See's Candies is Warren Buffett’s ‘dream’ investment

Post by lasc4r » Mon, May 16, 2022, 4:15 AM UTC

lotsofpulp wrote: post #106

diego_moita wrote: post #71

> Buffett cautioned Huggins to never sacrifice quality for profit. Funny how that's the complete opposite of another celebrated investor: Jorge Paulo Leman from Brazil's 3G Capital Partners (Heinz, Popeye's, Anheuser-Busch, Tim Horton's, Bugger King, etc). Their game is to buy brands with very strong customer loyalty and slash costs (and quality). In the long run they'll destroy the brand but until then will make eno…

And yet Buffett decided to become business partners with them: https://finance.yahoo.com/video/warren-buffett-kraft-heinz-p...

Post by cercatrova » Mon, May 16, 2022, 4:19 AM UTC

backtoyoujim wrote: post #152

skippyboxedhero wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That isn't their strategy. The largest part of their strategy has been cutting central costs (which are, not coincidentally, obscenely large at consumer goods companies). That has been their strategy since the early days. The cost-cutting that you are seeing across the industry started because 3G exposed the fact that a lot of companies were running with incredible amounts of fat. But during that time, you have also…

By "fat" I assume that you mean "people with jobs that pay enough to let them buy things like expensive chocolates ?"

Post by katbyte » Mon, May 16, 2022, 4:44 AM UTC

qgin wrote: post #150

lotsofpulp wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Vitamins used to be priced according to manufacturing cost. Slowly, the low-cost vitamins have been up-priced to match the expensive ones. Vitamin C is about $10/Kg in bulk, but about $100/Kg at a US drugstore. How does one even know if the Vitamin C is Vitamin C? There is no government agency that confirms supplements and vitamins are what they say they are, nor are there penalties. The only thing I have heard of i…

Stick to brands that have a reputation for quality worth defending. It's no guarantee, but you want a brand that perhaps charges a bit more because of their long track record of quality. The longer and more solid their track record of quality, the more motivation they will have to make sure that reputation stays intact. That's about the best you can do.

Post by kevin_thibedeau » Mon, May 16, 2022, 4:50 AM UTC

Animats wrote: post #12

It's the slow and steady increase in prices that made it so profitable. About 5x over inflation during Buffett ownership. This has happened to far too many items over the last few decades. Most of the things drugstores sell are cheap to make, but have steadily increased in price in the US over the last few decades. Vitamins used to be priced according to manufacturing cost. Slowly, the low-cost vitamins have been up-…

Post by 55555 » Mon, May 16, 2022, 4:55 AM UTC

kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #167

Animats wrote: post #12

It's the slow and steady increase in prices that made it so profitable. About 5x over inflation during Buffett ownership. This has happened to far too many items over the last few decades. Most of the things drugstores sell are cheap to make, but have steadily increased in price in the US over the last few decades. Vitamins used to be priced according to manufacturing cost. Slowly, the low-cost vitamins have been up-…

My favorite is Whey powder which often sells for 10x the price of powdered milk.