Would You Bet On These Consumer Goods Companies?

In this week's Consumer Countdown, host Mark Reeth challenges Motley Fool consumer goods analysts Michael Finarelli and Sean O'Reilly to make a wager on the futures of several consumer goods companies.

First, Mark looks back at an old bet on Safeway that Mike passed on. Mike made the right choice by not taking Mark's bet that Safeway would continue its fantastic year-to-date run; as a matter of fact, the company is up nearly 13% since the bet was made. Mike doesn't want to stand in the way of Safeway's great momentum, nor does he want to go up against competitor RiteAid , which has been a great turnaround story this year.

Then, Sean decides to pass on Mark's bet that Altria will rely more and more on e-cig sales going forward; while he likes the idea of e-cigs, they're still too small of a niche product for him to have complete faith in them.

Finally, Mike takes Mark's bet that Hershey will see its revenue increase again next quarter. He thinks that Hershey is a great business, and that its competitors aren't anywhere close to being on its level.

Do you think Safeway has what it takes to rule retail?
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The article Would You Bet On These Consumer Goods Companies? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Mark Reeth has no position in any stocks mentioned. Michael Finarelli has no position in any stocks mentioned. Sean O'Reilly has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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