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 ...
Apparently a business plan that isn’t working too well....
What’s wrong with Wendy’s ? Their food is good. They need to do breakfast though.
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.
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.
I’ll take your word that there’s a market for stand alone PDAs. I thought that trend went away faster than Nehru jackets.
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.
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.
bttt
..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?
.....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.
Your list is interesting. Why do you think these companies are not long-termers? And why Wendy’s?
Okay.
Not really. Doctors and nurses still use stand alones in the field.
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...
“Whats wrong with Wendys ? 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
Well in that case, I will settle for new management!
Schools aren't producing literate kids. Additionally, I imagine they project online and digital book content to eliminate the need for hard print books.
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.
But BK food is nasty and their "mascot", the king guy is just plain creepy. I'd avoid them for either of those reasons.
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.
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.