MARLBORO FRIDAY

The day that refers to a great ripple effect in the entire Wall Street stock market. On 2 April 1993, Friday, Marlboro maker Philip Morris announced there would be a price cut on Marlboro cigarettes to compete with generic cigarette makers in the market. The company’s stock dropped to 25% after the announcement and lost around $10 billion on its market cap in a single trading day. It affected other brand’s consumer goods and eventually, traders began moving their investments on generic consumer good items.

Regarded as a landmark moment in 1990s, consumers moved away from branded products in favor of cheaper generic products, which is 50% cheaper than its branded competitors. In line with this, money managers took away money from branded consumer good markers such as Coca-Cola and Tambrands (former maker of Tampax tampons) to generic consumer good producers and technology stocks.

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