Strengths+&+Weaknesses

Below, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for General Mills, Inc. are bulleted, but to summarize, General Mills is a company with many strengths. The main one is that it has continuous, uninterrupted, and increasing dividend payouts, which shareholders see as an advantage and as way to make a profit. General Mills also has a great image and trusted products that maintains consumer loyalty and trust. The fact that their product prices rarely have any significant change is also seen as a strength. Their bio-mass powered plant, which decreases their carbon footprint is also important for their environmental sustainability. One last major strength is General Mills' ability to incorporate corporate social responsibility into its' budget. It is a very socially conscious company, which provides good press for the company and demonstrates to consumers that General Mills not only cares about making a profit, but also giving back to the community. Overall, it is a well-advertised company that mainly relies on its' iconic brands to do most of its' own selling.

In terms of its' weaknesses, General Mills is having a tough time with the high cost of grains and commodity costs, which limits its' profit margin. The company also thinking of expanding more outside of the U.S. too quickly, instead of focusing more on domestic expansion. Another weakness is its' high debt coming from the Yoplait acquisition and other company operations, which is mostly being covered by debt financing through bonds, which MUST be paid back in total, with interest. The industry that General Mills is in does not lend itself to less debt either, so the debt seems to be present for a long-term. Additionally, the company's accounts receivables' growth is greater than revenue growth, which may cause shareholder disappointment in the future. This indicated change in business is due to an acquisition, in this case Yoplait.

STRENGTHS:

(Finance.Yahoo.com, 2011) (GeneralMills.com, 2007) (Forbes.com, 2011)
 * Pays out healthy, annual dividends out to shareholders. No interruptions and with no reductions.
 * General Mills is operating in a virtually downturning sector – consumer goods. No matter how the economy is faring, people still need to eat.
 * Beats out its competitors in earnings (McCormick, ConAgra Foods, Kraft, etc.)
 * Strong, well known brands
 * Bio-mass powered plant: running from the excess oat-hulls that are burned at the Fridley, MN factory for energy.
 * Innovation and creativity in new manufacturing products.
 * Reducing carbon footprint by 21%
 * Helping to power electricity in homes through selling oat hulls to other facilities.
 * Low price volatility
 * Good pricing, good value
 * Leadership development

WEAKNESSES: (Finance.Yahoo.com, 2011).
 * Higher cost for food processing grains
 * Focusing more and more on franchising outside the U.S. instead of within the country.
 * High debt
 * Growing too fast
 * Updating cash flow record keeping systems

//__General Mills, Inc. SWOT Analysis:__//

**S** trengths

(GeneralMills.com, 2007) (Growthink.com, 2008)
 * Strong brand equity on key brands
 * Growing international operations
 * Product development skills
 * Allows for consumer communication/feedback (toll free number or contact information on company website)
 * Innovator
 * Adding product innovations, as well as opening up new locations
 * Has a strong impact in the outside community.
 * Advertising tries to give a feeling of hope and optimism.
 * Good, trusted dividend payouts (people feel safe investing in General Mills for this reason)
 * Market leadership / leadership development (ranked #1 by Leadership Excellence Magazine)
 * Steady cash flow
 * Cost-cutting program

** W **eaknesses (Finance.Yahoo.com, 2011) (Growthink.com, 2008)
 * Rising commodities expenses
 * Concentrated in few customers in the US
 * Highly dependent on the US market
 * Expanding too fast (such as the Haagen-Dazs in Philippines)
 * Tied up on the price of grains
 * Unaware of lawsuits against them
 * Accounts receivables growth is greater than revenue growth, which may disappoint in the next quarter report. This indicated change in business is due to an acquisition, in this case Yoplait.

** O **pportunities (Growthink.com, 2008) (Finance.Yahoo.com, 2011)
 * Higher penetration with smaller retailer customers in the US
 * Rising demand for cereals
 * Growing foodservice sector
 * Steady growth in savory snacks
 * Growing health consciousness
 * Increasing older population (baby-boomers generation), potentially a new market for the company's products.
 * Making all factories function under bio-mass-powered technology

** T **hreats

(InvestmentU.com, 2011) (ManagementParadise.com, 2008)
 * Commodity price increases
 * Private label growth
 * Kellogg's Company
 * Kraft
 * Erosion of market
 * Competitors like Kellogg's, Kraft, and ConAgra Foods
 * PepsiCo. high earnings
 * Cut on agricultural cuts by the government (Planned on $33 million)
 * Lawsuits against products