General Mills Inc.’s (GIS) premium ice cream brand Haagen-Dazs revealed its plans to expand its presence in Philippines by the franchising route. The company is set to add another five to ten stores in Metro Manila region, and thus capture a larger area in the ice-cream market in near future.
The company already has 10 shops existing in the capital, and now is focusing more on enriching its network through tapping franchise partners.
The super-premium ice cream brand Haagen-Dazs, offers its rich portfolio of brands in 50 countries through 600 shops and cafes across the world.
Company management revealed, outlets may come in the form of a full-menu café, a dip-shop or kiosk, or in the form of a small FISO (fit-in, stand-out) stall. While cafe outlets can serve up to 24 flavors of super premium ice cream, cakes as well as stimulating beverages, dip shops or kiosks can offer take-away items of the same range of flavors as cafes. However, FISOs will have the capacity to serve only pre-packed items such as stickbars, minicups and pints.
General Mills’ another unit, Yoplait, recently supplemented its Yoplait Frozen Fruit & Yogurt Smoothies with a new flavor, namely Chocolate Banana, to satisfy the sweet tooth this September.
Each serving of the delicious dessert will provide 130 calories as well as 50% of the required calcium for our body. The yoghurt pieces are combined with milk to make it perfect for the present day life, where having a balanced diet is difficult.
Boulogne-Billancourt, France-based Yoplait, is the second-largest yogurt maker after Danone SA. It employs 1,900 employees. The company’s products come in a variety of fruit-based flavors and are hailed as "delicious blended creaminess".
Earlier, General Mills announced that it has inked a deal worth $1.5 million with equity firm PAI Partners and French dairy cooperative Sodiaal, to acquire a 51% at Yoplait S.A.S. and a 50% interest in a related entity that holds the Yoplait brands worldwide.
General Mills reported adjusted earnings, excluding the effects of mark-to-market valuation of certain commodity positions, of 64 cents per share in the first quarter of fiscal 2012, flat year over year. Quarterly earnings, however, surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2 cents.
Management affirmed its fiscal 2012 earnings in the range of $2.59 – $2.61 a share, excluding mark-to-market effects and integration costs for the Yoplait acquisition.
General Mills, which faces stiff competition from Kellogg Company (K), currently holds a Zacks #3 Rank, which implies a short-term Hold rating. On a long-term basis, we have a Neutral recommendation on the stock.
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