 million, representing a decrease of 5.4% over 2008.

The company, through its International Bakery segment, sells a variety of bakery and dough products to retail and foodservice customers in Europe and Australia. Its products include specialty bread, refrigerated dough, buns, rolls, variety of bread, frozen desserts and ice cream. Its products are sold under Bimbo, CroustiPate, Ortiz, BonGateaux and Sara Lee brands. In the fiscal year ended June 2009, the International Bakery segment recorded revenues of USD 790 million, as against USD 929 million, representing an increase of 14.9% over 2008.

The company’s Household and Body Care segment sells products in four categories namely, body care, air care, shoe care, and insecticides. Its products are sold under the Radox, Kiwi brand, Sanex, Duschdas, Monsavon, Zendium brands Ambi Pur, Vapona, Catch, GoodKnight, Bloom and Ridsect brands in Europe, Australia, Africa and certain Asian countries. In the fiscal year ended June 2009, the Household and Body Care segment recorded revenues of USD 2,025 million, as against USD 2,291 million, representing a decrease of 11.6% over 2008.

Geographically, the company operates in North America, Europe, Africa, and in South Asia/Pacific regions. During the fiscal year ended June 2009, the company generated USD 7,100 million of the total revenue from the US, USD 845 million from Spain, USD 1,151 million from the Netherlands and USD 3,785 million from other regions.

On August 19, 2009, the company launched new Sara Lee Soft & Smooth mini bagels. Further, the company is planning to open a new, sliced meat manufacturing facility in Kansas City. The company's business segment International Bakery entered into an agreement to sell three of its Spanish bakery production plants namely, Briviesca (Burgos), Antequera (Malaga) and Agüimes (Gran Canaria) to Grupo Siro.

In June 2009, the company recalled its Chef Pierre Chocolate Peanut Butter Silk Pie product while in March it recalled Ball Park Beef Franks with the UPC CODE 5450010002.Segment

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