Peek No : 16  
Nov. 5, 2003 
Hi

A sweet issue this. No marks for guessing. It's on Candy. This Halloween season, we thought a peek on the candy industry is the best gift we could give our subscribers.

But before we go to that, a peek at our economy.

Home sales
Sales of new homes dropped a bit (by 0.2%) in September. The rise in mortgage rates had an adverse impact on the sale of homes. The effect of the perked-up supply of homes, crossing 1 million in the last few months, is another reason for the dip in sales. The home units sold stand at 1.145 million in September.

Sales - Existing Homes
Contrary to market expectations, the sales of existing homes surged ahead to 6.69 million units in September. In line with this trend, there has been a steady increase in applications for existing homes.

Index of Investor Optimism
A 15-point increase saw the index breaching the four-month high. The rise points to the growing euphoria over the steady advances the economy has been making recently.

Happy peeking!

Editor
Marketspeek
 Week's Peek

No Sugarcoated Stuff This!

  • US chocolate industry's retail segment is valued at $13 billion per year.
  • Holiday occasions are boom time for confectionery purchases in the U.S. .

    (ranking based on the quantum of purchases)

    1. Halloween
    2. Easter
    3. Christmas
    4. Valentine’s Day

  • Nearly 40% of the world’s almonds, 20% of peanuts and 8% of sugar production are consumed by chocolate makers.
Rank
Country
 Per capita consumption per annum (lb)
1
Denmark
35.15
2
Sweden
33.96
3
Ireland
32.08
4
Germany
29.64
5
Switzerland
29.30
6
U.K
28.93
7
Norway
27.98
8
Austria
27.76
9
Finland
26.59
10
U.S
25.20

Vital Statistics

  • The total consumption of confectionery items in the U.S. is pegged at nearly 7 billion pounds.
  • Of this, chocolate consumption amounts to 3.1 billion pounds and non-chocolate based consumption stands at 3.2 billion pounds.
  • Last year, daily sales of candy witnessed a mild increase while the holiday sales of candy saw a decline.

 

Biting into Candies

  • Consumer spending on confectioneries is found to be on the rise during Halloween. In the last ten years, confectionery purchases for winter holidays exhibited the slowest rate of growth among the top four occasions. Marketers can take cues from the infleunce of Halloween for devising successful communication strategies.
  • The challenges faced by chocolate manufacturers in the U.S. can be overcome by the creation of ample occasions for gifting confectioneries. Candy makers have not made enough inroads in understanding festive seasons and gleeful occasions celebrated by migrants from the rest of the world. A diligent homework on these occasions can add new streams of revenue for candy makers.
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   Wish I were

Small idea, big dreams

Not finding enough money to pay for her sons' education, Ruth Fertel decided to try her skills at business only to amaze herself and the world, making millions in the process.

It's not often that adversity brings out the best in people. But, when it does, like in the case of Ruth Fertel, it amazes everyone. Where the heck did this talent lie hidden all along, her friends seem to ask.

Four decades ago, Ruth Fertel was struggling to find a way to pay the college fees of her two sons. With nothing in the bank, and just loads of determination, she was bent on finding a way out. Scanning the local papers, Fertel came across an ad that caught her eye - 'Chris Steak House for Sale.' Recognising the opportunity and willing to take the risk, Fertel mortaged her house for $18,000 and arranged another $4,800 for ensuring the supplies.

Amazingly, though she had no experience in business, she opened shop and made a few dollars each day. Nothing great so far. But, what happened later was to change the life of Fertel and her two sons, forever. As luck would have it, a few months later, Hurricane Betsy devastated New Orleans. The place was blacked out immediately. And her meat supply was about to be spoilt. Forgetting business for a while, she focussed her energy on supplying free steak meals to the victims and social workers.

Fertel won many a heart through her gesture. And lady luck smiled on her again. This time, after the hurricane led to a shortfall of fishes and when the local diocese suspended meatless Fridays, it resulted in a demand for Fertel's meat. Soon, she found her profits rising steadily. The popularity of her steak led to Fertel's second store in the same neighbourhood.

One day she designed a broiler that cooked steak at a searing 1,800 degrees, which was then smattered with butter. Customers who had never tasted anything like that before were asking for more. One customer who couldn't drive in frequently enough to taste her steak requested a franchise. In the decade that followed, Fertel's turnover touched $22 million and she had outlets in 17 cities.

Today, Ruth's Chris small business empire grosses $314 million and has grown to 87 outlets. While the enterprising Ruth Fertel is no more, she lives on through those favourite steak houses she built to give her sons a good education. Touching indeed!

For further reading:

http://www.entrepreneur.com/mag/article/0,1539,227589----8-,00.html

http://www.rimag.com/13/execmain.htm

http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/42/42590.html

http://www.fortune.com/fortune/smallbusiness/lookback/0,15704,490061,00.html
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   BrandFact

The name "Novartis", a leading pharmaceutical company, is derived from Latin, meaning 'new skills'.
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  This Week that Age

October 31st, 1888 - John Boyd Dunlop took out a patent for his pneumatic bicycle tire.
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  Insight

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
-- Eleanor Roosevelt
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