View Full Version : RIP, Twinkie
http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/national-international/NATL-Twinkies-Maker-Hostess-Going-Out-of-Business-179643161.html
Hostess, the makers of Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Wonder Bread, is going out of business after striking workers failed to heed a Thursday deadline to return to work, the company said.
“We deeply regret the necessity of today’s decision, but we do not have the financial resources to weather an extended nationwide strike,” Hostess CEO Gregory F. Rayburn said in announcing that the firm had filed a motion with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to shutter its business. “Hostess Brands will move promptly to lay off most of its 18,500-member workforce and focus on selling its assets to the highest bidders.”
:( :shakehead
I'm sure someone will the brands, but it's a statement on the waning impact/effectiveness of unions.
-Kevin
cameraman
11-16-12, 10:50 AM
It has nothing to due with the unions and everything to do with the management not introducing a single viable new product in decades.
It has nothing to due with the unions and everything to do with the management not introducing a single viable new product in decades.
Both sides are @ fault here, but the union's hard-line 1970sesqe stance is silly in this economy. Hostess also got stung by the new dietary concerns. Not exactly easy to innovate in the area of baking, which is saturated these days. They did acquire a number of brands over the past two decades. Just sad. I grew up with those (and Ho Hos) when I visited my grandparents. :(
-Kevin
Tifosi24
11-16-12, 11:58 AM
Both sides are @ fault here, but the union's hard-line 1970sesqe stance is silly in this economy. Hostess also got stung by the new dietary concerns. Not exactly easy to innovate in the area of baking, which is saturated these days. They did acquire a number of brands over the past two decades. Just sad. I grew up with those (and Ho Hos) when I visited my grandparents. :(
-Kevin
Both sides are at fault, but more blame to the unions is ridiculous. If anyone looks at the history of this company, it was pretty much doomed 20 years ago after some terrible merger activity (this was confirmed by the father-in-law's girlfriend who is a Hostess retiree) and, as cameraman noted, no changes in products in years and changing consumer palettes.
Had mores states legalized pot sooner this wouldn't have happened. ;)
cameraman
11-16-12, 12:29 PM
Problem was between the pay cut and the increase in employee contribution for benefits the workers were looking at a 25-37% pay cut. There are a whole lot of people out there who would be unable to sustain that level of a cut for long. Is out of work better? They will get unemployment with the layoff where they wouldn't get anything if they just quit because they did not take home enough to cover the rent.
They were screwed either way.
Had mores states legalized pot sooner this wouldn't have happened. ;)
:D
Napoleon
11-16-12, 01:19 PM
I'm sure someone will the brands, but it's a statement on the waning impact/effectiveness of unions.
The closings are completely unrelated to the union, the owners of the company are just using the union as a convenient excuse. The union in question only represents SOME of the workers at SOME of Hostess' facilities. Early in the year management filed its 1113 filing with the bankruptcy court and it said they were closing 9 unidentified facilities in addition to 3 they were selling. And now they claim that a strike that started 11/12 of some workers at some facilities is the cause? By the way in between their 2 bankruptcies top executive pay went up something like 200%. Quite simply management ran that company into the ground.
The link is to a story about a mayor who was told months ago they were closing one of the facilities that were stuck.
http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2012/11/13/slay-i-was-told-months-ago-about-hostess-closure/
The closings are completely unrelated to the union, the owners of the company are just using the union as a convenient excuse.
Why do they need an excuse? Nobody was making them attempt to restructure and stay in business. They're clearly unable to pay their obligations so they could have just gone straight to liquidation.
If the company could just go on operating without these workers then why would they have ever given into their demands? Beyond the fact that they're key workers there are also other union workers who were honoring their picket lines.
Early in the year management filed its 1113 filing with the bankruptcy court and it said they were closing 9 unidentified facilities in addition to 3 they were selling. And now they claim that a strike that started 11/12 of some workers at some facilities is the cause?
Yes, some facilities were going to have to close regardless. The company's costs were unsustainable. The strike has prompted them to close the entire company.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2012/11/15/striking-workers-defy-hostess/1708127/
The Teamsters union is urging the bakers union to hold a secret ballot on whether to continue striking. Citing its financial experts who had access to the company's books, the Teamsters say that Hostess' warning of liquidation is "not an empty threat or a negotiating tactic" but a certain outcome if workers keep striking.
