See's Candies CEO on consumer demand in a tough economic environment

• See's Candies reports sales are up for the year, with record-breaking Valentine's Day and strong Easter performance.
• The company actively monitors consumer sentiment (e.g., University of Michigan numbers) and believes its strong customer experience and product quality make it an 'anomaly' in the current retail landscape.
• Despite significant increases in spot market cocoa prices, See's Candies has mitigated impact by buying on forward contracts out to 2027 at favorable prices, avoiding direct pass-through of costs to consumers.

See's Candies CEO Pat Egan discusses strong consumer demand and sales growth, particularly for holidays like Valentine's Day and Easter, despite a challenging economic environment. The company has effectively managed rising input costs, such as cocoa prices, through forward contracts and is not directly passing these increases to consumers, maintaining a positive customer experience.