Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

7 companies that won't make it to 2020
MSN Money ^ | 12/9/2009 | Michael Brush

Posted on 12/09/2009 7:34:19 AM PST by SeekAndFind

NO SPACE FOR COMPLETE EXPLANATION, CAN ONLY POST EXCERPTS. READ ENTIRE ARTICLE BY CLICKING ABOVE LINK :

Potentially fatal flaws come in many forms. But three crop up the most when you talk to experts: excessive debt, superior competitors and the inability to keep up with technological change.

1. Palm

With the Treo, Palm (PALM, news, msgs) was an early pioneer of the move to smart phones. So it doesn't seem right that stronger competitors such as Apple (AAPL, news, msgs) and Research In Motion (RIMM, news, msgs) are now going to crush it. But that seems to be Palm's fate.

2. Sears

Sears remains one of the great mysteries in retail: It's not clear why it still exists. Yes, we know consumers love Craftsman tools, DieHard batteries and Kenmore appliances. But there's a fuddy-duddy aspect to its stores that makes it a wonder Sears has survived the current decade.

3. Blockbuster

Video rental icon Blockbuster is a great example of how technological change can crush winners that fail to keep up.

4. Eastman Kodak

The company that brought us Kodachrome spent most of its life as a near monopoly. Back in the good old days, it only had to face down Fujifilm.

5. Borders

Like Blockbuster, Borders (BGP, news, msgs) is getting hit by technological changes that leave it dazed and confused.

6. Magellan

Once a novelty, GPS -- the technology that plots your location via satellite -- is now ubiquitous. Besides dashboard GPS devices in cars, consumers can now get GPS access in smart phones and even cameras.

7. McClatchy

Technology has been particularly hard on the news business, as content has moved online but advertising dollars have been slow to follow. For smaller, undiversified newspaper companies burdened with huge debt loads, time is running out.

(Excerpt) Read more at articles.moneycentral.msn.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Editorial; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 2020; companies; competition; economy
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-96 next last
To: Borges

Apparently a business plan that isn’t working too well....


61 posted on 12/09/2009 9:33:26 AM PST by clintonh8r (Oath Keeper and Manhattan Declaration signer)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 58 | View Replies]

To: Le Chien Rouge

What’s wrong with Wendy’s ? Their food is good. They need to do breakfast though.


62 posted on 12/09/2009 9:36:47 AM PST by PLMerite (Ride to the sound of the Guns - I'll probably need help.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Lou L
I used to have a Sears Hardware 5 minutes from my house. It was great to be able to hope in the truck and go get a part or tool I needed while working on a project. Then along come K-Mart and some genius decides - hey, lets take out half of the hardware and put in appliances.

Lets see, people go out and buy appliances once every 10 years or so? Hardware on the other hand...

They closed about six months or so later. Maybe a year tops. Sat empty for a year or two, and is now an ACE Hardware. Busy place.

63 posted on 12/09/2009 9:38:34 AM PST by AFreeBird (Going Rogue in 2012)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind
Palm should get out of the smartphone market and go back to stand alone PDAs. There are many markets that still use PDAs and will need PDAs for the distant future. If they choose to go back into the PDA market, they will have a virtual monopoly. Perhaps they should merge with Magellen and start making niche electronic devices for nerds on the go.

Film is still needed for disposable cams. Advertising's future is in billboards and painting the sides of vehicles and buildings.

Sears needs to scale down or it will go the way of Ward's.

Blockbuster also has a niche too, since a brick and mortar store is always a needed due to the nature of the business, but scaling down is a good option. Same for B&N.

64 posted on 12/09/2009 9:42:55 AM PST by TypeZoNegative (Pro life & Vegan because I respect all life, Republican because our enemies don't respect ours.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: TypeZoNegative

I’ll take your word that there’s a market for stand alone PDAs. I thought that trend went away faster than Nehru jackets.


65 posted on 12/09/2009 9:44:16 AM PST by Richard Kimball (We're all criminals. They just haven't figured out what some of us have done yet.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 64 | View Replies]

To: netmilsmom

Last week the Blockbuster in our town unveiled a giant “Going Out of Business” banner out front. I remember walking into the local West Coast Video when that store went out of business about 8 years ago to see if there were any good deals. Basically all they had was shelves upon shelves of... VHS tapes. Cheap. Real cheap. I bought nothing.


66 posted on 12/09/2009 9:53:51 AM PST by Lancey Howard
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 49 | View Replies]

To: clintonh8r

Better yet, try www.alibris.com, an online catalog of used and new bookstore inventory from around the world. Usually save 50-80% for 3-month old books, and great to find the older books in which I am interested.


