A Run on Twinkies?
As probably none of you know I have an actual career. I build tools for retailers to do data analytics. Such being the case I have access to about 40 super markets worth of sales data. In the wake of the collapse of Hostess no doubt some of you are wondering how quickly the Twinkies ran out.
So let’s look at a box of Twinkies first, and then at all of Hostess.
Box of Twinkies
Week Ending 10/30/12:
Units: 201
Sales: $964
Margin$: 68
Week Ending 11/6/12
Units: 226
Sales: $1,246
Margin$: $242
Week Ending 11/13/12
Units: 243
Sales: $1,296
Margin$: $398
Week Ending 11/20/12
Units: 428
Sales: $2,497
Margin$: $739
Now, looking at all products branded as Hostess (this does not include other brands such as Wonder Bread owned by Hostess)
Week Ending 10/24/12
Units: 1,175
Sales: $4,246
Margin$: $1,066
Week Ending 11/6/12
Units: 1,259
Sales: $5,121
Margin$: $1,734
Week Ending 11/13/12
Units: 1,296
Sales: $5,105
Margin$: $1,765
Week Ending 11/20/12
Units: 3,243
Sales: $13,159
Margin$: 4,456
So from this we can see that the retailer in question had about three weeks of Hostess products on hand, and there wasn’t any gouging. Also, they weren’t selling a ton of Twinkies. Less than a box per day per store prior to the run at the end.
Goodbye Twinkies, and my favorite, Ding Dongs.
Posted on November 24, 2012, in Pop Culture. Bookmark the permalink. 3 Comments.
So I guess they haven’t run out yet, and my understanding is that they probably won’t. I don’t eat any hostess products, but if did it would probably be dong-dongs. I won’t mourn much if Hostess is gone for good, but I suspect we will always have twinkies in one form or another.
My understanding is that they’ve run out for now. If Bimbo or some other company buys the rights to various products we will likely see those products again. But selling one box per store per day is a pretty pathetic rate.
I have a good friend who is/was in management at Hostess. He showed up at my doorstep Friday with a loaf of bread in his hand. “Here is some Wonder Bread from the last group to come off the line in Utah” he told me. So, my dilemma: Do we eat it, freeze it for posterity,
or, as someone in ward council suggested, sell it on E-Bay?…We’re eating it.
Dang, I’m gonna miss them Suzy Q’s.