GE was America's most admired company — then its own conglomerate model destroyed it
Jack Welch made GE a $600B conglomerate. His successors couldn't manage it. By 2018 GE was split up, the stock down 75%, and the dividend was cut.
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3,222 PUBLISHED CASES · REGULARLY UPDATEDGoogle spent $300M+ on Stadia game streaming — then shut it down in three years
Google launched Stadia in 2019 with a custom controller and exclusive studios. By 2022 it was dead: no games, no users, no refund questions.
Read the caseSnapchat's 2018 redesign angered 1.2 million users — and handed Instagram the opening
Snapchat merged friends and media into one feed. Users revolted, a Change.org petition hit 1.2M signatures, and Instagram Stories accelerated past it.
Read the caseSwatch called the Apple Watch a joke — and watched its own sales decline for a decade
Swatch Group's CEO dismissed smartwatches as a passing fad. Apple Watch revenue now exceeds the entire Swiss watch industry's exports.
Read the caseEstée Lauder's travel-retail empire crumbled when Chinese shoppers stayed home
Estée Lauder derived ~30% of revenue from travel retail, mostly Chinese shoppers. When the rebound stalled, the stock lost over half its value.
Read the caseFlorasis's $10-per-gram eyebrow pencil made Chinese consumers do the math — and revolt
A livestream host called critics 'lazy' for questioning Florasis's pricing. The backlash turned into a national debate about domestic brand premiums.
Read the caseGap Inc. tried to split into two companies — the market said no, and the CEO left
In 2022 Gap Inc. announced a plan to spin off Old Navy as a separate company. The stock fell, the plan was scrapped, and the CEO departed.
Read the casePerfect Diary burned cash on marketing to become China's top beauty brand — then crashed
Yatsen Holdings spent over 60% of revenue on marketing to build Perfect Diary. The brand grew fast but never made money, and the stock crashed 90%.
Read the caseTiffany & Co. spent a decade watching its brand age — until LVMH bought it and fixed it
Tiffany's sales stalled for years as the brand failed to attract younger buyers. LVMH paid $15.8B, replaced the team, and tripled the marketing budget.
Read the caseLeEco tried to build an empire of everything at once — and ran out of money
LeEco, the Chinese group behind LeTV, expanded into phones, TVs, sports and cars at once. It ran out of cash in 2016; its founder fled to the US.
Read the caseLuckin Coffee faked 2.2B yuan in sales — China's 'Starbucks challenger' was a fraud
Luckin Coffee, the Chinese chain that took on Starbucks, fabricated 2.2B yuan (~$310M) in sales. Exposed in 2020, delisted from Nasdaq, it survived in China.
Read the caseofo pioneered bike-sharing in China — then couldn't return users' deposits
ofo raised billions for dockless bike-sharing and burned it in a subsidy war. When funding stopped, millions waited for deposit refunds that never came.
Read the caseRevlon, an iconic beauty brand for 90 years, filed for bankruptcy in 2022
A 90-year-old beauty icon crushed by acquisition debt and unable to keep up with indie brands and e-commerce. Revlon filed for bankruptcy in 2022.
Read the caseVictoria's Secret clung to a narrow ideal of 'sexy' — and lost a generation of customers
Decades of 'Angels' and a narrow ideal of sexy couldn't survive a culture shift toward inclusivity. The fashion show was cancelled in 2019.
Read the caseAvon's door-to-door 'Avon lady' model faded with the internet — then bankruptcy
For over a century Avon sold cosmetics through its door-to-door 'Avon ladies.' As shopping moved online, sales fell for years; Avon went bankrupt in 2024.
Read the caseHealthSouth overstated earnings by $2.7 billion — one of the largest healthcare frauds
HealthSouth, a hospital and rehab chain, overstated earnings by about $2.7 billion for years. Its founder was acquitted of fraud but later convicted of bribery.
Read the caseHackers got into Target through an air-conditioning vendor — and stole 40 million cards
In 2013 hackers used an HVAC vendor's credentials to breach Target, stealing 40 million card numbers and data on 70 million customers. The CEO resigned.
Read the caseBritannica's door-to-door sales force was undone by a CD-ROM — then the internet
For decades Encyclopædia Britannica sold its famous sets door to door. Microsoft's Encarta CD-ROM, then the internet, destroyed that model; print ended in 2012.
Read the caseTupperware, the icon of the kitchen party, filed for bankruptcy after decades of decline
Tupperware built an empire on its famous home parties and plastic containers. As shopping moved online and the parties faded, sales fell for years; it filed.
Read the caseBear Stearns bet the bank on subprime mortgages — and was sold for pennies in a fire sale
In March 2008 Bear Stearns, a top investment bank, ran out of cash after betting heavily on subprime mortgage securities. JPMorgan bought it for $2 a share.
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