Company Profile The Hershey Company, commonly known as Hershey’s, is a chocolate manufacturer established in 1894. It started as a candy shop in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where the founder, Milton S. Hershey, spent several years running the shop and partnering with different confectioners to perfect his culinary skills and invent new recipes. After several failed attempts to create a chain, Hershey returned to his hometown in Pennsylvania, which is named after him today, and invented Hershey’s Kisses—the product that became a hit and made its creator successful. Today, Hershey’s is a market giant. It is currently ranked number 362 on the Fortune 500 List with 7.387 billion USD of revenues. The company employs about 15,000 people, operates ten plants in the United States, Mexico, and Brazil, and sells its chocolate goods in more than 60 countries across the globe. Hershey’s performance has been a reason for concerns from analysts within recent years, but currently, the company is expected to perform normally without dramatic declines in upcoming years. Hershey’s is involved in various kinds of charity, which contributes to its positive image on the market. However, some criticism has been faced; particularly, from human rights activists who protested against Hershey’s alleged purchasing of cocoa from vendors who had not guaranteed the labor exploitation-free origin of beans. 5-Year Financial Overview At the end of Yr  2016       2015         2014         2013         2012        Stock Price       $ 103.43   $ 89.27      $ 105.27     $ 96.28      $ 71.44     Revenue           $ 5.469 B  $ 7.386 B    $ 7.421 B    $ 7.146 B    $ 6.644 B   Profits           —          $ 512.951 M  $ 846.912 M  $ 820.470 M  $ 660.931 M Prof Margin, %    —          6.94         11.41        11.48        9.95        Growth Rate, %               -39.43       3.22         24.14        5.08         Current Ratio: 0.83 (Current Assets / Current Liabilities; $ 1.847 B / $ 2.218 B) Asset Turnover: 1.02 (Revenue / Average Total Assets; $ 5.469 B / $ 5.344 B) ROA: 9.6 % (Net Income / Average Total Assets; $ 512.951 M / $ 5.344 B) Current Market Situation: Market Description Hershey’s operates in the sweet goods industry, producing mostly chocolate-based products. For such an industry, it is particularly challenging to define its customers in terms of demographic, social, cultural, or other characteristics because virtually anyone, regardless of his or her background, maybe a sweet tooth or, on the contrary, not a big fan of sweets and candies. At the same time, the industry is intensive and involves a nondecreasing degree of competition. The reason is that, despite the advancement of technologies and the changes in many markets, many people are still likely to enjoy a candy bar or chocolate. From this perspective, the 20th century has not essentially changed the business in which Hershey’s has been for more than 120 years. Hershey’s has a competitive advantage due to its well-established image and the fame of some of its products, such as Hershey’s Kisses. The company satisfies the needs of its customers by offering a wide variety of goods, classic and new ones, with different flavors but a recognizable taste of Hershey’s chocolate. An import