HERSHEY FOODS CORPORATION: BITTER TIMES IN A SWEET PLACE
INTRODUCTION
Born into a poor, lower-class family, Milton S. Hershey dropped out of school before reaching the fourth grade. He developed an interest in becoming a confectioner. He believed there would be great demand for affordable, mass-produced chocolate, and thus he built the Hershey Chocolate Company. Hershey’s is now the largest producer of quality chocolates in North America and a global leader in chocolate and sugar confectionery. Although he enjoyed making money, Milton S. Hershey was intent on using his vast fortune for philanthropic purposes. He decided to surround his enterprise with a model town and personally financed the building of roads, utilities,
…show more content…
This legacy of educating disadvantaged children from the community would affect our thinking as members of the Hershey Trust Company’s board of trustees. It may be viewed as a bias in our decision-making where we may favor protecting the endowment of the Milton Hershey School over protecting the equally important interests of the Hershey Foods Corporation and the Hershey, Pennsylvania community in general.
Is diversification a valid reason to sell HFC? How would such diversification have served the Hershey School 10 years ago, for example? What are the pros and cons of this strategy?
We believe that diversification of an investment portfolio alone is not a valid reason to sell Hershey Foods Corporation in this case. Ten years ago, there would have been few benefits for the Hershey School with the sale of the Hershey Foods Corporation stock. These benefits include a price advantage on the sale of the stock and a short-term monetary gain for the endowment fund. Another benefit is that the Hershey Trust Company’s investment portfolio would be less concentrated in Hershey stock, which in theory may be to their advantage if the Hershey stock were to suddenly decline in value. Ten years ago the Hershey Trust Company, who was a major shareholder in the Hershey Corporation, was advised that in order to ensure
Hershey’s and Cadburys are moving towards the premium chocolate market through the acquisition or upmarket launches (Zietsma, 2007). The profit potential present in this sector supported by its 20% annual growth rate make it very attractive for large organizations to come forward and avail this opportunity. There is a low threat of new entrants prevailing in this chocolate industry because of the high capital requirements and expected retaliation by current manufacturers. Current players in the industry also possess some barriers to entry for new entrants by maintaining economies of scales with their large production capacity and keeping their product differentiation with their specialized and novelty chocolate products. Even though there are low switching costs and easy access to distribution channels, but still the brand loyalty of the customers including the Rogers’ Chocolate itself make it harder for new firms to come into the competition.
It is important for stockholders to continuously re-evaluate their investments. Although some investors do this more frequently and thoroughly than others, the majority of shareholders do so at least once each year. Therefore, Torres’ desire to update her analysis in order to determine whether Costco was still operating efficiently makes perfect sense. After thorough examination, my analysis proves that Costco remains one of the industry’s leading competitors and there seems to be no reason for Torres to sell her shares as long as she wishes to retain holdings of a
Hershey started with 500 acres of land to build the company; within one year of being open he expanded to 12,000 acres (Career). He made the company bigger and better as time went on. When Hershey first opened, milk chocolate was the only candy produced. Around 400,000 quarts of milk were used each day to manufacture chocolate, around half a million pounds of chocolate was produced a day. While planning the rest of the Hershey factory, Milton wanted his employees to have a safe, home-like environment to live in. Workers would need comfortable homes, medical care, recreational facilities, and school for their children. Not only would Hershey help them out financially, he would help them with personal issues too. The production took around a year to do. By then Hershey Company was ready to open and produce candy
The founder of Hershey Chocolate, Milton Hershey, had a long journey to creating some of the most famous candy today. From a young age he lived in poverty and his parents constantly fought due to differences, which would always have an impact on Milton’s life. He started out in the business struggling, first with his caramel business going under and the unhelpful advice of his father that only led to Milton making more mistakes. Once Milton made it big he went on to do amazing things and dedicated a big part of his life to helping other people and focusing on the well-being of his employees. Milton Hershey was indeed one of the most famous and successful people in the candy community, but it was only through many hardships and stress that got him there.
In March of 2012 Steve Parkland was hired as the new president at Charles Chocolates. He was immediately faced with numerous decisions about the future of the company. The board of directors had tasked Parkland with doubling or tripling the size of the company over the next decade, but the board and the senior management team had different opinions about the strategy that would accomplish this goal. The main issues that Parkland faced were how to increase the company’s operations while maintaining the traditional culture and support of the board.