By the way in between their 2 bankruptcies top executive pay went up something like 200%. Quite simply management ran that company into the ground.
Clearly they've been mismanaged and that set them on course for bankruptcy. Some of that was in failing to deal with changes in their marketplace. Some of it was in failing to deal with unsustainable labor costs. This was GM without a bailout or Ford without the foresight and means to mortgage billions of dollars in property. They may or may not have survived without this strike, but clearly right now the strike is the straw that broke the camel's back.
Stopped Kroger (or Krogers if you live in oHIo) on the way home today and not a single Twinkie or Ho Hos to be found. All they had left was a few boxes of Cupcakes and fuit cakes. :yuck: I was hoping to commiserate with the girls tonight. :(
And in regards to not not introducing a single new product in ages, several new varieties of existing products were rolled out over the past decade. Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho_Ho
Yes, just tweaks to existing products, but there is only so much to do in the baked goods market.
I'm not one to partake in sweets, so I likely haven't consumed any of these items in ~20 years.
-Kevin
I knew this was next.
http://dailycaller.com/2012/11/16/boxes-of-twinkies-ho-hos-going-for-100-and-more-on-ebay/
After Hostess announced Friday that a protracted labor union battle would force it to close its factories , many red-blooded Americans cowered in fear over the extinction of their beloved Twinkies, Zingers and Ho Hos.
Twinkie junkies are still in luck, however: Boxes of the barely edible snack foods are already selling on eBay.
One box of Twinkies has a starting bid of $49.99, with a “buy it now” price of $89.99.
:saywhat: :shakehead
-Kevin
datachicane
11-16-12, 08:20 PM
Yes, just tweaks to existing products, but there is only so much to do in the "baked goods" market.
Fixrd.
datachicane
11-16-12, 11:18 PM
Six CEOs in ten years, bankruptcy in 2004 after a restructuring attempt hoses (during which the union accepted 110m in concessions), flipped between private equity outfits and a couple of hedge funds, etc., etc., ad nauseum. They've closed 21 plants in that time prior to the latest batch.
The problem with this company wasn't the union, the problem was that the entire business model was built around short-term flips and cash-outs with no attempt to do radical things like build market share or reinvest for long-term viability. It worked exactly as it was designed to. It's arguably a microcosm for much of what's wrong with our business climate.
Six CEOs in ten years, bankruptcy in 2004 after a restructuring attempt hoses (during which the union accepted 110m in concessions), flipped between private equity outfits and a couple of hedge funds, etc., etc., ad nauseum. They've closed 21 plants in that time prior to the latest batch.
The problem with this company wasn't the union, the problem was that the entire business model was built around short-term flips and cash-outs with no attempt to do radical things like build market share or reinvest for long-term viability. It worked exactly as it was designed to. It's arguably a microcosm for much of what's wrong with our business climate.
Someone finally figured out the H-G family's newest 5 year plan?
I heard an interesting comment today: the union won. Really? It was said with conviction that this was actually a victory for the union. Really?
TravelGal
11-17-12, 12:46 AM
I heard an interesting comment today: the union won. Really? It was said with conviction that this was actually a victory for the union. Really?
Otherwise known as "The operation was a success but the patient died."
Andrew Longman
11-17-12, 08:01 AM
The union was'nt the straw. The demand that the union take a massive pay cut was. That is what prompted the strike.
IMO their biggest failure was a lack of creative marketing. Sure the stuff wasn't healthy, but play that to an advantage. Like partner with Ben & Jerry's to make a Twinkie flavored ice cream.
A direct competitor, Interbake (which Make Girl Scout cookies and several brands) is doing just fine. They have a brand new plant in Front Royal, VA.
Some reports say Mars has grown about 15% a year for more than ten years. Snickers is an $8 billion brand. Mars has been smart to play up the indulgence of some brands while also developing healthy products you might not even know are Mars products.
Hostess could have done a lot of things differently. My guess is twinkles are not really dead. Someone will buy up many of their brands and make a fortune off them
Some reports say Mars has grown about 15% a year for more than ten years. Snickers is an $8 billion brand. Mars has been smart to play up the indulgence of some brands while also developing healthy products you might not even know are Mars products.
