As noted, the recent "supply chain streamlining" is a move to cut costs and build greater economies of scale. This is consistent with a firm engaging in a cost leadership strategy. That the company also has strong brands allows it to continue to pursue its longstanding differentiation strategy as well. However, the company has been slow to respond to new trends, a reflection of its conservative culture and the slow pace of change at the family-owned firm. This may have cost the company some market share in the past. Indeed, the company's recent success has been Folger's, which is positioned at the low end of the coffee market. As the recession hit high end coffee companies like Starbucks hard, low end companies benefited as consumers traded down. Folgers has been a rare cost leadership success for Smuckers, but did so on the existing strong level of brand recognition.

The Folgers...
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