To all- please ping me to Canadian topics.
Canada Ping!
Posted on 06/07/2013 10:07:58 PM PDT by rickmichaels
TORONTO - Canada has charged two of the world’s biggest candy makers, Nestle SA and Mars Inc, with colluding to fix the price of chocolate, the Canadian competition watchdog said on Thursday.
Canada’s Competition Bureau recommended lenient treatment for the Canadian arm of Hershey Co, which cooperated with the investigation. Hershey said it had reached a deal with the bureau, and would plead guilty to a single count of price fixing.
Both Mars and Nestle said they intend to “vigorously defend” themselves against the allegations.
In its statement Hershey expressed regret for its actions and blamed workers who had already left the company.
“The current Hershey Canada senior management team as well as The Hershey Company and its management had no involvement in this conduct,” the statement said.
The Competition Bureau has been probing the allegations of price fixing for five years in a scandal that has already resulted in a major class-action suit. Hershey, Mars and Nestle all agreed to settlements as part of that suit.
A similar class-action suit in the United States is still making its way through a Pennsylvania court.
The Canadian Competition Bureau has also charged ITWAL Limited, a national network of independent wholesale distributors, as well as three individuals: Robert Leonidas, the former chief executive of Nestle Canada; Sandra Martinez, former Nestle Canada president and David Glenn Stevens, president and chief executive ITWAL Limited.
The three executives face up to five years in prison if convicted, while the companies and the executives could each be fined up to $10 million.
Chocolate wars?
I’ll tell you what, each company should send their youngest, fittest , heterosexual males into the ring.
Cover them with melted chocolate, let them fight it out in public. Winner take all.
I’ll tell you what, each company should send their youngest, fittest , heterosexual XXXXXX females into the ring.
There I fixed it!
http://www.enterpriseintegrators.com/flint/4thr/TomSmithsIncredibleBreadMachinePoem.txt
Now, let me state the present rules,”
The lawyer then went on,
“These very simple guidelines
You can rely upon”
You’re gouging on you prices if
You charge more than the rest.
But it’s unfair competition
If you think you can charge less.
“A second point that we would make
To help avoid confusion:
Don’t try to charge the same amount:
That would be collusion!
You must compete. But not too much
For if you do, you see,
Then the market would be yours
And that’s monopoly!”
Price too high? Or price too low?
Now, which charge did they make?
Well, they weren’t loath to charging both
With Public Good at stake!
I think Canada is on to something. The price of even a tiny chocolate bar is astronomical these days. As the size of the chocolate bar goes down, the price goes up. On top of that, I read that a lot of chocolate is no longer being manufactured in the U.S. Is it true that Hershey bars are now being made in China? Say it isn’t so.
“Now you know it Ain’t feminine to fight”
Okay they can settle it by wrasslin.
I’m glad they finally caught Big Chocolate in the act!
Nestle lost nutritional value by removing the worm from their logo. Now what?
Neither of these companies sell much that resembles chocolate. They sell chocolate flavored candy.
We have a winner!
My wife says she would give up chocolate but she is no quitter.
To all- please ping me to Canadian topics.
Canada Ping!
I doubt that Hershey bars are made in China, but many US confectioners have shifted some or all of their production to Canada and Mexico because of US tariffs & quotas on sugar.
My thoughts exactly. Cadbury blows ‘em both away.
Thanks for the new tagline :-)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.