Hostess could have done a lot of things differently. My guess is twinkles are not really dead. Someone will buy up many of their brands and make a fortune off them
Mars and Snickers do marketing very well. OTOH, both Nabisco and Keebler have not done well for several years. I had and uncle and 3rd cousin that worked for Nabisco (I believe the cousin still does), and I stocked shelves for them as a second job in the mid-90s. Once the Snackwells craze ended, their sales were largely flat.
And yes, someone will buy the brands for $.10 on the $.
-Kevin
Andrew Longman
11-17-12, 10:21 AM
Nabisco has been run by not one but two tobacco companies in the last 17 years. Combined with being a small part of the Kraft behemoth they might as well have been run by GM. The snack food industry has grown but is now dominated by smaller and even private store labels who are innovative and agile. Hostess could play there better than Nabisco but they are far worse.
Yes the union won. You don't get to keep your employees in servitude and demand anything you want of them to make up for your own mismanagement. At some point people tell you to punt and go off to find new jobs with companies that actually know how to create value and compete.
The company already raided the pension fund and wanted at least an 8% paycut with little solid planning for what else the company would do to regain lost market share. They are owned and run by private equity investors who know balance sheets but not how to actually run and grow a company... Especially marketing and innovation.
The employees said "we don't believe you have the talent and plan to turn this around so we are not going to help you." Apparently neither does management since they would rather sell everything off (presumably to someone wi th a better plan) and walk away than actually see the plan through.
Yes the union won.
Neither side 'won'. And the consumer lost. :(
-Kevin
A friend posted on FB:
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/12822_4848150520071_1343654361_n.jpg
:D
-Kevin
Don Quixote
11-17-12, 11:58 AM
:D
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/17/byjume3e.jpg
Andrew Longman
11-17-12, 01:42 PM
Neither side 'won'. And the consumer lost. :(
-KevinNo they didn't. They are valuable brands. Someone will buy the rights to make twinkies, wonder bread, and ho hos. And consumers might even have a choice of better versions of them.
The union was'nt the straw. The demand that the union take a massive pay cut was. That is what prompted the strike.
That makes no sense. There was still a path to keeping the doors open when the demand was made. Your comment assumes that there was no option to accept the demand.
The Teamsters union agreed to similar concessions and advised the bakers' union to do the same based on their expert's assessment of Hostess financials. The 5000 member bakers' union cost 6700 Teamsters union members jobs that they didn't want to lose.
http://www.emporiagazette.com/news/2012/nov/17/teamsters-statement-hostess-liquidation/
Unfortunately, the company’s operating and financial problems were so severe that it required steep concessions from a variety of stakeholders but not all stakeholders were willing to be constructive. Teamster Hostess members, based on the facts and advice from respected restructuring advisors, understood what was at stake and voted to protect all jobs at Hostess.
Andrew Longman
11-18-12, 11:31 AM
That makes no sense. There was still a path to keeping the doors open when the demand was made. Your comment assumes that there was no option to accept the demand.
Sure It makes sense. It is not the union's job to keep the doors open. That's the job of management... And to run the business as a thriving and profitable concern.
The union's job is to provide a decent standard of living for its members. That doesn't mean to bleed businesses dry and kill them, but when management does not present a believable case for turning the business around with or without union concessions (and they didn't ) then the best standard of living for the members is to find employment elsewhere.
Management will now no longer be able to pay themselves big bonuses by cutting and shrinking the business to profitability nor by demanding concessions. They will get a one time payout from the liquidation and have to find new employment themselves.
The crux here though is whether a turn around under this particular management was believable. Given their history the bakers said no. And the private equity investors didnt bring any special talent except expertise in how extract value from decaying businesses. That isn't what Hostess needs to turn around.
The Teamsters saw it differently but all they did was help continue the downward pressure on wages... For jobs that can't be off shored no less. Now twinkies et al will likely be made by someone with more talent for actually making money from them and with more ability to pay a decent wage.
None of all that changes the fact that if the bakers had not walked away from an agreement that the teamsters ok'd 18,500 people would still have a job.
Andrew Longman
11-18-12, 02:10 PM
None of all that changes the fact that if the bakers had not walked away from an agreement that the teamsters ok'd 18,500 people would still have a job.Yep.
A job at depressed wages with a company doomed to fail due to incompetent and uninspired management.
As someone once said, "We can fail now or fail later. Why wait?"
