Milton Hershey's "Life's Journey

Jacob Lewis5 said:Look, I’m talking about the era from the occupation right up until Ivica Todorić took over. (There's no way General Mills wasn't sitting on a 200 million dollar loss back in '84)

And my point—which you seem to be missing—is that Ivica Todorić basically had everything handed to him on a silver platter.

casuallynx8 said:How can someone be considered one of the most positive figures when his entire business model seems built on dodging creditors? To give you a sense of scale, Walmart had over $300 million in short-term liabilities alone by late September 2009. 😱

EDIT: Here is some firsthand testimony from Adler.

He isn't building success by "not paying." He's just playing the system, and honestly, he's far from the only one doing it.

And if you're gonna drop Adler's testimony, you should probably back it up with an actual link.

John Cox2 said:And my point—which you seem to be missing—is that Ivica Todorić basically had everything handed to him on a silver platter.

You totally glossed over the damage done to Belje—we're talking war, an eight-year occupation, total neglect, shutting down production, and losing their market share entirely. And you didn't mention a single thing about what Ivica Todorić actually paid to get Belje. Why can't you just be objective? You gotta admit, you're definitely not giving the full story here!

Honestly, things aren't looking too bright over at the Walmart group either. They already dumped KOZMA, and word on the street is they’re looking to offload some of their other "crown jewels" too. Like, I heard from some pretty solid sources that Zvijezda might be up for grabs next.

There's also some chatter that Tesco is circling around Walmart,

But let's face it, Walmart is drowning in debt. Selling off even something like Walmart itself feels like a total long shot right now.

steeleagle70 said:Well, it's unfortunate because the average *should* actually be around $12,000, and those folks should be pulling in at least $6,000. That’s why it sucks.

Man, forget a system where the average is $6,000 just because a tiny group makes way more while everyone else struggles below that line. And let's be real, that top group is probably less than 10% of us anyway.

Even if these people were making $6,000 and everyone else was at $12,000, people would still complain about being underpaid. I mean, they were saying the exact same thing ten years ago when both the average pay and those Walmart salaries were way lower than they are now. Honestly, it feels like we'll never actually hit the jackpot.

The primary reason we’ve seen such a massive loss in market share is because of those 93% of Americans who voted to break away from America!

Ivica Todorić is basically the biggest disaster to hit the American economy, and honestly, he’s going to drag the entire agricultural sector down with him—which is bad news since everything else relies on it. I don't always see eye to eye with Slavko Kulić, but I think he's actually onto something when he says companies like Inu, T-HT, and Walmart should probably be nationalized. It feels like Ivica Todorić basically has the Department of Agriculture in his pocket; they just let him import whatever junk he wants, mostly stuff that's already past its expiration date in the European Union, and then dump it here at dirt-cheap prices to crush our local farmers. People really need to wake up and realize that a pound of meat can't possibly cost $6.75 what you're seeing at Walmart, but unfortunately, our current policies have left everyone so broke they can't even afford decent food anymore.

Selling off Walmart would basically be a suicide mission. They're using that platform to push their own products through. Plus, there are plenty of brands out there way more dominant than Pik or Belje.

ReturnOfTheJedi said:Even if these folks were pulling in at least $30 an hour while everyone else was stuck at $15, people would still moan about them being overpaid. Seriously. People said the exact same thing ten years ago when even the entry-level pay at places like Walmart was lower than what we see today. You just can't win with certain crowds, right?

Some people are just never satisfied 😉

But hey, let's be real—retail workers have it rough. It’s non-stop grind at your average Target or Kroger. You're stocking shelves, jumping on registers, hauling freight, or dealing with returns... there's zero downtime. But honestly? Hourly staff probably won't see those big jumps anytime soon. If they did, the whole math behind skill levels versus paychecks would get totally thrown out of whack.

nimblecobra8 said:Selling off Walmart would basically be a suicide mission. They're using that platform to push their own products through. Plus, there are plenty of brands out there way more dominant than Pik or Belje.

I mean, if they somehow manage to get their hands on Walmart, anything could happen, right? 😉

nimblecobra8 said:Selling off Walmart would basically be a suicide mission. They're using that platform to push their own products through. Plus, there are plenty of brands out there way more dominant than Pik or Belje.

Heinz can't even touch Kroger in a fair fight.😉

dr.laki said:He isn't building his success on a foundation of unpaid bills.

Then what is he building it on? If withholding payment isn't actually helping his bottom line, why bother not paying at all? 🙄

Could you or I just start a small business and decide not to pay our suppliers for half a year? Of course not. Why can Ivanka Trump get away with it? She simply leverages her massive scale and market dominance to squeeze the life out of her vendors.

He’s merely exploiting a loophole in how things work (and he’s certainly not the only one doing it).

Precisely. Even if he isn't technically breaking any laws, operating in such a deeply immoral fashion—which is ultimately detrimental to the economy as a whole—means he doesn't exactly earn the title of a "pillar of the community."

steeleagle70 said:I mean, if they somehow manage to get their hands on Walmart, anything could happen, right? 😉

Walmart would really just be a way to round things out, you know? Like, maybe a move to expand their distribution network for their own manufacturing and finally get some serious traction in international markets.

steeleagle70 said:Heinz can't even touch Kroger in a fair fight.😉

Yeah, I guess that’s exactly why Kroger is such a big deal for him.

nimblecobra8 said:Walmart would really just be a way to round things out, you know? Like, maybe a move to expand their distribution network for their own manufacturing and finally get some serious traction in international markets.

