Twinkies temporary disappearance reminds me of the many times Sugar Ray Leonard retired to boost his public appeal and to sell tickets to his fights. Good marketing.
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'First batch' Twinkies go on sale at Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart rolls out collectible box of Twinkies in 1600 stores - three days ahead of planned nationwide return after Hostess bankruptcy.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
It's Twinkies comeback day at Wal-Mart, three days ahead of the snack's anticipated return nationwide.
Wal-Mart is rolling out the first batch of new Twinkies in 1,600 stores on Friday. And by Sunday, Twinkies will be available in 3,000 Wal-Mart stores, according to company spokeswoman Veronica Marshall.
Wal-Mart is selling Twinkies in an exclusive collectible box that says "First Batch" on the packaging and the new Twinkies tagline: "The Sweetest Comeback in the History of Ever." They cost $2.98 for a box of 10.
The world's largest retailer wasn't the only retailer that gave shoppers a sneak peek.
Grocery chain Albertsons, in a much smaller rollout, stocked Twinkies in about 100 stores on Thursday and will expand over the weekend, said company spokeswoman Christine Wilcox.
For its part, Twinkies maker Hostess Brands said in a statement to CNNMoney that Monday remains the official Twinkies launch date for all retailers.
"Hostess has shipped product to every major retail customer across the country. ... These shipments were coordinated to give everyone the same opportunity to display the product on July 15th," Hostess said. "Hostess has not, and is not, giving any particular retailer exclusivity or preference to have products first."
Twinkies and other Hostess products have not been produced since November, when Hostess Brands Inc. filed for bankruptcy to liquidate its 82-year-old business following a strike.
The new snack company, Hostess Brands LLC, was bought out of bankruptcy for $410 million by private equity groups Apollo Global Management.
