Twinkies vs. HP: Which Brand Will Enjoy Sweeter Recovery?
Question: What do Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) and Hostess Twinkies have in common? Answer: Both are made from roughly six ingredients; both are suffering from changing consumer and tastes and corporate mismanagement; and both will eventually enjoy some sort of renaissance comeback. Which brand will have a faster, sweeter recovery?
November 21, 2012
twinkees
Question: What do Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) and Hostess Twinkies have in common? Answer: Both are made from roughly six ingredients; both are suffering from changing consumer and tastes and corporate mismanagement; and both will eventually enjoy some sort of renaissance comeback. Which brand will have a faster, sweeter recovery? The VAR Guy invites you to chew on this analysis.First, let’s start with the facts. The six primary ingredients of each brand:
Twinkies: (1) Wheat flour, (2) sugar, (3) corn syrup, (4) niacin, (5) water, (5) high fructose corn syrup and (6) shortening.
HP: (1) An abandoned garage that once stood for innovation; (2) a board of directors that sours on CEOs about every two years; (3) falling hardware sales; (4) missed software opportunities; (5) under performing IT services revenues; (6) and an inability to execute on acquisitions.
Sick To Your Stomach…
Wow, neither brand looks very appetizing at the moment. Things are particularly bad as Hostess tries to liquidate its various businesses — including Twinkies — and HP pursues legal action against former Autonomy executives who allegedly misled the company during M&A discussions. (Autonomy’s former CEO denies any wrongdoing.)