"Walk into any grocery store to stock up for Halloween and you will discover that, for chocolate treats, you have two basic choices: Will it be Mars or Hershey? I often buy both, but that is beside the point. The point is that the two giants compete for market share, but both enjoy robust sales. In other words, a relatively stable duopoly defines the U.S. chocolate candy market."
"But it wasn't always like this. Before the 1960s, the Hershey Chocolate Corp. reigned supreme as the undisputed chocolate king. It was in that decade that Mars went for Hershey's jugular. Hershey Chocolate's response brought lasting change to its candy business, the local community, and Hershey Park, its chocolate-themed amusement park. As a professor of American studies at Penn State Harrisburg who has recently published a book on Hershey Park, I am astounded by how these changes continue to reverberate today."
Hershey dominated the U.S. chocolate market until the 1960s, when Mars aggressively challenged its supremacy. Hershey's corporate response transformed its candy business, the company town, and Hershey Park. Milton Hershey established a paternalistic capitalist model in the early 1900s, building a factory and a planned community that provided housing and extensive subsidized services and amenities for workers. Amenities included schools, a junior college, zoo, museum, sports arena, library, community center, theater, and an amusement park. In exchange, employees were expected to work hard and conform to company expectations. The later competitive shift produced a stable duopoly between Mars and Hershey.
Read at Fast Company
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]