Sara Lee Corporation - wikipedia Sara Lee Corporation This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( December 2012 ) Sara Lee Corporation Former type Public Traded as NYSE : SLE Industry Consumer goods Fate Split Successor Hillshire Brands D.E Master Blenders 1753 Founded 1939 Defunct 2012 Headquarters Downers Grove, Illinois, US Key people Jan Bennink ( Chairman ) Marcel Smits ( CEO ) Products Food, beverage, and household and body care products Website www.saralee.com The Sara Lee Corporation was an American consumer - goods company based in Downers Grove, Illinois. It had operations in more than 40 countries and sold its products in over 180 countries. Its international operations were headquartered in Utrecht, The Netherlands. Sara Lee is also the brand name of a number of frozen and packaged foods, often known for the long - running slogan `` Everybody does n't like something, but nobody does n't like Sara Lee, '' often incorrectly reported as `` Nobody does it like Sara Lee. '' While the company traced its lineage to 1939, when Nathan Cummings acquired C.D. Kenny Company, a wholesale distributor of sugar, coffee, and tea in Baltimore, the Sara Lee Corporation was actually the descendant of a Chicago grocery store called Sprague, Warner & Company. This enterprise, which started on State Street in Chicago, was founded during the Civil War by Albert A. Sprague and Ezra J. Warner. By 1909, Sprague, Warner & Company was one of the leading wholesale grocery companies in the United States, famous for house brands such as Richelieu, Ferndell, and Batavia. In 1942, this company was acquired by the Canadian - born Cummings. The new Chicago - based company, at first called Sprague Warner -- Kenny Corp., ranked as the largest grocery wholesaler in the United States. Annual sales grew from about $20 million in 1942 to $120 million by 1946. After changing its name in 1945 to Consolidated Grocers, Cummings 's company became the Consolidated Foods Corporation in 1953. In 1956, the company bought a company known as Kitchens of Sara Lee, which became one of the company 's best - known brand names. Management adopted the brand name as the name of the corporation as a whole in 1985. As of 2005, Sara Lee Corporation had operations in more than 40 countries ; sold food, beverage, and household products in over 180 countries ; and had some 137,000 employees worldwide. On July 4, 2012, Sara Lee Corporation was split into two companies -- one for North American operations which would be renamed Hillshire Brands ( the Sara Lee name would continue to be used on bakery and certain deli products distributed by Hillshire Brands ), the other for international beverage and bakery businesses named D.E Master Blenders 1753. Contents 1 History 2 Company 2.1 Governance 3 Brands 3.1 Divested 3.2 Discontinued 4 Consumer relations 5 See also 6 References 7 External links History Prior to 1985, The Sara Lee Corporation was called Consolidated Foods, of which Sara Lee was the best known brand. Consolidated Foods had bought a Chicago bakery chain called Kitchens of Sara Lee in 1956 from Charles Lubin. Lubin had named his bakeries after his daughter, Sara Lee. She was born in 1941, and now goes by her married name, Sara Lee Schupf. In 1986, Sara Lee bought the manufacturing and mail order operations of Wolferman 's, a maker of English muffins, that dated back to 1888. In February 1988, Sara Lee agreed to the purchase of the 84 - year - old Adams - Millis Corporation of High Point, North Carolina, the largest private label sock and stocking manufacturer in the United States, with 3000 employees and 1987 sales of nearly $200 million. On June 25, 2001, Sara Lee Corp pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and agreed to pay $4.4 million for selling tainted meat that was blamed for at least 15 deaths and six miscarriages in 1998 ; the agreement stressed that Sara Lee 's Bil Mar Foods division did not knowingly distribute the tainted meat. On August 