Or put another way, why should the union invest in and subsidize a failed management?
There are plenty of better and profitable companies those workers can go work for. Many of them are likely to buy up the assets of Hostess. I am fairly sure they would rather not lose their jobs but better that than stay at wages and benefits out of balance with the investment into success the company needs to make in terms of talent, product, marketing, etc.
But again the crux is the bakers union looked at past performance and the plan forward and voted no confidence that even if they conceded, the management isn't up to the task of turning it around. That is the fault of management not the union. Perhaps they should have sold their plan better.
datachicane
11-18-12, 02:11 PM
Last time the union accepted 110m in concessions, and the company was flipped. That 110m didn't do a thing but pad the pockets of guys on their way out the door. It wasn't reinvested in the company and didn't do a thing to make the company more viable.
Why is anyone surprised that the union is skeptical when asked for another, bigger round of concessions? Could it be the past track record, or the fact that while preparing the most recent bankruptcy filing Hostess gave its CEO a 300% increase in salary and bumped compensation for a slew of other execs up by 80%? It probably makes me a commie, but while I have an idea what the workers did to maintain their current level of compensation, I don't have the foggiest idea what management did to earn a bunch of raises of that magnitude.
Andrew Longman
11-18-12, 02:15 PM
It probably makes me a commie, but while I have an idea what the workers did to maintain their current level of compensation, I don't have the foggiest idea what management did to earn a bunch of raises of that magnitude.
This.
Actually you do know what the execs did. They maximized return for their private equity investors.
Liquidating the company will probably do that too.
Like the union is at fault. :rolleyes:
Pure Gecko-esque greed at work here. Bain-worthy, even.
This isn't a failure of labor, this is a failure of capitalism.
Napoleon
11-19-12, 07:08 AM
Senior management now wants the bankruptcy court to pay them 1.75 million in bonuses (http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-11-19/hostess-to-seek-court-approval-to-liquidate)
Napoleon
11-19-12, 07:15 AM
Oh and from that lefty propaganda rag, Forbes, Hostess' Twinkie Defense is a Management Failure (http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamhartung/2012/11/18/hostess-twinkie-defense-is-a-management-failure/)
(love that title)
Napoleon
11-19-12, 08:30 AM
Oh, and on a lighter subject, if you want to make Hostess products at home:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/07/dining/homemade-twinkies-recipe.html?src=me&ref=general
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/07/dining/faux-hostess-chocolate-cupcakes-recipe.html?src=me&ref=general
Judge questions the logic behind the strike and orders mediation to try and avoid liquidation.
The judge overseeing Hostess Brands declined to approve the company’s liquidation Monday and asked management and the bakers union to enter mediation today to explain the strike that the maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread said forced it to shut down.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain said at a hearing in White Plains, N.Y., that there are “serious questions as to the logic behind the decision to strike.” Hostess and the bakers union agreed to Drain’s request to enter confidential mediation under his supervision.
TravelGal
11-20-12, 11:08 AM
"Hostess" presumably agreed because they could see their big bankruptcy bonuses were not going to be approved. :tony:
datachicane
11-20-12, 12:09 PM
"Hostess" presumably agreed because they could see their big bankruptcy bonuses were not going to be approved. :tony:
+ 1
Hostess doesn't really have the option of declining.
But in all probability if liquidation is necessary the bonuses will be approved. They're retention bonuses. You can't complete the business of closing down the company if the people required to do it are leaving faster than it can be accomplished.
Napoleon
11-20-12, 01:02 PM
"Hostess" presumably agreed because they could see their big bankruptcy bonuses were not going to be approved. :tony:
I don't have a link (though I think it was in a Reuter's story) but the US Trustee has took the position that the bonuses are wrongful and should be denied.
Hostess doesn't really have the option of declining.
But in all probability if liquidation is necessary the bonuses will be approved. They're retention bonuses. You can't complete the business of closing down the company if the people required to do it are leaving faster than it can be accomplished.
Yup. We've done the same @ AOL shutting down projects, which ultimately ended up shuttering our campus in UA.