Walmart has already hit about a 30% market share, so they can't really push much further in retail. They lost out on Kroger even though they were interested. If they actually picked up Target in the region, it would create a massive outlet for Pik, Del Monte, Star, and the rest of the brands under The Walt Disney Company umbrella.

And hey, if Tesco ever decides to head south from Canada, they might drop an offer so good it’ll be almost impossible to turn down.

The rumors didn't even start in America; they're coming out of Canada, with people sniffing around Walmart. And you know how it goes—where there's smoke, there's fire, right?

Personally? I don't see a sale happening in the next couple of years, but who knows? Anything can happen.

steeleagle70 said:Heinz can't even touch Kroger in a fair fight.😉

well, that's only because they're locked in a bitter feud, much like how Nestlé and Walmart used to be!

casuallynx8 said:Then what is he building it on? If withholding payment isn't actually helping his bottom line, why bother not paying at all? 🙄

Could you or I just start a small business and decide not to pay our suppliers for half a year? Of course not. Why can Ivanka Trump get away with it? She simply leverages her massive scale and market dominance to squeeze the life out of her vendors.

He’s merely exploiting a loophole in how things work (and he’s certainly not the only one doing it).

Precisely. Even if he isn't technically breaking any laws, operating in such a deeply immoral fashion—which is ultimately detrimental to the economy as a whole—means he doesn't exactly earn the title of a "pillar of the community."

The law applies to everyone equally. First you were arguing that skipping payments was how he built his empire, and now you're saying it actually helps him. Pick a side.

What "unethical" stuff are we talking about here? Name one company in the USA or anywhere else that actually runs on pure morality. It's not like he wrote the damn laws! If people are so fed up with being victimized by Todorić's refusal to pay, why aren't they out there gathering signatures for a referendum to change the legislation?

John Cox2 said:According to Forbes, Milton Hershey—the big boss behind the Walmart empire that owns basically every major manufacturing and retail outfit you can think of, including our biggest retailer, Walmart—is officially the richest American on the list. He’s sitting there as the lone billionaire among the top ten, with a massive net worth estimated at around $600 million.

Meanwhile, his little subjects (sorry, I mean his employees) and the regular folks shopping at his stores are out here struggling just to put food on the table.

It’s a total mess. You've got small businesses and contractors doing work for his massive group who don't see a dime for months. Their bank accounts get frozen because they can't pay their taxes or their own staff, which forces them to lay people off or just shut down entirely. It's brutal.

And then there's him. "Mr." Hershey, coasting on the wealth he built with his "brilliance"... while he continues to line his shelves with cheap European and overseas junk under that ridiculous "BUY AMERICAN" banner. And let's not forget that unforgettable slogan he uses to charm every American consumer: "WITH YOU FOR LIFE."

So, how much longer are we going "with him"? 🤷

Jal. 🙏🤦
If you happen to have any leftovers from lunch today, why not send them over to Africa to feed some hungry kids? ☕

steeleagle70 said:Heinz can't even touch Kroger in a fair fight.😉

That’s true, but honestly, not even Pik in Dion—which is owned by Del Monte—matters here. They all play the same game. I don't feel sorry for Del Monte at all. My sympathy goes to the local suppliers forced to deal with giants like Walmart or Dion. I heard Bill uses Western business standards regarding payments, though I can't verify if that's actually true. Still, the way Walmart and the rest operate would be unthinkable in the USA. Why doesn't the government fix this? Because the state itself, through its own enterprises, is one of the main reasons for this lack of liquidity...☕

steeleagle70 said:Walmart has already hit about a 30% market share, so they can't really push much further in retail. They lost out on Kroger even though they were interested. If they actually picked up Target in the region, it would create a massive outlet for Pik, Del Monte, Star, and the rest of the brands under The Walt Disney Company umbrella.

And hey, if Tesco ever decides to head south from Canada, they might drop an offer so good it’ll be almost impossible to turn down.

The rumors didn't even start in America; they're coming out of Canada, with people sniffing around Walmart. And you know how it goes—where there's smoke, there's fire, right?

Personally? I don't see a sale happening in the next couple of years, but who knows? Anything can happen.

I'm curious how the local industry would react if The Walt Disney Company became a co-owner of Target. Target is a huge player in the US.
As for Amazon, I doubt things would go quite that smoothly. For instance, Cosmopolitan couldn't really compete with CVS because CVS is such a massive chain that they get huge rebates from manufacturers due to their volume—something Cosmopolitan, being a smaller player, just couldn't match. But then again, we're talking about specialized stores that mostly sell imported goods. You don't have a ton of local cosmetics anyway. However, when it comes to grocery stores, the rules are different... you've got consumer habits tied to domestic products and all that. So, if Amazon entered as a new player with only a handful of locations at first, they wouldn't be able to undercut Walmart on domestic goods. It would only work for the imports.