General Mills Inc
General Mills, Inc. was incorporated in Delaware in 1928. General Mills is a leading
producer of packaged consumer foods and operates exclusively in the consumer foods
industry. The Company’s businesses are divided into three reportable segments:
U.S. Retail;
Bakeries and Foodservice; and
International.
The Company’s operating segments are organized generally by product categories.
U.S. Retail consists of cereals, meals, refrigerated and frozen dough products,
baking products, snacks, yogurt and organic foods. The Bakeries and Foodservice
segment consists of products marketed to retail and wholesale bakeries and offered
to the commercial and noncommercial foodservice sectors throughout the United
States and Canada, such as restaurants and business and school cafeterias. The
International segment is made up of retail business outside the United States
and foodservice business outside of the United States and Canada.
On October 31, 2001, General Mills completed the acquisition of the worldwide
businesses of The Pillsbury Company from Diageo plc (“Diageo”). With the Pillsbury
acquisition, the Company added established, market-leading brands to its U.S.
retail business, more than doubled its foodservice business, significantly increased
its international presence and created opportunities for productivity improvement
and cost synergies.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., accounted for approximately 14 percent of the Company’s
consolidated net sales and 19 percent of the Company’s sales in the U.S. Retail
segment.
COMPETITION
The consumer foods market is highly competitive, with numerous manufacturers
of varying sizes in the United States and throughout the world. The Company’s
principal strategies for competing in each of its segments include superior
product quality, innovative advertising, product promotion, product innovations
and price. In most product categories, the Company competes not only with other
widely advertised branded products of major companies, but also with generic
products and private label products, which are generally sold at lower prices.
Internationally, the Company primarily competes with local manufacturers, and
each country includes a unique group of competitors.
9.77% 
60.15 %