-Kevin
Andrew Longman
11-20-12, 02:07 PM
Bad beer and Twinkies? Perfect together.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/19/twinkies-may-survive-pabst-brewing-company-pbr-buy-auction_n_2158928.html?utm_hp_ref=business
Interesting biz strategy to buy up outdated and failed brands and make them "cool". Hostess execs couldn't figure that out though.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-B1d1O-3I_8s/UKZwsBBUnaI/AAAAAAAAG0o/QX991iDtY74/s480/MayanCalendar_Twinkies.jpg
:D ...but south of the border they are called Submarinos.
http://s8.postimage.org/qbipvud2t/submarinos.jpg
:D ...but south of the border they are called Submarinos.
http://s8.postimage.org/qbipvud2t/submarinos.jpg
What's Vainilla? :D
-Kevin
Judge questions the logic behind the strike and orders mediation to try and avoid liquidation.
Judge clears way for liquidation.
http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Twinkie-maker-Hostess-to-close-down-sell-brands-4057768.php
The speculation is the company is worth a couple billion. It will be interesting to see if they get it.
Judge clears way for liquidation.
http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Twinkie-maker-Hostess-to-close-down-sell-brands-4057768.php
The speculation is the company is worth a couple billion. It will be interesting to see if they get it.
According to NBC News tonight the company was 'once worth a billion dollars'. $.10 on the $ as I posted before. :shakehead
-Kevin
Andrew Longman
11-21-12, 09:36 PM
According to NBC News tonight the company was 'once worth a billion dollars'. $.10 on the $ as I posted before. :shakehead
-KevinMetropoulos has turned PBR,Vlasic, ChefBoyRDee, et al into billion dollars brands.
They could well do it with Hostess.
Metropoulos has turned PBR,Vlasic, ChefBoyRDee, et al into billion dollars brands.
They could well do it with Hostess.
I have no doubt the right management could turn Hostess into a billion $+ operation. It's been years since I've seen any real marketing behind the Hostess brands. My point was the assets will sell for a $.10 on the $ through bankruptcy.
-Kevin
Andrew Longman
11-22-12, 11:42 AM
Competing competent management teams may bid the price up beyond that simply because they will see the potential you see. Or not. You may be right about the ultimate price. On the other hand if the buyers can buy the brands without taking on the debt and other liabilities the price could be very high.
One thing that is sadly true. The workers shouldn't have to subsidize and perpetuate bad management. But they are also not likely to keep their job with new management. The value is in the brand names, not the physical plant or workforce. The new owners will make the product wherever it is cheapest or otherwise makes sense.
The new owners will make the product wherever it is cheapest or otherwise makes sense.
Indeed. :(
-Kevin
TravelGal
11-29-12, 05:15 PM
All right, listen up. This just got serious in our house. I just realized that this bankruptcy includes Home Pride bread. Twinkies, eh. Ho ho's maybe. (or is it Ding Dongs?) Home Pride bread? The basis of my Thanksgiving stuffing and nearly every sandwich I eat. Oh, the humanity!!
cameraman
11-29-12, 05:51 PM
Well the Hostess bakery here in town also did contract baking for a whole bunch of brands and they broke every single contract when they shut down.:shakehead I was at the store yesterday and fully half the bread section was gone.
Andrew Longman
11-30-12, 07:43 PM
Is that the massive Wonder Bread bakery in Ogden? I figured every Mormon must eat Wonder Bread given the size of the place.
cameraman
11-30-12, 10:08 PM
There's also a much smaller one in Salt Lake City itself, in a legacy location where the real estate is probably worth far more than the bakery itself. No idea how they have production broken up between the two facilities.
datachicane
12-06-12, 05:29 PM
http://s3.amazonaws.com/dk-production/images/11468/lightbox/1116ckCOMIC-hostess-union-man.png
http://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2013/01/06/grupo-bimbo-mexican-billionaires-said-to-near-partial-hostess-acquisition/
Grupo Bimbo, the world’s largest breadmaker, is reportedly close to acquiring parts of bankrupt Hostess’ bread business, as Hostess winds down operations and sells assets.
Bimbo, as well as and Flowers Food, are in official talks, and Hostess may disclose the name of the bidders of the up-coming bankruptcy auction as soon as this week, according to The Wall Street Journal. That bread business—brands like Wonder Bread, Nature’s Pride and Butternut—could fetch around $350 million, a source familiar with the proceedings told The Journal. Meanwhile, the cake business, with iconic Hostess treats like Twinkies, is expected to be sold later this year.
