Business failures, costly decisions and the lessons they leave behind.
The full archive, in the appCoty borrowed $12B to buy 41 P&G beauty brands in 2016. Integration failed, stock collapsed, and within four years it sold Wella and Clairol to KKR for $2.5B.
Read the caseCarlos Tavares squeezed Stellantis so hard that Jeep and Ram inventory piled up, US dealers revolted, and the board forced him out.
Read the caseEdgar Bronfman Jr. sold Seagram's DuPont stake for $9B to buy Universal, then merged with Vivendi. The family called it 'a disaster' and lost their fortune.
Read the caseMylan raised the EpiPen from $100 to $609 while classifying it as a generic to pay lower Medicaid rebates. The backlash cost $465M.
Read the caseChina's first women's phone brand peaked at 3M sales — then a Kuaishou scandal killed it.
Read the caseThe Chinese beauty brand grew to ¥1.9B on celebrity endorsements — while R&D was 1.5% and regulators found preservative 1.8× the legal limit.
Read the caseFaraday Future raised billions, went public via SPAC at $3.4B, and delivered 16 cars in 12 years. By 2025 it was losing $400M a year on $536,000 in revenue.
Read the caseLee Kum Sheung left a pot of oyster soup unattended. The liquid reduced to a thick brown sauce. That mistake became a global brand worth billions.
Read the caseCoca-Cola launched Life in 2013 with stevia and a green label — a healthier cola with 1/3 less sugar. By 2020 it was dead, cannibalized by Coke Zero Sugar.
Read the caseRanbaxy, India's largest drugmaker, falsified data in FDA applications for years. The company paid $500M. The CEO was fired. The company was sold.
Read the caseBayer bought Monsanto for $63B in 2018. Then Roundup lawsuits flooded in: 165,000 claims, $10B+ in settlements, and over 60% of Bayer's market value gone.
Read the caseDavid Yi launched Good Light in 2021 with a message of inclusion. By 2026, cheaper viral competitors and 25% tariffs made the business unsustainable.
Read the caseHarrods’ Buenos Aires store, the brand’s only branch outside London, closed in 1998 after a currency crisis and a licensing dispute with the new London owner.
Read the caseQuiksilver's women's line closed all Taiwan stores by August 2026, after the parent's US licensee filed Chapter 11 and the Asian market shifted.
Read the caseIndia's Koutons Retail expanded from a single store to 1,300 outlets in a decade. The debt from that growth was ₹660 crore. The company never recovered.
Read the caseMahindra & Mahindra was Mahindra & Mohammed. A co-founder left Pakistan 1948. Company could not afford stationery. They kept the name. It became a $21B brand.
Read the caseBeauty Community grew rich on Chinese daigou shoppers. When China regulated the channel in 2019, revenue collapsed and the stock fell from 23 baht to 0.30 baht.
Read the caseKopiko launched in Indonesia in 1982. For 39 years it was a domestic candy. K-drama product placements from 2021 made it a global brand in over 80 countries.
Read the caseKia declared bankruptcy in 1997 during the Asian crisis. Hyundai acquired 51%, hired a top designer, and rebuilt the brand. By 2025, Kia sold 3.14M vehicles.
Read the casePavel Durov was forced out of VK, the Russian Facebook he built. A side project he and his brother started became the global messaging platform Telegram.
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