(I can't post pictures. So if you want some supermarket discount signs you have to go to my reddit page to see, or else just use your imagination. The post was done with images on my page)

Pepsi Earnings ($pep)

Pepsi is announcing its Q1 earnings today before the market opens. The story so far is that they have been increasing price to increase sales and consumers have rebelled and turned to private label. Investors have punished the stock for the shrinking unit volume. Pepsi announced last quarter that they are lowering prices in a bid to increase unit volume.

Today i went to the supermarket and noticed something new:

- Doritos and Lays 2 x 170gm packets for $7.95 SGD,

- Cheetos 1 x 215gm packet for $4.95 SGD

The 2nd picture is the house brand, the one on the left is 90gm, one for $2.50, two for $3.95, the one on the right is 60gm and costs $1.20.

Unlike Coke versus Pepsi where brand loyalty is often highlighted, i don't think the loyalty is as high for potato chips. I could be wrong of course. Have you defected to house brands before ?

So, i will be watching today's Pepsi earnings call with some interest. If i were a betting man, i would put a 60:40 odds in favor of house brands.

Hershey ($hsy)

"It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma"

Two weeks ago, the president of U.S. Confection at Hershey, Andrew Archambault went on stage at the annual investor conference to announce the "One Hershey" initiative. This was to be a company wide restructuring to unify the commercial model, integrating sweet, salty, and functional snacks under one umbrella. And the person to lead it was himself. This was widely seen as a promotion for Archambault by the CEO Tanner. And probably a logical step towards the next CEO position.

Two weeks later, on 14th of April, a 8-K was filed to the SEC that the president had left the company. And the company was actively looking for a replacement.

This is such a delicious mystery:

- people at the executive level don't leave "abruptly", people get fired or they get poached. Andrew Archambault's immediate predecessor, Michael Del Pozzo was the latter, he lasted 4 months in Hershey then got poached back to Pepsi and was given a big promotion.

- if you know you are going to leave, why go on stage to talk to major shareholders about a major restructuring ("One Hershey) that you were supposed to lead.

- If you are the CEO and if you intended to replace your lieutenant, why would you put him to present to your important stakeholders your own growth initiative the "One Hershey" ?

Gemma my halluncinating AI thinks that Archambault chose to exit when he found out about the monumental task that lay before him, and instead of trying to change a 130 year old institution, he chose out.

I don't buy that.

I like to believe that when Reese's grandson wrote to the board complaining about the Reese product using alternative ingredients, the powerful Hershey Trust, which controls about 80% of the voting rights, had to chose between firing the guy responsible (Andrew Archambault) or the CEO, and they chose the former.

Of course this is just my conjecture.

What do you think ?

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Pls note the flair: HUMOR.