Introduction
General Mills Company is one of the 500 fortune company in the American, with a primarily food products. The head quartered in Golden Valley, Minnesota of the suburb of Minneapolis. General Mills markets are very know by the brand of Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Colombo, Green Giant, Cheerios, and Lucky Charms. General Mills has had a good history and sold a lot of products along the way. They are the 100 leading U.S brands and numerous categories in the world.
Findings
General Mills History In the year of 1860’s, General Mills was starting with two flour mills. They had transformed the mills industry of just producing the flour with superior baking in their properties. Around the year 1960’s General Mills were marketing the children’s product. The product they were marketing was Play-Doh, Easy Bake Ovens, Spirograph, Monopoly and Nerf balls. They had associate with characters that was memorable with them was Betty Crocker, Rocky and Bullwinkle, the lone Ranger and the Pillsbury Doughboy after what had happened to the Wheaties. Wheaties was the breakfast of Champions that was sponsoring baseball radio broadcast that the movie script in 1933. General Mills have a postwar consumer that is interesting in convenience complemented of the adverting efforts. After World II, the company continued to refine the promotion as the Betty Crocker cookbook that was first published in the 1950. The food sales in the second position had research and media capitalize the company that was behind Kellogg. In 1952, the career of General Mills man name Charles H. Bell had rose to the presidency that was advertising the main force in the marketing of various brands. Bell had found it necessary to reassign the management of decisions closer to the operations. He had moved his headquarters out of downtown Minneapolis in 1950, into the suburban Golden Valley. In the 1940’s, General Mills have ventures into the electronics and appliances that had failed. They began the post loss in the animal feeds and flour milling with their company. They remain the moneymaker of General mills. Their stock value had dropped to $1.25 of the share in 1962 and has the lowest point in 12 years.
General Mills Strengths Generals Mills strength of their resources has the company’s return on the equity that was 25.2% for the fiscal year of 2009. The S&P 500 companies were above the average of 12.9 that indicated that the company was efficiently in shareholders’ money. They have generating the high returns of the company’s shareholder with other companies in the S&P 500 index. The growth prospects of the price and earning was the ratio of 15.18 at the end of 2009. The average of 9.2 was the S&P Company’s average. The multiple brands with strong potential of General Mills is one of the leading food companies in the world. The company’s brands have more than 100 leading in the US brand of its portfolio. General Mills have a numerous of category leaders around the world. General Mills brands are including Green Giant vegetables, Old El Paso Mexican food, Haagen-Dazs ice cream and other strong local brand. General Mills strong brand image have favor that repeat with the customers. They have better acceptance of their new product with launches.
General Mills Weakness General Mills Weakness of the rising debt burden has increase the amount of the indebtedness. They have one of the major areas of concern that the company general mills have at this moment. At the end of May 2009, they had a total of consolidated outstanding indebtedness of the amount of USD of over 7 million and the CAGR growth of increase of 32.33% from the year 2006. Over the years they give the possibility of volatile earnings as the result of the addition of the interest of the expense. The company Debt Equity Ratio had risen from 1.126 to 1.367 that has such high impact on the business. The weakness of limited geographical presence of general mills operates the principally in the US of their company. The general mills market accounts for 82% of the company revenue. The competitors already have the diversified geographical operations that general mills are at the major disadvantage from the sales to other regions added of the new avenues of income for the competitors. The narrow customer base of the largest customer is wal-mart and it’s accounted for approximately 21% of the consolidated net sales. In 2009, 20% of the dales in are in the US region. The retail grocery trades had continued and have a mass of marketers that become lager of the company’s that they may seek. General Mills position improves their profitability through efficiency, lower pricing and increased promotional programs. The loss with any large customer have their extend length of time, that could negatively impact the sales and profits of the company. The limited liquidity position of the company’s current ratio was 0.98 at the end of 2009. It was below the S&P 500 companies that was average in 1.4. It’s a lower average that the ratio had indicate that the company is in the weaker of financial position to other companies in the S&P 500 index. The declining market share in sector of the company’s compounded annual growth rate of the revenue was 6.7% during 2005-2009. It was below the S&P 500 companies. It was average about 11.1% that indicate that the company had performed under the average S&P of growth and lost to the market share over the last four years. General Mill had an underperformance that could be attribute to a weak competitive position or inferior products and also services that was offering or lack of innovative products and services.
General Mills Financial Performance General Mills company report of the revenues of the USD is about 14,691.30 million during May 2009 of fiscal year. They had an increase of 7.61% over 2008 of their improvement. The operating profit of the company was U.S dollars of approximate of 2,322.90 million during 2009. In 2008, general mills had an increase of 4.27% over the year. The fiscal year of 2009, was the profit of the company USD of 1,304.40 million with their company. The increase of 2008 was about 0.75% over.
General Mills Opportunities The growing organic food market was a significant opportunity to the demand of organic food that was set to rise by 20% by 2010. Food retailing industry had one of the fastest growing segments that were by rising health consciousness in the US that has made the organic food. The mere of 2% was represented of the organic food segment of the US food and beverage market. The demand with growth was 20% that expected to be worth 24 billion by 2010. General mills opportunity of the market for cereals in the food division had a category of fast growing of cereal. That market had cereals that was growing over the past few years. From 2006 it increase 49.4% that was expected to reach USD 23.4 billion by 2011. The company had brand that was wide of variety of leading products that was Cheerios, Wheaties and Chex. The product market had generated a higher revenue that was compared to other divisions in the food market. While raising the demand for cereals would increase the demand for the company’s, the product had boosted the sales of these products. The joint ventures of general mills were partners of several. The net sales of the company’s was owned international businesses that combined with its proportionate that share of ongoing joint venture that had increase in the year 2008 and 2009. General Mills had a partnership with the Cereal partners worldwide and Nestle. 130 markets around the world are the CPW. The largest of which is Japan had the company Haagen-Dazs ice cream joint ventures in Asia. Nearly 25 years, their total joint-venture was sales in Japan that grew. The consumer had enjoyed the new ice cream flavors and confection that it was successful dolce line of frozen desserts. General Mills growth in the years ahead will become increasingly important of these joint ventures. In conclusion, General Mill is one of the 500 companies that have health product that people all everywhere in the world enjoy. Every company have it’s up and down but General Mill will rise up to the top and sale and own other people product. There is competition between lots of product but General Mill will keep on fighting until they own everything be the best company the world will ever know of.