After years of tinkering with a product mix that includes more than 150 brands, from Jimmy Dean sausage to Champion sportswear, Sara Lee said it will now home in on the meat and bakery items that are the core of the company

Food & Drink Weekly, Feb 14, 2005

After years of tinkering with a product mix that includes more than 150 brands, from Jimmy Dean sausage to Champion sportswear, Sara Lee said it will now home in on the meat and bakery items that are the core of the company. Sara Lee will spin off its $4.5 billion U.S. apparel portfolio, which also includes Champion sportswear and L'eggs hosiery, into a new public company.

That plan does not include its $1.8 billion European apparel unit, which the company is in the process of auctioning off. The $8.2 billion in planned divestitures, most of which are expected over the next three years, represent about 40 percent of the company's total sales. The plan will organize Sara Lee into three new divisions: North American retail, which will include its bakery, meats and Senseo coffee brand; North American food service, which serves restaurants and food distributors; and international, which will include food, beverage and household products such as Kiwi shoe polish and Sanex shower gels.