Dividend Declaration

     
BW20021031002420  20021031T183418Z UTC


( BW)(SARA-LEE)(SRL) Dividend Declaration

    Business Editors
    UK REGULATORY NEWS

    CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 31, 2002--

             Sara Lee Corporation Announces Dividend Rate
      Increase At Company's 62nd Annual Meeting of Stockholders

Sara Lee Corporation's Board of Directors today approved a 3.3%
increase to the corporation's common dividend rate. Chairman,
President and Chief Executive Officer C. Steven McMillan announced the
dividend increase, which represents Sara Lee's 27th consecutive year
of common dividend rate increases, at the company's 62nd annual
meeting of stockholders.

The Board of Directors approved an increase in the annual dividend
from $.60 to $.62 per share. Also today, the Board of Directors
declared a regular quarterly dividend of $.155 per share on the
company's common stock, payable January 2, 2003. The dividend is
payable to stockholders of record at the close of business on December
2, 2002. This is the 227th consecutive quarterly dividend declared by
the corporation.

Sara Lee Corporation (www.saralee.com) is one of the world's leading
branded consumer packaged goods companies, selling its products in
nearly 200 countries. The company has three global businesses - Food
and Beverage, Intimates and Underwear, and Household Products -
through which it manufactures and markets products of exceptional
quality and value under leading, well-known brand names such as Sara
Lee, Earth Grains, Jimmy Dean, Douwe Egberts, Chock full o'Nuts,
Hanes, Playtex, Bali, Dim, Kiwi, Ambi-Pur and Sanex.

   Short Name: Sara Lee Corporation
   Category Code: DIV
   Sequence Number: 00001114
   Time of Receipt (offset from UTC): 20021029T221215+0000

    --30--db/in

    CONTACT: Sara Lee Corporation
             Media: 
             Julie Ketay, 312/558-8727
             Analysts: 
             Aaron Hoffman, 312/558-8739

    KEYWORD: ILLINOIS UNITED KINGDOM INTERNATIONAL EUROPE
    INDUSTRY KEYWORD: APPAREL/TEXTILES CONSUMER/HOUSEHOLD 
FOODS/BEVERAGES RETAIL SUPERMARKETS DIVIDEND
    SOURCE: Sara Lee Corporation

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