It is important for stockholders to continuously re-evaluate their investments. Although some investors do this more frequently and thoroughly than others, the majority of shareholders do so at least once each year. Therefore, Torres’ desire to update her analysis in order to determine whether Costco was still operating efficiently makes perfect sense. After thorough examination, my analysis proves that Costco remains one of the industry’s leading competitors and there seems to be no reason for Torres to sell her shares as long as she wishes to retain holdings of a retail wholesale club in her portfolio.
What kid doesn 't like chocolate? Thanks to the iconic Milton Hershey brand, we now have sweets such as Hershey kisses, Reese 's cups, Kit-Kats, and so many more! This essay will discuss Milton Hershey’s life, contributions to society, his companies, and some facts that might not be well known about him and his company.
The proposed sale of Hershey Foods Corporation (HFC) during the summer of 2002 captured headlines and imaginations. After all, Hershey was an American icon, and when the company’s largest shareholder, the Hershey Trust Company (HSY), asked HFC management to explore a sale, the story drew national and international attention. The company’s unusual governance structure put the Hershey Trust’s board in the difficult position of making both an economic and a governance decision. On the one hand, the board faced a challenging economic decision that centered on determining whether the solicited bids provided a fair premium for HFC
The community members did not agree with the trust board decision to sell 33% of Hershey shares to other investors. Milton Hershey did a lot to his community as a result the community felt like they have high stake in Hershey Company. Hershey himself had a sign in his office saying “Business is a matter of human services”. After his death the board rearranged the company from operating at loss while maximizing community needs to operate at profit to maximize shareholders wealth.
From the standpoint of the original Hershey milk chocolate bar, Milton Hershey is the original creator of developing an efficient chocolate manufacturing process during the late 1800s. Milton Hershey developed a method to produce chocolate that tasted delicious, could be created in bulk, and sold to consumers at competitively affordable price. This process begins with obtaining ingredients used to create a chocolate base. Though Hershey’s main factory is in Pennsylvania, the cacao bean is the main ingredient used that needs to be imported outside of the United States. The cacao beans from cacao trees only thrive in tropical climates. These trees grow in tropical rain forests of Brazil and Indonesia. Once the trees produce a significant amount of cacao beans, Hershey hires farmers to pick the cacao beans off of trees. When
Despite what some may think, it is proven that Milton Hershey had a positive impact on his community and the world in a various of ways. For example, he built the Milton Hershey school to benefit underprivileged youth. In fact, this school is still in operation today and was originally opened on November 15, 1909. Another way Hershey impacted the lives of many was through the building of Hersheypark. This amusement park was established in 1907 and, like the school, is still in operation today. On the other hand Hershey’s Chocolate also left a huge impact on the entire nation and the world and continues to be successful today. Evidently, his chocolate was innovating at the time because it allowed more people to be able to afford chocolate, not just the wealthy. Furthermore Milton Hershey’s legacy would later impact the lives of a great deal of individuals in a positive manner. If Milton Hershey had not lived, many youth and various families would not have the opportunities that for a better life and pleasure.
The Hershey Company, known until April 2005 as the Hershey Foods Corporation and commonly called Hershey 's, is the largest chocolate manufacturer in North America. Its headquarters are in Hershey, Pennsylvania, which is also home to Hershey 's Chocolate World. It was founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1894 as the Hershey Chocolate Company, a subsidiary of his Lancaster Caramel Company. Hershey 's products are sold in about sixty countries worldwide. In addition, Hershey is a member of the World Cocoa Foundation. The company has been topped to 384, compared with the previous rank 404, in 2013 (CNN, 2013). This paper is going to show the company’s international environment,
The hershey food cooperation is a confectionery kind of industry that was founded in 1894 by Milton Hershey who is a candy-manufacturer who decided to try adding chocolate to his caramels; transforming the name of his enterprise the Hershey Chocolate. This new factory was located strategically near dairy farms and surrounded by the spirits of hardworking people , by 1900 production of the delicious mil chocolate took place. Followed that, the launch of so many
In 1894, the Hershey Chocolate Company began in Lancaster, Pennsylvania when Milton Hershey decided to begin producing chocolate coating for his caramels. In 1900, Hershey expanded their business by producing more goods. Once Hershey began mass production, they were able to minimize production costs and make high-quality milk chocolate. After this new production model was established, Hershey began to expand its facilities throughout the northeastern United States. They also increased their supply chain efficiency by building a new facility in close proximity to ports and dairy farms that supply Hershey with its raw materials.
Hershey sources much of its cocoa from West Africa – a region plagued by extreme poverty – and known for extensive use of trafficked child labor. Though the countries of Ghana and the Ivory Coast provide 70 percent of the world’s cocoa supply(2?) horrible work conditions persist in the agriculture sector.