Posted on 11/15/2016 7:07:24 PM PST by Morgana
A week after Donald Trumps election, the comments by Pepsis CEO have been tough for a lot of voters to swallow. Like Grubhub founder Matt Maloney, whos on the hot seat after an employee email showing Trump supporters the door, Indri Noovi must not have been thinking about her bottom line when the soft drink mogul bashed the new president-elect. Well, shes certainly thinking about it now that #BoycottPepsi is picking up steam.
At a New York Times event last Tuesday, Noovis emotions were obviously raw from the defeat of Pepsis choice for the next generation: Hillary Clinton. In a sit-down with the papers Andrew Ross Sorkin, she was asked how she was feeling about the results.
Is there a box of tissues here? she said. To anyone who thinks like Trump, she insisted, Forget about the Pepsi brand. How dare you talk about women that way? she fumed. If we dont nip this in the bud it is going to be a lethal force in society.
Sorkin, who was sympathetic to Noovis frustration, went on to ask how others were coping.
I had to answer a lot of questions from my daughters, from our employees. They were all in mourning. In what was no doubt an exaggeration, she claimed Our employees were all crying.
While the executive staff may have been distraught, I find it hard to believe that there wasnt a single Trump supporter in a company of 263,000.
Nevertheless, she went on, And the question that theyre asking, especially those who are not white, Are we safe? Women are asking, Are we safe? LGBT people are asking, Are we safe? I never thought I would have to answer those questions. Noovis message to the country was simple: We should mourn. Next, she insisted, We have to assure everyone living in the United States that they are safe.
Well, one thing that may not be safe is Pepsis stock.
If Grubhubs experience is any indication, Pepsi is in for a bumpy ride with Wall Street. Maloneys stock dropped four points overnight after his epic these views have no place at Grubhub missive. As of yesterday his shares were in a freefall nine percent down and counting. What part of partisan political backlash dont these businesses understand? Have they learned nothing from Target, Lands End, J.C. Penney, and Angies List? This kind of liberal elitism may fly in the board rooms of America, but not in its family rooms.
And as last weeks election should have demonstrated, theres a strong and powerful movement in this nation who are tired of being harassed, marginalized, and threatened for what are clearly mainstream values. (Natural marriage, after all, still has the majoritys support in this country!) After Trumps election, this is an emboldened group of deplorables, and companies who are trading in intolerance do so at their peril.
Steve Tobak, one of the many who could only shake his head at Maloneys prejudice, thinks corporate America is at a crossroads for liberal activism. Its shockingly myopic, if not downright incompetent, for the CEO of a consumer-facing company to risk insulting half his stakeholders that way I think the board has some work to do. And given this overheated post-election climate, Ill reiterate something I say often, but apparently not often enough: If your business isnt politics, keep politics out of your business. Indri Noovi would be wise to listen.
Pepsi and its Tostitos, Lays, Doritos, Gatorade, and Lipton brands were already at odds with pro-lifers over its support of Planned Parenthood. Apart from the more than half-billion dollar haul from U.S. taxpayers, Cecile Richardss group is enjoying hefty financial backing from Pepsi (and these 37 other companies). When youre buying Pepsi, a portion of those dollars is already being wired to the bank account of the largest abortion provider in America. Now, we can add anti-American, anti-conservative rhetoric to the list. Unless Noovi and company see the light, maybe its time to take the real Pepsi challenge and start drinking something new.
Looks like O’ll be switching back to generic soda for my bourbon cokes
This is disappointing because I much prefer Pepsi to Coke. Coke tastes too weak and watered down. But I can’t support this.
I guess I will switch to Sam’s Choice. From what I’ve heard, they are pretty good.
I wish companies would just worry about producing a good product and stay out of politics.
Pepsi uses aborted cells for flavoring. That’s why I drink Coke.
Yes, they are still using it. Sick company.
Me; too.
I remember WIN buttons and 5.5% COLA when the rest of the country was getting double digit increases.
I'd like to see some data to support this.
BR>
Using worms in hamburgers sounded really good; until it was pointed out that worms cost MORE than cows!
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