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CONSUMER & RETAIL
CONSUMER STAPLES
INTRODUCTION The Consumer Staples industry is made up of three sub-industry groups: Food, Beverage & Tobacco – packaged foods, agricultural products, brewers, distillers, soft drinks and tobacco companies Household & Personal Products – companies producing products like toiletries, vitamins, supplements and other health and household products. Food & Staples Retailing Industry – companies involved in food distribution and retail.
INDUSTRY DRIVERS Companies in consumer staples provide necessities to customers. The demand for these necessities typically remains unchanged even during recessions. This means that the sector’s performance tends to be relatively stable regardless of the macroeconomy. As a result, drivers such as interest rate which would otherwise have substantial impacts on other industries have minimal effect across staples sector.cc Instead, the main driver of consumer staples are emerging trends that shift consumer preference. Nearly all individuals consume staples in some form or other, and their decisions are based on preference between the different companies competing to provide a sustainable advantage. For example, a major recent shift has been the move away from traditional plastic and the use of bio-friendly production means due to public sentiment. This change would induce the staples industry to adopt a more efficient and eco-friendly means of packaging.
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