Consolidated Foods is a sober, respectable name for a consumer-products conglomerate, but none dare call it mouthwatering. Accordingly, executives of the Chicago-based company (1984 sales: $7 billion) decided to rename the firm Sara Lee, after its familiar frozen cakes, breads and pies.
That corporate name change was but one of 707 made so far this year, according to a survey by Anspach Grossman Portugal, a New York consulting firm. Last year 871 companies renamed themselves. While the trend toward name-lifts is hardly new, it has recently been accelerating.
Sixty percent of the monikers stem from mergers, acquisitions or divestitures. Republic Steel...
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