-Kevin
Hostess Twinkies will return from the grave July 15th.
http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/twinkies-to-return-to-store-shelves-july/article_81f840fd-cc55-55df-9734-3abcd7dadd0d.html
Metropoulos & Co. and Apollo Group who bought the Hostess snack cake line are relaunching the brand. They've brought back Hostess COO Rich Seban as President. They'll have four plants instead of eleven with non-union labor and distribution through warehouses instead of delivery drivers.
Hostess Twinkies will return from the grave July 15th.
http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/twinkies-to-return-to-store-shelves-july/article_81f840fd-cc55-55df-9734-3abcd7dadd0d.html
Metropoulos & Co. and Apollo Group who bought the Hostess snack cake line are relaunching the brand. They've brought back Hostess COO Rich Seban as President. They'll have four plants instead of eleven with non-union labor and distribution through warehouses instead of delivery drivers.
I'm utterly amazed that the snack food companies still have sales reps/drivers deliver, unload, and then do the work of the grocery stores to build displays and stock the shelves. Especially considering that they are now under constant attack by the store brands. Nabisco, Keebler, Frito Lay, etc. are all guilty of this, and the cost is huge. I did this on the weekends during college, and I basically went into the backroom/loading dock, grabbed the product and stocked the shelves. I wasn't union either (nor was the sales rep for Nabisco). I was paid a decent hourly wage and mileage compensation. A couple hundred bucks for a few hours work early on Sat and Sun.
Anyway, welcome back Hostess...I'll celebrate with the girls on 15-July. :thumbup: Although they are more Ho Hos fans than Twinkies. They always seem to have room in the 'desert stomach' after they are full from dinner. :gomer:
-Kevin
Andrew Longman
06-24-13, 02:22 PM
Kevin, since you did it you probably also remember that your employer was probably pretty picky about how you put the product on the shelf -- correct and tidy facings, used all the shelf space you were alloted and such.
That is the primary reasons the snack food biz does that. They want to make sure, from a marketing perspective, that their product is properly presented. In some ways it is even more important now. Even as supermarkets get bigger there is ever more pressure and sophistication to optimize the shelfspace given to a given product.
If I am Coke I want to make sure I get at least as much, if not more shelfspace as Pepsi. And if I am a smaller product, I want to make sure I don't get booted off the shelf altogether. The supermarkets have become very sophisticated about making sure the feet of shelfspace given to a product correllates logically to how much of it is sold. It is a constant battle that the sales reps and account managers fight.
Oddly, each section of the market is different in this regard. Completely different people tend to sell product for the frozen food section than for dry good, even if both products are from the same company (which is largelywhy for example Kraft sold or discontinued their frozen food lines like Bird's Eye)
Produce and meats are still another deal.
So it will be interesting to see how this new distribution model works out for Hostess. They are challenging some pretty well established models (in puruit it would seem almost entirely of cost savings, not better business results)that big guys like Eagle and Pepsico and Nabisco think works well for them.
IMO the real value in Hostess are their brands, which the prior owners did almost nothing to exploit and grow. They rode the cost cutting pony into the ground rather than find ways to extend the brand equity. And now they hired the former CEO to continue to ride it in the cost containment direction, or so it would seem.
I have to wonder why they kept the CEO. He certainly didn't have special relationships with the employees they wanted to be certain to keep. He doesn't have special knowledge it would seem of how to make Twinkies or Twinkees R&D. They have been making them unchanged for decades. He demonstrates no special distribution, sales and marketing insights and even so they are changing it anyway. That pretty much covers the typical reasons to hang on to prior management.
Well, good luck to them but I am afraid this has less to do with creative destruction and more to do with trying to make a failed and unsustainable model work a bit longer.
cameraman
06-24-13, 02:31 PM
The real issue is that the chains are not going to be thrilled with the idea of warehousing, distributing and stocking the additional products. There would be a huge pushback on the part of the chains if beer, soda, chip, dry organics, general merch, cards, cosmetics, bread & cookie manufacturers tried to pull that off. They would have to add at least two or three more people to the stocking crew of each store to cover that much work. Not to mention the ordering crew, the warehousing crews, the chain-owned distribution trucks and the warehouse space for all that stuff.
Kevin, since you did it you probably also remember that your employer was probably pretty picky about how you put the product on the shelf -- correct and tidy facings, used all the shelf space you were alloted and such.
