Posted: May 25th, 2022

The development of category-leading study

Strategic Management

Smuckers bases its strategy on the development of category-leading everyday foods brands the company’s brands in general complement one another. The most recent strategic move, the acquisition of Folgers, doubled the size of the company in 2008. Smuckers has seen strong growth as the result of its strategy. However, the company has a poorly articulated sense of mission and vision. Smuckers has no clear vision, which provides little guidance for stakeholders, including those in management. The mission is relatively vague and while it is congruent with the company’s strategy, it provides little sense of clarity for employees, in particular those who have been recently laid off following record revenues and profits.

Introduction

The JM Smucker company was founded in 1897 in Orrville, Ohio. The company has developed gradually over time to become a retail food company in the United States. The company produces a wide range of well-known brands including Eagle Brand, Jif, Knott’s Berry Farm, Pillsbury, Smucker’s, R.W. Knudsen, Folgers and take home Dunkin Donuts products (Smuckers.com, 2010).

The company does not explicitly publish a mission or vision statement. However, it does discuss its strategic objectives in the 2009 Annual Report. The report states that “we offer consumers diverse brands and products that are part of everyday meals…the J.M. Smucker Company has a meaningful impact on society with a portfolio of brands that brings families together to share memorable meals and moments.”

This mission accurately reflects the company’s strategy. The product line is comprised largely of category leaders, and all are common household foods. Smuckers is not a premium producer nor are they a discounter, but a mass marketer, with moderate quality levels and moderate pricing to match. The brands have sufficient strength to allow the company higher prices than discounters, but are kept at a level that supports mainstream success.

The brands are, in general, mature. The company has had slow, steady growth over the past several years, the one notable spike in top line growth being the result of the acquisition of Folgers, which essentially doubled the size of the company. Following the acquisition the top line improved $1.2 billion (48.8%) and the bottom line improved $$95.57 million (56%) (MSN Moneycentral, 2010). Without the Folgers acquisition, revenue would have been down 6%. Folgers strengthened the brand portfolio, increasing the overall attractiveness of the Smuckers portfolio. The company also benefited from the economic downturn, which had consumers eating more at home and focused on the company’s basic brands (Associated Press, 2009). The acquisition of Folgers, therefore, represented a move to strengthen the company’s commitment to its mission.

There are several key stakeholders at Smuckers. The company’s shareholders represent a major stakeholder group, as to their customers. Otherwise, the staff and management are another key stakeholder group. The Smuckers strategy has been a boon to the shareholders. The company’s policy of developing category-leading brands has lead to the creation of stable revenues, which has allowed Smuckers to pay a health dividend each year. The dividend paid in 2009 was $1.31 per share, up from $1.22 per share the year previous. The shareholders also benefited from the Folger’s purchase. That product complemented many of Smuckers’ other product lines. The purchase was for $2.95 billion in 2008 (Bhattarai, 2008). Shareholders’ equity increased by $5.063 billion from 2008 to 2009, indicating that the shareholders derived good value from the transaction.

The customers have benefited from the company’s mission as well. Setting aside the Folgers purchase momentarily, it is worth considering that some of the company’s success in recent years relates directly to their ability to market products that are leading everyday brands. The economic downturn made these brands more attractive to consumers, and this has resulted in some strength for the company. With specific respect to Folgers, this brand benefited greatly from the economic downturn. It offered a value proposition to consumers who cut back on high-end coffee purchases at the likes of Starbucks in favor of cheaper coffee at home. Consumers of Folgers benefited from the strength and increased visibility afforded the brand by Smuckers.

Employees have not necessarily benefited from the company’s mission and objectives in recent years. Smuckers is the process of restructuring Folgers. This benefits workers in New Orleans, where a $70 million expansion is underway and it Orrville (Plain Dealer, 2010). However, workers in four other plants are losing their jobs in the restructuring (Associated Press, 2010). The strategy therefore benefits some of these stakeholders but only at the expense of others as the company is forced to rationalize some plants in order to contain costs and maintain its price competitiveness.

The company can improve its mission by lending it clarity. The company’s strategy may be relatively clear, but it is not equated to any well-articulated sense of mission or any vision. The company’s mission can be inferred, but employees in particular would benefit from clarification of the firm’s core values and its core purpose (QuickMBA, 2007). This is especially crucial during times of restructuring, as the company has entered into at present. Employees may sense uncertainty and unease about their own jobs in the wake of such job costs. In particular, cutting jobs when the company is enjoying strong profits and growth is especially likely to shake the corporate culture. Better understanding of the company’s value and purpose would help the remaining employees understand the changes and their role in the firm.

