Like many things, products and companies come and go. Some of our most beloved things have made their way off of a shelf and out of our thoughts. No longer will these products be coming to a home near you. Do you think your brand is on its way to extinction? According to 24/7 Wall St., the major criteria for determining the future of a brand is:
1. Declining sales and losses
2. Disclosures by the parent of the brand that it might go out of business
3. Rising costs that are unlikely to be recouped through higher prices
4. Companies that are sold
5. Companies that go into bankruptcy
6. Companies that have lost the great majority of customers
7.Operations with withering market share
Brands: Lehman Brothers, Cingular Wireless, Hummer
Companies: Kodak, MSN Messenger, General Motors, Compaq, Blockbuster, Pan Am, Circuit City
Products: VHS Tapes, Walkman, Slide Projectors, Zip Drive
What happened to all these products and companies?! They didn’t remain relevant. People got tired of the product or service or the company ended up going bankrupt! With such a huge amount of options, people really have to get invested in products. It’s too easy to find a substitution, so advertisers need to find a way to make consumers feel like there is not a suitable substitute.
New companies are constantly opening and old are closing. Each year 24/7 Wall St. predicts ten American brands that will disappear before the end of the next year. Let’s take a look at the companies that might be on next years “discontinued” list:
Two struggling in the highly competitive retail category are Lululemon Athletica Inc. and Aeropostale Inc. Both brands are losing out to more cost-effective, fashion-forward alternative brands.
Retail isn’t the only category suffering, we also may start to experience a loss in the broadband industry. The Comcast Corporation will likely buy out Time Warner Cable and AT&T will take over DirecTV. Douglas A. McIntyre of 24/7 Wall St. states, “having larger market share could also allow these companies greater price leverage with content providers like Netflix and premium cable channels.”
Food brands, photo-editing websites and even technology companies are all being lost in a society filled with so many options. Read more in-depth about all these products here: 10 Brands that will Disappear in 2015.
So keep in mind, if there is a product or service that you really love – don’t take it for granted. Before you know it, it could be going, going, gone!
*References:
http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2010/02/blast-from-the-past-vintage-technologies-that-we-no-longer-use/
http://www.businessinsider.com/12-dead-brands-that-are-still-well-known-2012-10#pan-am–hasnt-flown-a-single-plane-in-more-than-20-years-1
http://alexshaikh.com/10-brands-dominated-the-world-and-today-no-longer-exist/