Hershey: Back to Basics 103
shey’s largest export market at the time, and it was an ideal
location for attracting international talent to the company.
The new International head intended to grow Hershey’s
international business through a distributor model, which fo-
cused on investing resources in marketing and distribution,
rather than on fixed-asset investments such as a Russia fac-
tory. Within six months of his arrival he canceled plans for
the Russia factory and Hershey effectively backed away from
its business there. Shortly thereafter, Russia fell into a liquid-
ity crisis, its economy imploded, and many foreign companies
suffered huge losses. In hindsight, canceling plans for manu-
facturing in Russia was a good decision, at least in the short ...