In addition, a vision statement should be developed. Smuckers has no vision statement, and its annual report does not contain any long-range future statements. In part, this derives from the many years the company spend as a mature firm, milking cash cow products and experiencing incremental growth. The acquisition of Folgers marked the beginning of an expansion phase for the company, but there has been no indication that company management has a clear vision for what lies beyond the immediate time frame. Clearly, the company has good vision — the Folgers acquisition paid off immediately and handsomely. It should articulate this vision. Doing so would give the employees a greater sense of their overarching objectives. In addition, such a vision would be beneficial to shareholders. For them, they need to understand the growth potential of the stock to help them understand the future value of the company.

Smuckers needs to formulate a more articulate mission and vision for the company. Management has a plan as indicated by its recent successes, but this plan is relatively obscure. This provides little guidance for shareholders with respect to the company’s prospects. In addition, it provides little guidance for the workers who are losing their jobs at the time when the company is at its most profitable.

Works Cited:

Smuckers website, various pages. (2010). Retrieved April 19, 2010 from http://www.smuckers.com

Smuckers 2009 Annual Report. Retrieved April 19, 2010 from http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9MzQyODkzfENoaWxkSUQ9MzI5MzkwfFR5cGU9MQ==&t=1

MSN Moneycentral: JM Smucker Company. (2010). Retrieved April 19, 2010 from http://moneycentral.msn.com/detail/stock_quote?Symbol=sjm&getquote=Get+Quote

Associated Press. (2009). Smucker’s profit surges after acquiring Folgers. MSNBC. Retrieved April 19, 2010 from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34060210/

Bhattarai, A. (2008). Smuckers to pay $3 billion for Folgers Coffee. New York Times. Retrieved April 19, 2010 from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/05/business/05folgers.html

Associated Press. (2010). J.M. Smucker to close plants, cut 700 jobs. Associated Press. Retrieved April 19, 2010 from http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5htGgb8xaeNDphDY3DmJH__yIYDjAD9EL463G0

Plain Dealer. (2010). Smuckers unit Folgers Coffee plans $70 million expansion. Cleveland Plain Dealer. Retrieved April 19, 2010 from http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2010/03/smuckers_unit_folgers_coffee_p.html

QuickMBA. (2007). The business vision and company mission statement. QuickMBA.com. Retrieved April 19, 2010 from http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/vision/

---

Get Professional Assignment Help Cheaply

Are you busy and do not have time to handle your assignment? Are you scared that your paper will not make the grade? Do you have responsibilities that may hinder you from turning in your assignment on time? Are you tired and can barely handle your assignment? Are your grades inconsistent?

Whichever your reason is, it is valid! You can get professional academic help from our service at affordable rates. We have a team of professional academic writers who can handle all your assignments.

Why Choose Our Academic Writing Service?

• Plagiarism free papers
• Timely delivery
• Any deadline
• Skilled, Experienced Native English Writers
• Subject-relevant academic writer
• Adherence to paper instructions
• Ability to tackle bulk assignments
• Reasonable prices
• 24/7 Customer Support
• Get superb grades consistently

 

Online Academic Help With Different Subjects

Literature

Students barely have time to read. We got you! Have your literature essay or book review written without having the hassle of reading the book. You can get your literature paper custom-written for you by our literature specialists.

Finance

Do you struggle with finance? No need to torture yourself if finance is not your cup of tea. You can order your finance paper from our academic writing service and get 100% original work from competent finance experts.

Computer science

Computer science is a tough subject. Fortunately, our computer science experts are up to the match. No need to stress and have sleepless nights. Our academic writers will tackle all your computer science assignments and deliver them on time. Let us handle all your python, java, ruby, JavaScript, php , C+ assignments!

Psychology

While psychology may be an interesting subject, you may lack sufficient time to handle your assignments. Don’t despair; by using our academic writing service, you can be assured of perfect grades. Moreover, your grades will be consistent.

Engineering

Engineering is quite a demanding subject. Students face a lot of pressure and barely have enough time to do what they love to do. Our academic writing service got you covered! Our engineering specialists follow the paper instructions and ensure timely delivery of the paper.

Nursing

In the nursing course, you may have difficulties with literature reviews, annotated bibliographies, critical essays, and other assignments. Our nursing assignment writers will offer you professional nursing paper help at low prices.

Sociology

Truth be told, sociology papers can be quite exhausting. Our academic writing service relieves you of fatigue, pressure, and stress. You can relax and have peace of mind as our academic writers handle your sociology assignment.

