SolarWorld was a top-three solar maker — then China priced it into insolvency
Once a top-three solar company, SolarWorld couldn't match cut-price Chinese modules after subsidies were cut. It filed for insolvency in 2017.
Read the casemistake.clubA CASESTUDIES.CHAT ARCHIVE
Learn from mistakes.
Preferably not your own.
Business failures, costly decisions and the lessons they leave behind.
The full archive, in the appPublished cases
3,222 PUBLISHED CASES · REGULARLY UPDATEDSpaceX built rockets in a Boeing hangar — vertical integration was strength and bottleneck
In 2002, SpaceX set up shop in a former Boeing hangar in Hawthorne. The plan: build 80% of the rocket in-house. The result: three failed launches, then orbit.
Read the caseTelltale's games were award-winners — then it ran out of money and shut overnight
Telltale Games, maker of The Walking Dead games, announced a 'majority studio closure' in September 2018, laying off about 250 people almost overnight.
Read the caseTesla bought a closed GM plant and built cars the Silicon Valley way — production hell
In 2010, Tesla bought the former NUMMI plant in Fremont. The plan: build the Model S with Silicon Valley speed. The reality: 'production hell' in 2017–2018.
Read the caseToyota transplanted its factory system to Kentucky — and found the system was the culture
In 1988 Toyota opened its first US plant in Georgetown, Kentucky. It brought the andon cord and kanban cards. What it could not bring was the culture.
Read the caseVirgin Media left a marketing database open for 10 months — 900,000 exposed
A Virgin Media marketing database was misconfigured and left open for about ten months, exposing roughly 900,000 customers' names, addresses and phone numbers.
Read the caseSun Hung Kai passed to three brothers at once — the structure held until it did not
Hong Kong’s largest developer was left to three sons in equal shares. When they stopped agreeing, nothing in the structure could settle it.
Read the caseBen Moss Jewellers, a Canadian chain since 1910, filed for creditor protection in 2016
A 106-year-old Canadian jewelry and watch retailer filed for CCAA creditor protection in May 2016, closing 11 stores as the weak dollar squeezed it.
Read the caseGoldwelt Juweliere filed for insolvency in 2025 — 9 stores closed, 60 jobs lost
A German family-owned jewelry chain founded in 1934 filed for insolvency in February 2025, closing 9 of 13 stores in Austria and affecting 60 jobs.
Read the caseSanofi's blockbuster eczema drug trial failed — and wiped $13B off the stock
AmliTelimab was Sanofi's most promising pipeline asset. When Phase III data disappointed, the stock fell 10% and the company lost years of R&D spend.
Read the caseAvon filed for Chapter 11 after 400 talc lawsuits — $1.3B in debt, sold for scraps
The 138-year-old direct-selling cosmetics giant was driven into bankruptcy by talc liabilities. Its non-US operations were sold for $125M.
Read the caseDebenhams' Middle Eastern franchise collapsed, closing 28 years of stores across the Gulf
British department store expanded into the Middle East in 1997 via Alshaya Group. When the UK parent was liquidated, every franchise store closed.
Read the caseApple's China supply chain bet: one COVID lockdown stopped iPhone production
Apple built most iPhones in one Chinese city — Zhengzhou. When zero-COVID shut Foxconn in 2022, shortages lasted weeks and Apple rushed to diversify.
Read the casePapa John's founder blamed NFL protests — then lost the NFL, the CEO job and his brand
In 2017, John Schnatter said NFL anthem protests hurt Papa John's pizza sales. The backlash cost him sponsorship, the CEO role, and eventually the chairmanship.
Read the case3M's PFAS gamble: decades of profits followed by $10.3B in water cleanup liability
3M made PFAS for 50+ years knowing it was toxic. In 2023 it paid $10.3B to settle water contamination claims — the cost of a molecule built to never break down.
Read the caseCoupang's 2025 breach: 34M accounts exposed by a former employee's data key
In 2025, a former Coupang employee stole a data key and accessed 33.7M accounts — nearly all Korean adults. Korea imposed its largest ever data fine of $409M.
Read the caseGoogle's Gemini Super Bowl ad: $8M for a spot with a factual error and faked AI output
In 2025 Google spent ~$8M on a Super Bowl ad for Gemini AI. The Wisconsin spot had a cheese error, and The Verge reported the AI output was faked.
Read the caseIKEA's founder was a Nazi sympathiser — the 1994 revelation blindsided the brand
In 1994, letters revealed Ingvar Kamprad had been a member of a Swedish fascist party since age 16. IKEA had no crisis plan for its founder's past.
Read the caseLedao Auto ran a 'Qingming battery swap' ad — NIO fired 2, disciplined 4
Ledao, NIO's sub-brand, used 'leave anytime' for a Qingming ad — accused of trivialising it. 2nd flop in 3mo. NIO: 2 quit, 4 disciplined. Trending 95h.
Read the caseXiaoyangge sold ¥3.87M of 'beef rolls' — not original, 42K scammed, 1M followers lost
Wang Hai exposed Xiaoyangge's 'original beef rolls' as not original. Supplier fined ¥500K, 42K buyers, potential ¥42M compensation. 1M followers lost, 30 days.
Read the case