Sears has been circling the toilet for years now. I can't even stand walking into that store anymore. I for one will miss A&W though. There is always a place in my heart/stomach for greasy all American food done the old fashioned way.
As this depression deepens and ZIRP policies are written in stone for the next twenty years, it will get worse. I keep waiting for a ray of light from the U.S.GOV and the Fed but they haven't a clue, so enjoy the music before it stops.
I don't really agree with the definition of damage introduced by companies like Amazon or Apple. When Borders came out, lots of people were blaming Borders, as it would have killed the small bookstores. Now Borders is gone, and Amazon is considered the responsible... I mean, it is part of the rules of the market, with the consequent re-update of the entrepreneur skills and investments. Now with Amazon lots of small sellers (of books, music, shoes and whatever) have the chance to easily access the web-market, being able to collect customers all over the world. Not bad, isn't it?
What people want and how people want to buy always evolves and, consequently, the way to sell products is in constant evolution...
Clearly, this is not limited to physical products. Facebook killed all the other social networks, it's true. Why? Because it is more on fashion and people wanted a FB account rather than on MySpace. Alternatively, FB didn't exist and all the people would have been on MySpace. Web-based interaction cannot be disperse: everyone wants a single solution that can connect with everyone. When they'll invent a shared platform that you can access with different "social network browsers" we'll see the re-birth of new interfaces, that will be picked by the users according to functional and esthetic features (such as for the internet browsers). For example, I wish there will be a common platform that will be accessible by Skype, MSN, Yahoo, Google, iChat... as well as I can call a T-Mobile phone from AT&T!
Regarding Saab, I like a lot their sedans and I loooove their cabrios... too bad the company is in truble!
I'm sorry for Nokia too, mostly because this issue will kill the economy of Finland...
I suppose this is the efficiency of the competitive marketplace. What is troubling is the consolidation that is happening, perhaps leading to less competiting and ultimately less efficient markets.
I hate the Sears stores too. As soon as I walk in, I am accosted by aggressive salespeople trying to get me to sign up for a Sears credit card or some similar thing.
OTOH, I'm planning on building some DIY subwoofers and have been researching routers. It turns out there's some Craftsman routers that are said to be very good by a number of reliable posters, and they are priced very aggressively as well. Maybe they will transition to an online-only status.
I like Sears. Good deals on a lot of decent things from clothes to washers to tools. I do have a Craftsman router, though I would also look at Porter Cable and a few others if I was buying now.
Regarding Saab, I like a lot their sedans and I loooove their cabrios... too bad the company is in truble!
I'm sorry for Nokia too, mostly because this issue will kill the economy of Finland...
Nokia has seen trouble and changed their business models.. Back in the days they even made PC monitors! and they were before a lumber business!. I would not simply write them out .. We did write Apple out too ...
I suppose this is the efficiency of the competitive marketplace. What is troubling is the consolidation that is happening, perhaps leading to less competiting and ultimately less efficient markets.
I find this trend troublesome as well. Less choice, a few companies dominating an industry and able to starve off competition and innovation .. Not good for the customer/end user.
It seems however than in time of crisis companies find a way or a forced to re-invent themselves .Look at Ford and GM now.. They are roaring back (or so it seems) 3 years ago they were on their death bed.
For some on this list the end seems very near indeed, AW and Blockbuster comes to mind ... Neflix could be the sole culprit in this disappearance
I don't really agree with the definition of damage introduced by companies like Amazon or Apple. ... I mean, it is part of the rules of the market, with the consequent re-update of the entrepreneur skills and investments.
It is that. Rules of the market. But those rules go beyond just those two things if you mean them literally. Google can afford to give away Android because they make so much money from search. My first Android phone was so full of bugs yet it sold because handset companies picked that OS because it was free and Google was pumping money into it. That is what put Nokia on its back in addition to Apple. Is that a market force? Sure. Is it as noble as the two aspects you mentioned? Probably not. Says he, having worked at a company which settled anti-trust suit.
I don't think I'd quite put a nail in Nokia's coffin just yet, as they have proven to be very adaptable. Someone mentioned RIM today as a company destined for a top spot on that list.
It is that. Rules of the market. But those rules go beyond just those two things if you mean them literally. Google can afford to give away Android because they make so much money from search. My first Android phone was so full of bugs yet it sold because handset companies picked that OS because it was free and Google was pumping money into it. That is what put Nokia on its back in addition to Apple. Is that a market force? Sure. Is it as noble as the two aspects you mentioned? Probably not. Says he, having worked at a company which settled anti-trust suit.
I get your point. Your example is clear: a massively supported product, not so good as its reputation would induce to think, kills a better developed one thanks to the support of a huge company.
But I don't think that Saab is closing because lower quality but more fashionable cars came out... They are in trouble for financial issues that maybe cover problems of investments, choice of suppliers and so on... consider that Maserati, before the acquisition by Ferrari, was about to shut down! And then, when Maserati came out with the wonderful Coupe' (the one before the current Granturismo), they were reconsidering to block its production and to step down in construction quality because, been made with Ferrari technology, the same car, whether branded Ferrari, could had been sold at almost twice the price.
I think that, changing market field, causes and responsibilities of brand failure can vary a lot and sometimes are necessary consequences of changes in trends.
The type-writer brand Olivetti (whose some pieces are exposed in the MoMA) converted its production to PC and finally to mobile communications: then they ended under the property of Vodafone, after having created the most popular provider of cell phone plans in Italy...
