No Fear on American Capitalism

Thank you Twinkies!
In times of renewed fears of economic distress, and ever growing theories about a gradual demise of the American capitalist system, comes Twinkies to appease the naysayers.

Excuse me? How can this possibly make any sense when the 82 year-old “Golden Sponge Cake with Creamy Filling” is actually being axed?
Well perhaps we need to look at this melodrama from a more optimistic viewpoint for a change.

The news is out. Hostess Brands has filed for bankruptcy; the company is going out of business. Obituaries for Twinkies, along with its brethrens, have been written.
Emergency sirens are screaming. Hardcore loyalists are rushing to the isles in the hope for a last chance to putting their hands on whatever is left of their beloved cake. Post-Twinkies America will no longer be the same.

In the midst of this collective frenzy, comes schmackmammy from North Carolina to offer a box of Twinkies for $10,000 on ebay (yes that’s Ten Thousand dollars alright).
I wouldn’t have stopped at this event if the offer went unnoticed. But it didn’t. The box of 10 Twinkie cakes was actually sold for a lucky bidder at $10,100! That’s little over $1,000 for each bar…
Yet another textbook story about an iconic brand, many will agree. 

However, my aim today is not to psychoanalyze the possible brand-driven purchase motives (might do that some other time), nor to praise the role of the Internet in reshaping our purchase behavior. The impromptu observation I wanted to make is that American capitalism, the cornerstone of the American culture and that of the free world, proved to be much alive and doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.

Thank you Twinkies for reassuring the skeptics, and I'm sure we will see you back on the shelves again very soon.

Luxury giveaways anyone?

There is still hope.
Just read an insightful article claiming that Louis Vuitton burns all their unsold bags at the end of each fiscal year. Makes sense from an economical point of view provided the brand lives in a perfect world that is. Then again there's the darker side of the story.
Apparently only 1% of all LV bags sold in the world are authentic. This only endorses the desirability aspect of the brand, proponents may argue. LV is not designed having the masses in mind.

Fair enough, but isn't the 158 year old brand far beyond that stage already? Moreover, in a world economy infested by financial crises and shrinking demand for what's not considered basic necessity, I actually cannot think of any positive impact on the brand from the status quo no matter how hard I try.
But there is still hope.

As the war against increasingly perfectioned replicas continues, couldn't there be a win-win situation for LV to contemplate upon without jeoperdizing its high-end image? Perhaps it's time to consider a more productive way to get rid of unsold stock, and win the hearts of innumerous, disgruntled fashionistas in the process.
Afterall, does giving away 55,000 green cards every year weaken the appeal for the United States brand? I simply believe the opposite is true.