7, 2001, Sara Lee Corp cleared the last remaining regulatory hurdle in its purchase of Earthgrains Co, receiving approval from the European Commission ( S ). Brenda C. Barnes joined Sara Lee Corporation in July 2004 as the President and Chief Operating Officer. Then in February 2005, Barnes was named President and Chief Executive Officer, and the corporation announced it would move its headquarters from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Downers Grove, Illinois, which housed the company 's North American operating businesses and the majority of Sara Lee 's corporate staff. Also in February 2005, the company began executing a multi-year plan to transform Sara Lee into a company focused on its food, beverage, and household and body care businesses around the world. To support that focus, Sara Lee announced plans to dispose of approximately 40 percent of the company 's revenues, including its apparel, European packaged meats, US retail coffee and direct selling businesses. On December 22, 2005, Sara Lee Corporation was to delist from Euronext Amsterdam and Euronext Paris stock exchanges, as well as the Swiss Exchange. The company said it was taking the voluntary step due to low trading volumes on those exchanges. 2005 also saw the debut of Sara Lee Soft & Smooth Made with Whole Grain White Bread. In October, Barnes succeeded C. Steven McMillan as chairman. The year ended with the sale of the direct selling business to Tupperware. In 2006, Sara Lee announced a new company wide campaign : `` the joy of eating. '' The campaign was part of a restructuring at Sara Lee. 2006 featured the divestiture of Sara Lee 's European meats and European branded apparel businesses. In addition, the corporation spun off to its shareholders the Branded Apparel, Americas / Asia, business, into a separate, publicly traded company called Hanesbrands Inc. Including the spin - off, Sara Lee raised more than $3.7 billion in proceeds as part of the company 's transformation plan. In addition to the monetary benefits, the company is now tightly focused on its core businesses -- food, beverage, and household and body care. In 2008, Sara Lee sold off its Direct Store Delivery foodservice coffee business to Farmer Brothers for a reported $45 million. By 2009, Sara Lee was pursuing the sale of its Household and Body Care business in their continuing effort to focus on core business. In April, Sara Lee launched a state - of - the - art research and development center named The Kitchens of Sara Lee, a 120,000 - square - foot ( 11,000 m ) campus at the company 's headquarters in Downers Grove, Ill. On September 25, 2009, Sara Lee announced it accepted a binding offer by Unilever for € 1.275 billion to sell its global body care and European detergents business. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and consultation with European employee works councils. On November 9, 2010, Sara Lee said that by selling its North American Fresh Bakery unit to Grupo Bimbo, it could grow in other areas. The $959 million deal gives Sara Lee the right to continue using the Sara Lee name on frozen desserts and meat products. Grupo Bimbo will use the Sara Lee name for fresh - baked products around the world except for Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The deal also means Grupo Bimbo gets 41 plants and the regional brands Grandma Sycamore 's, Heiner 's and Rainbo. On January 28, 2011, Sara Lee announced the company would be split into two units. The company said its North American operations ( including Jimmy Dean, Ball Park and Hillshire Farm ) would take the Hillshire Brands corporate name, while the international beverage and bakery businesses ( including Douwe Egberts, Senseo, Pickwick, Maison du Café, L'OR, Café Pilão, and Marcilla ) would constitute a separate unit named D.E Master Blenders 1753. Some analysts claimed splitting the business into two units would make a takeover more likely. Stockholders would have equal shares in both companies. In