Business failures, costly decisions and the lessons they leave behind.
The full archive, in the appLondon's largest discount house held other banks' reserves, then gambled them on iron and shipping. It failed on Black Friday 1866. Bagehot wrote the rulebook.
Read the caseThe street-interview ad repeated a slur for Down syndrome, then cut in footage of a person with it. JINS Taiwan deleted the video and apologized.
Read the caseKarl said cigarettes would attract shoplifters. Theo said they would sell. They divided Germany in two. Neither Aldi sells cigarettes today.
Read the caseAHMSA produced 5.5M tonnes of steel a year and survived two restructurings. A third failed. The tax authority added $3B. The court ordered it sold.
Read the caseSun Art Retail's revenue fell 13% to ¥72.6B. Twenty hypermarkets shut. The CEO left. Alibaba's bet on bricks-and-mortar grocery was unravelling.
Read the caseRyanair ran ads calling itself the greenest airline. The ASA ruled the claims unsubstantiated: 'major airline' has no agreed definition.
Read the case170 million users, a NYSE IPO, a generation's photo album. Then WeChat arrived, the founder pivoted to used cars, and the site went dark in 2024.
Read the caseA 1990s star of French prêt-à-porter entered receivership in 2023 with ~100 stores. Revenue falling, treasury empty. The court put it up for sale.
Read the caseAn elevator ad said five-nut mooncake tasted bad because you're too young and life hasn't hit you yet. Pulled in one day. The apology blamed 'the leaders'.
Read the case好欢螺's WeChat headline read 《女性，是什么味道？》. The article meant 'don't define women.' The title defined them. China Women's Daily called it out by name.
Read the caseChina's biggest menswear brand signed the star of The Knockout. The retouched posters made him look like a wax figure. HLA deleted everything within hours.
Read the caseFounder Zhang Yong bet the pandemic would end in months. It didn't. The stock lost 75% and $43 billion in market value.
Read the caseAfter sacking 800 crew without notice, P&O's CEO told MPs it broke the law, said he'd make the decision again, and revealed replacements earned £5.50 an hour.
Read the caseAn Indian beauty aggregator raised $342M and bought brands at premiums. When cash ran out, Sirona sold for a third of cost, ScoopWhoop for a fifth.
Read the caseByju's bought India's most visible sports sponsorship in 2019 and paid until September 2022. Then BCCI's ₹158 crore unpaid claim became an insolvency petition.
Read the caseThe June 2019 KAWS UT launch in China produced viral videos of brawls, leopard-crawls and mannequin-stripping. The shirts sold out; the brand flinched.
Read the caseThe caption read: 'Here you go, at 4pm est, write the below.' The entire marketing brief went live with the Bootea shake photo.
Read the caseA 47-year-old British fashion chain was already losing money when the pandemic hit. Administration came in June 2020: 35 stores closed, 545 jobs gone.
Read the caseA 93-year-old chain that once outsold B&M fell behind on price, stores and online. The owners took dividends, not action. Administration came in August 2023.
Read the caseHe promised to beat Luckin in 35 months. T97 burned ¥100M in five years on flagship rents, a 150-person team and free site-selection — 11 stores remained.
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