Company+Overview

General Mills: Nourishing Lives media type="youtube" key="JZMGY93Jrqs" width="425" height="350" align="center"

COMPANY OVERVIEW
 "General Mills, Inc. was incorporated in 1928" (FundingUniverse.com, 2001). It is a company that has longevity and well-recognized brands in its' possession. The company today is at a relatively stable position, with small volatility in its' stocks. There are no big lawsuits against the company, nor any important bad press against it. General Mills, Inc. brings in a great quantity of loyalty from its' consumers, coming from its' large product mix and consistent dividend payouts, which shareholders view as a plus. Today, the most important issue the company has is the high commodity prices that are impacting the food industry. Sales are being impacted as well as how long the company can keep their products on retailers' shelves. (Finance.Yahoo.com, 2011). Analysts believe General Mills will be next years' leader in the industry because it has low volatility and great dividend payouts (Reuters.com, 2011).

 Furthermore, General Mills is extremely socially conscious, which positively helps the company set itself apart from its' competitors. It is a company that is highly involved in the community and in consumers' lives. They value giving back to charities, fundraising, and providing healthy choices (Finance.Yahoo.com, 2011).

 Here are a few recent examples of General Mills' impact to the marketplace through social involvement and product innovations (Finance.Yahoo.com, 2011):


 * Pillsbury cooking competition; $1 million dollars given to winners
 * Teaming up with DC Comics to include small issues of comics in the company's Big G cereals; increasing reading in children
 * Yoplait loves NY Women Campaign; 50,000 free cups of yoplait original yogurt were given out on basis of style meeting substance
 * Open 10 new Haagen-Dazs locations in the Philippines
 * Ford Motor Co. partners with General Mills' Box Tops program to donate about $1 million
 * General Mills' acquired Yoplait added a new flavor to its Frozen Fruit & Yogurt Smoothies: Chocolate Banana
 * Reducing sugar amount in cereal from 15 grams to 10 grams
 * Martha Stewart visited General Mills and gave a speech titled "Martha Stewart: Building a Brand that Connects with Consumers"
 * Cheerios partners up with Dr. Travis Stork (host of The Doctors) & WomenHeart for Cholesterol Education month; campaigns and outreach programs
 * Reformulating Chex breakfast cereals and Betty Crocker cake/brownie mixes and Bisquick pancake mix to remove gluten
 * Relief efforts to tornado-hit Joplin, MO. Donated $50,000 and gave out free sampled of Cheerios, Nature Valley products, etc.

In addition, General Mills is planning to spend a large sum of money, $25 million to be exact, on advertising during the first season of the late night NickMom hours, from 9pm to 1 am. "There is definitely an open space on television right now for programming featuring moms talking directly to other moms," says Mark Addicks, chief marketing officer for General Mills (WallStreetJournal.com, 2011).

At this point, it is important to mention some of General Mills, Inc.'s company recognitions and strengths. Here are a few recent and notable ones:


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">The debt rating on GIS was revised to "positive" due to relatively stable operating results in recent years; it is expected that its financial policies will remain stable
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">General Mills was one of the few stocks to eke out a gain on Sept. 22, 2011 when U.S. markets fell more than 4 percent since it is an established, blue-chip company with the market leadership and steady cash flow to overcome economic downturns.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">According to Forbes, General Mills was ranked at #2 on the list of top brands, based on consumer perception, that demonstrate: ethical leadership, trustworthiness, social good, and innovation. General Mills was mostly recognized for cereal (Cheerios). The criteria was the benefits on the consumers' lives, community, and environment.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Jim Cramer names General Mills' stock a good buy for long-term investment
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">General Mills is emerging as an acceleration leader as commodity costs are expected to lower. The company's price target was raised to $44 from $41
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">General Mills is expected to increase on margin gains as its' raw-materials costs decelerate at a faster rate than peers'
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Has grown profits and dividends at a 5-8% pace over the last ten years earning a 20%+ return on equity
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Made it onto list of 4 high quality equity income stocks, due to it being a high-quality company and following criteria: Dividend history, performance, attributes, analyst views, price charts, business descriptions, current yield, and price per earnings growth.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">ranked No. 1 in leadership development programs by Leadership Excellence magazine – up from No. 14 last year.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">__** History **__: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">In terms of the company's history, General Mills began from two milling companies in the 1860s, increasing Minneapolis' milling capacity. The main product was flour with high-quality baking properties. The first milling location was founded by Cadwallader C. Washburn. The company was first named Washburn Crosby Company and over the years, the company has had the No. 1 selling flour in America, //Gold Medal// Flour. Since then General Mills has emerged with various famous brands, such as Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, and Green Giant (GeneralMills.com, 2011).

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">__** Size **__: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">General Mills operates in more than 100 countries, with manufacturing and production centers in more than 30 countries. Most of the company's manufacturing, though, happens here within the United States (GeneralMills.com, 2011).

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">**__ Organizational Structure __**:

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif;">//As of now, 2011, General Mills senior leadership team includes// (General Mills, Inc. company website, 2011)//://



<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">**__ Employees __**: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">33,000-35,000 employees around the world, with a bit more than half working inside of the U.S (GeneralMills.com, 2011). Each employee is divided and placed into different regional areas within the countries that General Mills, Inc. operates in. For example, within the U.S., in Illinois, there is the Rockford area, in California, there is the Sacramento area, and in Missouri, there is the St. Louis area.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;"> These employees are provided with mentoring programs to help each of its' employees succeed and move up the corporate ladder. "Not only do General Mills’ IT employees work on projects that support the company’s iconic brands, such as Cheerios, Betty Crocker, Green Giant, and Pillsbury, but they also have the opportunity to work on exciting digital marketing projects, mobility applications, development of social media networks for collaboration internally and externally, as well as solutions for the company’s increasingly global business" (General Mills.com, 2011).

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Additionally, employees are served with General Mills' Federal Credit Union (GMFCU.com, 2011):

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">And lastly, below are the different countries where employees are located, within the global market outside of the U.S. (General Mills.com, 2011): <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">**__ Ownership __**: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">There are many institutions and mutual funds that take part in the ownership of the General Mills Company, as well as public shareholders that purchase and sell stock (Finance.Yahoo.com, 2011).

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">//<span style="color: #798000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">** This link provides a list and further detailed information on General Mills' ownership :// [|General Mills, Inc. Major Holders]

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">This chart below shows the different amount of stockholders who have ownership in General Mills, as well as the amount of shares they own, the type, and the activity (MorningStar.com):

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">(Sources: Yahoo! Finance, General Mills, Inc. company website, Wall Street Journal quotes, YouTube, Associated Press, and New York Times, MorningStar.com, GMFCU.com).