the same month, Sara Lee received noted media attention regarding their strategy to `` refocus on the core '' to revamp the company. In a Forbes magazine column, Adam Hartung stated Sara Lee could not `` cost - cut, refocus or re-align a business to success with no new products and no growth plan. '' Also, Marcel Smits, interim CEO since Barnes left due to a stroke, became the new CEO, and Jan Bennink director and chairman. The split was completed on July 4, 2012. The successor company, Hillshire Brands, re-located its headquarters from Downers Grove to Chicago in 2012. In 2014, Hillshire, along with the Sara Lee operations, was acquired by Tyson Foods. Company Governance Former members of the board of directors of Sara Lee are : Christopher B. Begley, Crandall Bowles, Virgis W. Colbert, James S. Crown, Laurette T. Koellner, Dr. John McAdam, Sir Ian Prosser, Rozanne L. Ridgway, Norman R. Sorensen, Jeffrey W. Ubben, Cees J.A. van Lede, Jonathan Ward. Brands Food Ball Park Franks : hot dogs Bryan : meats Bryan Foods : meats CroustiPâte : bakery, European market Deli d'Italia : meats Deli Perfect : meats Emeril : meats Galileo : salame, meats ( east coast ) Gallo Salame : meats ( San Francisco, west coast ) Green Hill : sausage Hillshire Farm : meats Jimmy Dean : pork sausages and meat products Kahn 's : meats King Cotton : meats Merrild : Coffee Mr. Turkey Ortiz : bakery R.B. Rice : meats Rainbo : bakery Rudy 's Farm : pork sausage and breakfast sandwiches Sara Lee : bakery, condiments, deli cheese, deli meats and frozen sweets State Fair : corn dogs West Virginia Brand : meats Beverages Butter - Nut Cappuccino : Bravo : Caboclo : Café Continental : Café Damasco Café do Ponto Café Pilão Cafitesse Chat Noir Cain 's Coffee Douwe Egberts : coffee, tea Harris Hornimans Jacqmotte Java Coast Kanis & Gunnink Kayo Laurentis Maison du Café Marcilla Maryland Club Merrild Moccona Natreen Natrena Paradise Piazza d'Oro Pickwick : tea Prima Seleto Senseo : coffee machine and coffee pods Soley Steamers Suntipt Van Nelle Divested Sara Lee Corporation announced in 2006 that it had completed the sale of its branded apparel business in Europe to an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners, Inc. Such brands included Dim, Playtex, Wonderbra, Lovable, Abanderado, Nur Die, Unno and Bellinda. Sara Lee Corporation announced on Sept 28, 2009, that it had received a binding offer for its Global Body Care and European Detergents to Unilever for € 1.275 billion. On June 1, 2010 Sara Lee announced it had completed the sale of its 51 percent stake in its Godrej Sara Lee joint venture to Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. for a total consideration of € 185 million ( $230 million ). On June 15, 2010, the company announced that it had received a binding offer of $153.5 million for its remaining insecticides business. The offer is dependent on European Union antitrust approval ; the decision is due May 2, 2011. On July 5, 2010, Sara Lee completed the sale of its Ambi Pur air care business to Procter & Gamble for € 320 million. On April 4, 2011, Sara Lee completed the sale of its Kiwi shoe care business to SC Johnson for € 245 million. In 2010, Sara Lee completed the sale of White King and Janola brands to Symex for € 38 million. In addition, Sara Lee announced the pending sale of its non-Indian insecticides business to SC Johnson for € 153.5 million. In 2010, Sara Lee divested its North American fresh bakery business to Grupo Bimbo. In 2012, Hillshire Brands sold its Australian bakery operations to McCain Foods. Discontinued On November 19, 2008, Sara Lee Corporation announced that it would close its kosher hot dog and meat processing facility in Chicago, on or before January 30, 2009. Sara Lee decided to exit the kosher meat business and discontinue processing and distributing products made under all of its kosher meat brands, including : Best 's Kosher, Sinai Kosher, Shofar and Wilno. Consumer Relations Throughout 2012, Sara