Result of Meeting

    Sara Lee Corporation

Sara Lee Executives Review Company's Five Lines of Business at Analyst Meeting
                              in Chicago

     Management affirms general EPS guidance for first quarter and
                       full-year of fiscal 2005

Sara Lee Corporation reviewed each of its five lines of business - Branded
Apparel, Household Products, Meats, Bakery and Beverage - with financial
analysts at the company's annual "Meet the Management" meeting held today in
Chicago.

During the meeting, Brenda C. Barnes, president and chief operating officer of
Sara Lee Corporation, addressed the financial community for the first time since
joining the company July 1, 2004. In her remarks today, she provided her
perspective on the company's strengths and future business opportunities.

"Sara Lee is a strong company and there is great work being done by our
employees throughout the organization," said Barnes. "With new, innovative
products such as Sara Lee Delightful breads and bagels and the Senseo
single-serve home gourmet coffee system, we are ensuring that our brands not
only meet the needs of today's consumers, but also are positioned to drive
future growth.

"The organizational initiatives undertaken over the past few years to
consolidate operations and centralize services are showing good results,
particularly in the Meats and Bakery businesses. Throughout Sara Lee, the
management team is focused on the execution necessary to excel in serving our
consumers and our customers, so we can realize our objective of ranking among
the top tier of consumer products companies in the eyes of our investors, our
customers and our competitors."

In addition, C. Steven McMillan, chairman and chief executive officer of Sara
Lee Corporation, affirmed the earnings per share (EPS) guidance for fiscal 2005
that was provided on Aug. 5, 2004. McMillan said that the company expects
diluted EPS for the first quarter of 2005 to fall within a range of $.39 to $.44
and full-year 2005 diluted EPS are expected to be in a range of $1.61 to $1.71.
McMillan also provided share repurchase information, stating that, in the first
quarter, the company repurchased 11 million shares at an average price of $21.68
per share. Approximately 24 million shares remain authorized by the board of
directors for repurchase.

The majority of today's analyst meeting featured Sara Lee's senior operating
executives, who discussed the core strategies and financial drivers of each of
the company's five lines of business. Some highlights from the presentations
made today include:

    --  Branded Apparel: Lee A. Chaden, chief executive officer of Sara Lee
        Branded Apparel, discussed the relaunch of Hanes, Sara Lee's largest
        brand, which includes refreshing the brand's image with a more
        contemporary look and feel as well as offering consumers exciting new
        options. Chaden also noted the tremendous opportunity to grow the Just
        My Size brand in the plus-size category by delivering more stylish
        products in a variety of different segments to meet consumers' desires.
        He stressed the importance of building strong trade partnerships, such
        as the one behind the recent launch of C9 by Champion at Target, and
        underscored that the company is well positioned to take advantage of
        changing global sourcing opportunities.

    --  Household Products: Adriaan Nuhn, chief executive officer of Sara
        Lee/DE, is responsible for the Beverage and Household Products lines of
        business. In discussing the Household Products business, Nuhn focused on
        the product innovation efforts of several of the company's leading
        Household Products brands, including a strong new product pipeline for
        Ambi Pur air care products. In addition, he discussed the relaunch of
        the Sanex bath and shower and deodorant lines as well as the move into
        new product categories, such as the Sanex for Men line. The organization
        is also recharging the Radox bath and shower brand with a new packaging
        design and new product variants. Finally, Nuhn discussed the strategic
        review of the company's smaller Household Products brands with the
        intent to divest many of them. Following the review, the company plans
        to invest the proceeds from divestitures into those Household Products
        brands with the highest potential for strong, long-term growth.

    --  Meats: Robert S. Kopriva, chief executive officer of Sara Lee Foods,
        reported on the effect of higher commodity costs and the business'
        progress in developing value-added products, such as Hillshire Farm Deli
        Select Ultra Thin, to lessen dependence on commodity-driven base
        products. Kopriva also outlined how the Ball Park, Hillshire Farm, Jimmy
        Dean and Sara Lee brands are each transforming their product offerings
        toward a greater emphasis on the type of great-tasting, convenient
        value-added products that consumers want. In addition, he reported on
        the success of the business consolidation and how, as a result, overall
        customer service has improved.