67 posted on 12/09/2009 10:05:20 AM PST by bt_dooftlook (ACORN = Another Communist-Overrun Rats-Nest)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 47 | View Replies]

To: bt_dooftlook

bttt


68 posted on 12/09/2009 10:07:31 AM PST by ConservativeMan55
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 67 | View Replies]

To: Lancey Howard
...Bought nothing!"

..and why should you?

$9/month @ Netflix gets you a gazillion hours of great streaming, and no need to handle or store anything.

I love the bookmark feature, you can pick up exactly where you left off even if it was last year when you stopped watching a movie or show.

I do love the libraries though, even the naughty commie librarians don't bug me too much.

How did the libraries become communist indoctrination centers?

69 posted on 12/09/2009 10:08:00 AM PST by norraad ("What light!">Blues Brothers)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 66 | View Replies]

To: GSWarrior
Your memory is flawed.

.....Blockbuster continued its ambitious expansion program in 1988. In March, the company purchased Video Library, Inc., for $6.4 million plus stock.

Thanks for playing.

70 posted on 12/09/2009 10:08:37 AM PST by JoeSixPack1
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 48 | View Replies]

To: Le Chien Rouge

Your list is interesting. Why do you think these companies are not long-termers? And why Wendy’s?


71 posted on 12/09/2009 10:08:57 AM PST by Mamzelle (Who is Kenneth Gladney? (Don't forget to bring your cameras))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: JoeSixPack1

Okay.


72 posted on 12/09/2009 10:24:05 AM PST by GSWarrior
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 70 | View Replies]

To: Richard Kimball

Not really. Doctors and nurses still use stand alones in the field.


73 posted on 12/09/2009 10:38:26 AM PST by TypeZoNegative (Pro life & Vegan because I respect all life, Republican because our enemies don't respect ours.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 65 | View Replies]

To: HOYA97

JC Pennys has had terrible earnings the last three quarters as had other retailers but JC Penny stores are mostly located in malls which are headed for extinction.

In the next 10 years, retail is going to change dramatically and I believe Pennys fades.

JMO...


74 posted on 12/09/2009 10:59:53 AM PST by Le Chien Rouge
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 31 | View Replies]

To: PLMerite

“What’s wrong with Wendy’s ? Their food is good. They need to do breakfast though.”

The fast food will industry will become even more cut throat competitive in the next decade. I believe that the economy will probably be rough in the next several years and one of the big Fast Food giants will crash.

Unlike BK or MCDonalds, Wendy’s has not had much innovation in the 90’s, and I think it’s going to catch up with them.

Furthermore,their patrons are older and the let’s face it, fast food is mostly consumed by a younger demographic.

I


75 posted on 12/09/2009 11:12:20 AM PST by Le Chien Rouge
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 62 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

Well in that case, I will settle for new management!


76 posted on 12/09/2009 11:20:53 AM PST by freespirited (People talk about "too big to fail." Our government is too big to succeed. --Chris Chocola)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 56 | View Replies]

To: Borges
What’s wrong with Borders?

Schools aren't producing literate kids. Additionally, I imagine they project online and digital book content to eliminate the need for hard print books.

77 posted on 12/09/2009 11:23:31 AM PST by highlander_UW (To anger a conservative tell him a lie. To anger a liberal tell him the truth.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies]

To: Borges
I hate Blockbuster. Their selection strinks and they’re a massive strip mall eyesore.

Once I went into a Blockbuster looking for Chariots of Fire. In 1981 it was nominated for 7 academy awards (back when they took picture quality into account) and won 4 of them, including best picture of the year. Blockbuster didn't have a single copy, they did, however, have an entire shelf end display of Jackass 2 with at least 20 copies.

78 posted on 12/09/2009 11:27:16 AM PST by highlander_UW (To anger a conservative tell him a lie. To anger a liberal tell him the truth.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies]

To: Le Chien Rouge
Unlike BK or MCDonalds, Wendy’s has not had much innovation in the 90’s, and I think it’s going to catch up with them.

But BK food is nasty and their "mascot", the king guy is just plain creepy. I'd avoid them for either of those reasons.

79 posted on 12/09/2009 11:31:49 AM PST by highlander_UW (To anger a conservative tell him a lie. To anger a liberal tell him the truth.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 75 | View Replies]

To: Le Chien Rouge
JC Pennys has had terrible earnings the last three quarters

Now I remember something about them trying to do some stand alone stores like Kohl's. But it may be too late. You are right, the retail industry is headed for big changes in the next decade. If JCP and Macy's do not make it this will further kill the commercial real estate portion of the economy.

80 posted on 12/09/2009 11:40:26 AM PST by HOYA97 (Hoya Saxa = What Rocks)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 74 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-96 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson