swami says
Wow. It’s like the whole world is coming to an end.
Border’s and Architectural Digest :-(
I read on another site that Macy’s, Dillard’s, Ann Taylor, Office Depot and Home Depot are in jeopardy.
I hope Crocs stays. Great cheap indestructible shoes that never smell. if you don’t like them for adults, they are still wonderful for children. Even the world over, they could provide cheap indestructible footwear for poor children.
Thinking of "brand death" always reminds me of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, which featured the Bell System, Pan Am, Howard Johnson's ... not to mention nixie lamps!
In the night, and overhead a shovel of stars for keeps, the people
march:
"Where to? what next?"
I predict that within three years only one U.S.-flag international air carrier will exist. It will be owned by a consortium of the current airlines and the federal government, with Uncle Sam as majority shareholder. It will be our “national airline”, similar to Aeroflot, and will operate with heavy taxpayer subsidies.
I was surprised to see Palm on the list. I thought it was already dead and buried. Remember those ads and billboards with the naked woman that were controversial in the late nineties?
I’m screwed. I wear Crocs flip flops, buy my clothes at Gap, Banana Republic and Eddie Bauer, use a Palm phone, and one of my biggest customers is Home Depot. Maybe the market is trying to tell me something. Maybe overpriced rubber flip flops are silly. And maybe the Palm really does stink.
What’s killing Crocs is the imitation Crocs that everyone else has come out with. You can buy look-a-likes at Walmart for $5, so why buy genuine Crocs for $20? Unfortunately for Crocs they’ve won in the marketplace by creating demand for their product, but their high price and inability to stay ahead of copycats has doomed them. But they still make some great shoes.
ping
Think how great the world would be if people quit buying into the crap these businesses are selling.
“6. Gap (GAP) Old Navy and Banana Republic. “
What will teenage girls/boys do?
I read a column similar to this that predicted the demise of Star*ucks. I’m disappointed they didn’t make the list here too.
Since Home Depot forced the real local hardware stores and lumberyards out of business, I wonder where we are supposed to get stuff once HD closes. Not Lowe’s, that’s for sure—they don’t stock the stuff you really need, but just curtains and rugs and a few odds-and-ends that suburban homeowners need for some cosmetic fixes. If I need a hundred yards of Romex or a big serious masonry drill, they are sure not going to have it.
There are more than a few senior people in the banking industry that think the Citi brand will disappear. I know because I have been speaking with them in connection with a professional project I have been working on for the past several weeks.
That would be too bad about Borders. I prefer them to Barnes & Noble. Borders has a much better history selection. I never shop B & N: too much “Bush is evil” on the latest release shelves and their History section should be re-named “White Man’s Guilt.” Sure, Borders has the same, but they offer alternatives.
Oh well. I have an account with Amazon too.