Lee contributed $343,600 to a $46 million political campaign known as `` The Coalition Against The Costly Food Labeling Proposition, sponsored by Farmers and Food Producers. '' This organization was set up to oppose a California citizen 's initiative, known as Proposition 37, demanding mandatory labeling of foods containing genetically modified ingredients. See also List of Illinois companies HanesBrands, a former subsidiary of Sara Lee Chicago portal Companies portal Food portal References Jump up ^ `` Investor Contacts. '' Sara Lee Corporation. Retrieved on January 31, 2011. `` Sara Lee Corporation Investor Relations Department 3500 Lacey Road Downers Grove, Illinois 60515 - 5424. '' Jump up ^ `` About Sara Lee. '' Sara Lee Corporation. Retrieved on January 31, 2011. `` Based in Downers Grove, Ill., (... ) '' Jump up ^ `` Consolidated Foods Corp. '' Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago. Retrieved on May 1, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Sara Lee 2005 Annual Report ''. Sara Lee Corporation. Archived from the original on July 9, 2007. ^ Jump up to : `` Sara Lee to split into two businesses ''. News & Record. Associated Press. 2011 - 01 - 28. Retrieved 2011 - 01 - 28. Jump up ^ `` Charles W. Lubin, 84, Sara Lee 's Founder ''. New York Times. Associated Press. 17 July 1988. Retrieved 2012 - 01 - 30. Jump up ^ Helene McEntee ( 17 July 1986 ). `` Muffin - maker Wolferman sells two units to Sara Lee ''. Chicago Sun - Times. Retrieved 2010 - 12 - 16. Jump up ^ `` This day in history ''. News and Record. 2016 - 02 - 09. Retrieved 2016 - 11 - 08. Jump up ^ Barboza, David ( 2001 - 06 - 23 ). `` Sara Lee Corp. Pleads Guilty In Meat Case ''. The New York Times. Jump up ^ `` EC CLEARS SARA LEE 'S PURCHASE ''. Jump up ^ `` US : Sara Lee to delist on three stock markets just - food global news December 22, 2005 Thursday 2 : 07 PM GMT ''. Jump up ^ `` Farmer Bros. to Acquire Sara Lee 's Direct - Store Delivery Coffee ''. Bloomberg. 2008 - 12 - 03. Retrieved 2014 - 09 - 17. Jump up ^ Dorfman, Brad ( 17 April 2009 ). `` Sara Lee still evaluating possible unit sale ''. Reuters. Retrieved 3 May 2009. Jump up ^ `` Sara Lee Corporation Opens the Kitchens of Sara Lee '' ( Press release ). Sara Lee Corporation. 17 April 2009. Archived from the original on Apr 20, 2009. Retrieved 3 May 2009. Jump up ^ `` SARA LEE RECEIVES BINDING OFFER OF € 1.275 BILLION FROM UNILEVER FOR ITS GLOBAL BODY CARE BUSINESS '' ( Press release ). Sara Lee Corporation. 25 September 2009. Archived from the original on Sep 28, 2009. Retrieved 25 September 2009. Jump up ^ `` Unilever to acquire the personal care business of Sara Lee '' ( Press release ). Unilever. 25 September 2009. Jump up ^ `` Sara Lee to sell North American bakery unit for $959 million ''. News & Record. Associated Press. 2010 - 11 - 09. Retrieved 2010 - 11 - 09. Jump up ^ Hartung, Adam. `` Killing Me Softly - Leadership Failure at Sara Lee ''. Forbes Magazine. Retrieved 28 June 2012. Jump up ^ `` Hillshire Brands starting up in new space ''. Chicago Tribune. December 16, 2012. Retrieved March 25, 2014. Jump up ^ McCarthy, Erin ; Prior, Anna ( 28 August 2014 ). `` Tyson Completes Acquisition of Hillshire ''. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 6 September 2017. ^ Jump up to : Sara Lee Corporation ( 2011 ). `` All Sara Lee Brands ''. Retrieved 2011 - 01 - 24. ^ Jump up to : Serdarevic, Masa ( January 4, 2011 ). `` Sara Lee offloads Kiwi polish unit for € 245m ''. Financial Times. Retrieved 2011 - 01 - 24. Jump up ^ Adidinata ( December 7, 2010 ). `` Sara Lee Completes Sale of Global Shoe Care Business to SC Johnson ''. Sara Lee Corporate. Retrieved 2012 - 05 - 11. Jump up ^ `` Grupo Bimbo to Buy Sara Lee Unit for $959 Million ''. Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2018 - 08 - 07. Jump up ^ `` McCain to buy Australian frozen bakery business ''. Foodbusinessnews.net. 2012 - 12 - 19. Retrieved 2013 - 08 - 21. Jump up ^ `` Sara Lee announces closure of kosher hot dog and meat processing facility in Chicago ''. SaraLee.com. Sara Lee Corp. 19 November 2008. Retrieved 22 November 2008. Jump up ^ `` Who 's Funding Prop 37, Labeling for Genetically Engineered Foods ? Propositions Elections 2012 ''. KCET. Retrieved 2013 - 08 - 21. Jump up ^ `` ANH calls for international boycott of Prop 37 NO campaign companies ''. Anh-europe.org. 2012 - 11 - 14. Retrieved 2013 - 08 - 21. External links HanesBrands.com Company Site Nathan Cummings Founder Ambi Pur Brand website Cruz + Verde Insecticides website Hillshire Brands Core brands Aidells Ball Park Gallo Salame Hillshire Farm Jimmy Dean State Fair Other brands Bryan Golden Island Jerkey Kahn 's Rudy 's Farm Sara Lee ( Desserts & Meats ) Grupo Bimbo Mexico Barcel Bubu Lubu USA Entenmann 's Heiner 's Holsom Sara Lee Thomas ' Central America Breddy Canada Canada Bread Illinois based corporations Fortune 500 corporations ( by size -- 2013 ) AbbVie Abbott Laboratories Allstate Anixter Archer Daniels Midland Baxter International Boeing Caterpillar CDW Discover Financial Dover Corporation Exelon Hillshire Brands Illinois Tool Works Ingredion John Deere Kraft Heinz McDonald 's Mondelēz International Motorola Solutions Navistar International Old Republic International RR Donnelley Sears Holdings State Farm Tenneco United Continental Holdings United Stationers Walgreens Boots Alliance WW Grainger Other major public companies ( alphabetically ) ACCO Brands Accretive Health Allscripts Amcol International Corporation Arthur J Gallagher & Co Brunswick Corporation Calamos Career Education Corporation Catamaran Corporation CF Industries Chicago Board Options Exchange CME Group CNA Financial Equity Residential Fortune Brands Home & Security General Growth Properties Hospira Hyatt Hotels Corp Integrys Energy Group JLL Kemper Corporation Nalco Holding Company Nicor Northern Trust RLI Corp Rubicon Technology Stericycle Telephone and Data Systems Titan International Tribune Media Tronc Tootsie Roll Industries ULTA Beauty US Foods USG Corporation Westell Zebra Technologies Other major private companies ( alphabetically ) Ace Hardware Baker McKenzie Blue Cross Blue Shield Association Claire 's Country Financial Danfoss Power Solutions Dot Foods Eby - Brown Electro - Motive Diesel Flex - N-Gate Follett Corporation Gardner Denver Grant Thornton Health Care Service Corporation Heico Cos Hendrickson International Hub International Jenner & Block Kirkland & Ellis Marmon Group Mayer Brown Medline Industries Molex Morton Salt Nestlé Frozen Pizza OSI Group Pactiv Reyes Holdings Reynolds Consumer Products Ryerson Sidley Austin Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Solo Cup Company Tellabs TransUnion True Value Wirtz Corporation Related topics Breweries in Illinois Companies in the Chicago metropolitan area Food manufacturers of Chicago Newspapers in Illinois Wineries in Illinois Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sara_Lee_Corporation&oldid=853914695 '' Categories : Sara Lee Corporation Food product brands Food manufacturers of the United States Defunct companies based in Chicago American companies established in 1939 Food and drink companies established in 1939 Food and drink companies disestablished in 2012 1939 establishments in Illinois 2012 disestablishments in Illinois Companies based in DuPage County, Illinois Downers Grove, Illinois United States National Medal of Arts recipients Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange Grupo Bimbo brands American brands Hidden categories : Articles needing additional references from December 2012 All articles needing additional references Pages using deprecated image syntax Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Español Français Nederlands Português Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 7 August 2018, at 19 : 52 ( UTC ). 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Question: brand name for the daughter of a chicago bakery chain owner
Answer: Sara Lee