See’s Candies President and CEO Pat Egan, speaks to Fox Business reporter Liz Claman about Warren Buffett’s favourite See’s product, Peanut Brittle, throughout the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders assembly, on Friday, April 29. (John Peterson/AP)
Berkshire Hathaway traders who wanted a sugar rush at Saturday’s annual assembly had been in luck. Berkshire-owned See’s Candies and Dairy Queen each had standard cubicles on the exhibit ground.
“People want their sweet,” stated See’s Candies president and CEO Pat Egan. But inflation is a priority.
Egan famous that See’s has raised costs for some merchandise on account of increased prices for substances and packaging. But he added that lots of what the corporate wants to supply its sweet is sourced from America, which signifies that there are fewer worries about increased abroad delivery prices.
Egan stated final yr was the corporate’s greatest yr for gross sales ever, with income up 26% from pre-Covid ranges of 2019. He added that e-commerce gross sales had been particularly robust.
Dairy Queen CEO Troy Bader stated the ice cream chain can be doing properly, particularly because it has added hen strips, burgers and different lunch objects to the menu.
Still, inflation is a giant challenge for its customers.
“Inflation is scorching. Consumers are spending extra on housing, gasoline for our automobiles, utilities. heath care, on and on and on. The discretionary revenue we’ve is smaller,” Bader stated.
He added that increased labor and gear prices are a problem for Dairy Queen franchisees too. That’s why many have chosen to boost costs for some menu objects.
But Bader stated Dairy Queen franchise operators should “thread the needle” as a result of the chain does not wish to lose clients. Price hikes are essential to guard revenue margins. The danger although is that customers might get turned off, which might damage gross sales.