Nope. No oversight @ all. Just the sales #s to show how well the shelves/displays were stocked. YMMV. And the way Kroger around here keeps re-arranging their stores, comparing sales figures is a moving target. Two of my local stores (we have 4 in a 5-mile radius) re-did their layout, both after a remodel with the past year or so. No rhyme or reason, and when I ask associates as to why they changed the layouts, they just said corporate mandated it. And frankly, from a person with vast retail experience, the new layouts make no sense (let's move the bread from the bakery area all the way across the store next to produce and in the Hallmark aisle....ummm, yeah).
-Kevin
Don Quixote
06-24-13, 03:23 PM
The cookie and bread vendors were masters of public relations, working it from the lowest shelf stocker to the store manager to get their product more and better shelf space. The Keebler cookie vendor invited a bunch of us to his daughter's wedding. Best wedding cookies ever! :gomer: [/back in the day Big Bear grocery store stories]
The cookie and bread vendors were masters of public relations, working it from the lowest shelf stocker to the store manager to get their product more and better shelf space. The Keebler cookie vendor invited a bunch of us to his daughter's wedding. Best wedding cookies ever! :gomer: [/back in the day Big Bear grocery store stories]
What's a Big Bear? :gomer: :p :saywhat: Yes, having grown up in a beer distributer family, things 'fell off the truck' regularly (or the drivers consumed them). One of my college jobs was to count the trucks being loaded and returning @ Hi-State Beverage. Fringe benefit: monthly breaker sales. :D
-Kevin
Don Quixote
06-24-13, 04:41 PM
I am so sorry.
http://blogs-images.forbes.com/jessethomas/files/2012/11/JESS3_Twinkies_hostess-moses-twinkies.png
Andrew Longman
06-24-13, 04:56 PM
Nope. No oversight @ all. Really? Surprising.
I've done work with Coke (and 7Up) going back to 1982 and they were crazy about making sure, for example the labels all face out and stock place to the edge of the shelf. Since then I've worked with lots of food products companies including about the oldest and largest chocolate company in the world and the amount of time, money and management involvement in product placement is staggering. A cute TV ad only goes so far when the decision to buy is largely on impulse at the store in the moment.
Then again, maybe that's why those companies (Coke, etc.) are so successful and others like Hostess are spending so much time figuring out how to do it cheaper rather than better. ;)
they were crazy about making sure, for example the labels all face out and stock place to the edge of the shelf. Since then I've worked with lots of food products companies including about the oldest and largest chocolate company in the world and the amount of time, money and management involvement in product placement is staggering.
I see the TastyKake guys in Wawa. They are like artists in stocking their stuff - constantly adjusting and readjusting the shelves.
Modern grocery stores are, in essence, consignment shops. Don't expect to get anything there that a massive company is not trying to shove down your throat. If the store has to waste an ounce of money or effort to sell something, they will not carry it.
WickerBill
06-24-13, 07:35 PM
They are going to sell so many Twinkies on July 15... take them away, lose the unions, bring them back, half of America goes crazy and buys 3 boxes... profit. Conspiracy theory anyone?
Andrew Longman
06-25-13, 09:02 AM
If I were an investor I would be worrying about July 16, and July 16 2014
That company was systematically looted by vulture capitalists. Now it will be a bargain basement operation making money poisoning people, with very low costs and high margins. Ain't 'Murca great!
Don Quixote
06-25-13, 02:48 PM
:D
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/q71/s720x720/1045242_201730346648748_1497818357_n.jpg
http://i40.tinypic.com/14cb9z4.jpg
TravelGal
08-17-13, 06:20 PM
Anyone tried the Hostess Cupcakes yet? TravelGuy spied them at the local store. We did a taste test this morning. My tummy says these are a little smaller than that last ones. These are 90g, 3.17 oz. The others probably 3.25 or 3.50 oz. Can anyone check?
Overall, I liked these better but I did notice that the white swirl is not bright white and the icing is definitely thinner. The cream center was 98% the same and though the cake is not as much like devil's food (moist), I liked it better. Close enough. :thumbup:
No cupcakes but I got Twinkies tonight and I was reminded of why I've never been a big fan. I can't speak to any changes in those since I got them so rarely. I also picked up some Ho-Hos to sample. Three to a pack seems odd.
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