    --  Bakery: Richard A. Noll, chief executive officer of Sara Lee Bakery
        Group (SLBG), discussed brand growth, particularly for Sara Lee
        worldwide and Bimbo in Europe. He also noted the improved quality of
        sales in the U.S. fresh business as SLBG continues to successfully shift
        its business mix away from private label and regional brands and toward
        more national branded products to drive growth. In discussing bread
        segment trends, Noll stressed that SLBG is taking advantage of growth in
        the wheat and whole grain segments with new and established products
        from Sara Lee and Earth Grains. Noll also announced plans to expand Sara
        Lee's U.S. fresh bakery distribution into Florida.

    --  Beverage: In his presentation on the Beverage business, which includes
        Sara Lee's coffee and tea brands, Nuhn reported on the success of Senseo
        and the launch of new varieties, such as Senseo City Sensations and
        Senseo Selection, which continue to add excitement to the brand in
        Europe. In addition, he discussed the creation of one integrated
        organization to better serve the coffee and tea needs of foodservice and
        retail customers in the United States and he reviewed the organization's
        plans for growing the profitability of its Brazilian coffee business.

For people who were unable to listen to the webcast live, the replay will be
available at 8 p.m. CDT on Monday, Oct. 4, in the Investors section of the Sara
Lee corporate Web site (www.saralee.com) until Monday, Oct. 18, 2004.

Forward-looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding Sara Lee's
business prospects, costs and operating results, including statements regarding
Sara Lee's projected fiscal 2005 EPS. In addition, from time to time, in oral
statements and written reports, the corporation discusses its expectations
regarding the corporation's future performance by making "forward-looking
statements" preceded by terms such as "expects," "projects" or "believes." These
forward-looking statements are based on currently available competitive,
financial and economic data and management's views and assumptions regarding
future events. Such forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain, and
investors must recognize that actual results may differ from those expressed or
implied in the forward-looking statements. Consequently, the corporation wishes
to caution readers not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking
statements. Among the factors that could cause Sara Lee's actual results to
differ from such forward-looking statements are the following: (i) impacts on
reported earnings from fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates,
particularly the euro, given Sara Lee's significant concentration of business in
Western Europe; (ii) significant competitive activity, including advertising,
promotional and price competition, and changes in consumer demand for Sara Lee's
products; (iii) a significant change in Sara Lee's business with any of its
major customers, such as Wal-Mart, the corporation's largest customer, including
changes in the level of inventory these customers decide is necessary to service
their consumers; (iv) the impact of volatility in the equity markets and
interest rates on the funded status and annual expense of the corporation's
defined benefit pension plans and the impact of such changes on consumer
spending; (v) Sara Lee's ability to continue to source production and conduct
manufacturing and selling operations in various countries due to changing
business conditions, political environments, import quotas and the financial
condition of suppliers; (vi) Sara Lee's ability to achieve planned cash flows
from capital expenditures and acquisitions, particularly Earthgrains, and the
impact of changing interest rates and the cost of capital on the discounted
value of those planned cash flows; (vii) Sara Lee's ability to realize the
estimated savings and productivity improvements associated with prior
restructuring and cost reduction initiatives; (viii) fluctuations in the cost
and availability of various raw materials; (ix) Sara Lee's ability to increase
prices in response to raw material and other cost increases and the impact of
such price increases on profitability; (x) the impact of various food safety
issues on the consumption of meat products in the United States and parts of
Europe and the profitability of the corporation's meats business; (xi) credit
and other business risks associated with customers operating in a highly
competitive retail environment; (xii) inherent risks in the marketplace
associated with new product introductions, including uncertainties about trade
and consumer acceptance; and (xiii) the settlement of a number of ongoing
reviews of Sara Lee's income tax filing positions in the United States and other
jurisdictions and inherent uncertainties related to the interpretation of tax
regulations in the jurisdictions in which the corporation transacts business;
and (xiv) the continued legality of tobacco products in the Netherlands, Germany
and Belgium. In addition, the corporation's results may also be affected by
general factors, such as economic conditions, political developments, interest
and inflation rates, accounting standards, taxes, and laws and regulations in
markets where the corporation competes. We have provided additional information
in our Form 10-K for fiscal 2004, which readers are encouraged to review,
concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those in the forward-looking statements. Sara Lee undertakes no obligation to
publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.

Company Description

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 manufactures and markets food, beverage, apparel and household
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.

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


Copyright Business Wire 2004