Business

We take pride in having some of the best business writers in the industry. Our business writers have a lot of experience in the field. They are reliable, and you can be assured of a high-grade paper. They are able to handle business papers of any subject, length, deadline, and difficulty!

Statistics

We boast of having some of the most experienced statistics experts in the industry. Our statistics experts have diverse skills, expertise, and knowledge to handle any kind of assignment. They have access to all kinds of software to get your assignment done.

Law

Writing a law essay may prove to be an insurmountable obstacle, especially when you need to know the peculiarities of the legislative framework. Take advantage of our top-notch law specialists and get superb grades and 100% satisfaction.

What discipline/subjects do you deal in?

We have highlighted some of the most popular subjects we handle above. Those are just a tip of the iceberg. We deal in all academic disciplines since our writers are as diverse. They have been drawn from across all disciplines, and orders are assigned to those writers believed to be the best in the field. In a nutshell, there is no task we cannot handle; all you need to do is place your order with us. As long as your instructions are clear, just trust we shall deliver irrespective of the discipline.

Are your writers competent enough to handle my paper?

Our essay writers are graduates with bachelor's, masters, Ph.D., and doctorate degrees in various subjects. The minimum requirement to be an essay writer with our essay writing service is to have a college degree. All our academic writers have a minimum of two years of academic writing. We have a stringent recruitment process to ensure that we get only the most competent essay writers in the industry. We also ensure that the writers are handsomely compensated for their value. The majority of our writers are native English speakers. As such, the fluency of language and grammar is impeccable.

What if I don’t like the paper?

There is a very low likelihood that you won’t like the paper.

Reasons being:

• When assigning your order, we match the paper’s discipline with the writer’s field/specialization. Since all our writers are graduates, we match the paper’s subject with the field the writer studied. For instance, if it’s a nursing paper, only a nursing graduate and writer will handle it. Furthermore, all our writers have academic writing experience and top-notch research skills.
• We have a quality assurance that reviews the paper before it gets to you. As such, we ensure that you get a paper that meets the required standard and will most definitely make the grade.

In the event that you don’t like your paper:

• The writer will revise the paper up to your pleasing. You have unlimited revisions. You simply need to highlight what specifically you don’t like about the paper, and the writer will make the amendments. The paper will be revised until you are satisfied. Revisions are free of charge
• We will have a different writer write the paper from scratch.
• Last resort, if the above does not work, we will refund your money.

Will the professor find out I didn’t write the paper myself?

Not at all. All papers are written from scratch. There is no way your tutor or instructor will realize that you did not write the paper yourself. In fact, we recommend using our assignment help services for consistent results.

What if the paper is plagiarized?

We check all papers for plagiarism before we submit them. We use powerful plagiarism checking software such as SafeAssign, LopesWrite, and Turnitin. We also upload the plagiarism report so that you can review it. We understand that plagiarism is academic suicide. We would not take the risk of submitting plagiarized work and jeopardize your academic journey. Furthermore, we do not sell or use prewritten papers, and each paper is written from scratch.

When will I get my paper?

You determine when you get the paper by setting the deadline when placing the order. All papers are delivered within the deadline. We are well aware that we operate in a time-sensitive industry. As such, we have laid out strategies to ensure that the client receives the paper on time and they never miss the deadline. We understand that papers that are submitted late have some points deducted. We do not want you to miss any points due to late submission. We work on beating deadlines by huge margins in order to ensure that you have ample time to review the paper before you submit it.

Will anyone find out that I used your services?

We have a privacy and confidentiality policy that guides our work. We NEVER share any customer information with third parties. Noone will ever know that you used our assignment help services. It’s only between you and us. We are bound by our policies to protect the customer’s identity and information. All your information, such as your names, phone number, email, order information, and so on, are protected. We have robust security systems that ensure that your data is protected. Hacking our systems is close to impossible, and it has never happened.

How our Assignment  Help Service Works

1.      Place an order

You fill all the paper instructions in the order form. Make sure you include all the helpful materials so that our academic writers can deliver the perfect paper. It will also help to eliminate unnecessary revisions.

2.      Pay for the order

Proceed to pay for the paper so that it can be assigned to one of our expert academic writers. The paper subject is matched with the writer’s area of specialization.

3.      Track the progress

You communicate with the writer and know about the progress of the paper. The client can ask the writer for drafts of the paper. The client can upload extra material and include additional instructions from the lecturer. Receive a paper.

4.      Download the paper

The paper is sent to your email and uploaded to your personal account. You also get a plagiarism report attached to your paper.

PLACE THIS ORDER OR A SIMILAR ORDER WITH US TODAY AND GET A PERFECT SCORE!!!

---