Stitch Fix told stylists to hide the algorithm and own its misses, per stylists
In April 2022 Stitch Fix told stylists not to say 'algorithm' to clients and to 'take ownership' of bad picks, stylists told Retail Dive.
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 appThe latest cases
300 RECENT CASES · REGULARLY UPDATEDStitch Fix shut the mill it bought in 2017 and dropped its size-inclusive private label
In Oct 2022 Stitch Fix shut Mohnton Mills, cutting 56 jobs and ending the Mohnton Made label, as net loss grew to $207.1M.
Read the caseShift kept buying growth into a tightening market — a year later it filed Chapter 11
The SPAC-era used-car marketplace acquired Fair's marketplace and merged with CarLotz in 2022; by October 2023 it was liquidating, 80% of staff gone.
Read the caseRivian raised preorder prices up to 20%, then called it its 'most painful' mistake
In March 2022 Rivian told reservation holders they would pay up to 20% more; after outrage and a share drop, R.J. Scaringe apologised and reinstated old prices.
Read the caseRent the Runway cancelled orders and froze signups after a warehouse software upgrade
A September 2019 warehouse system upgrade delayed shipments; Rent the Runway cancelled a week of orders, paused new subscribers, and its supply chief left.
Read the caseRCom defied a court order to pay Ericsson $77M — its chairman got four weeks or jail
After missing settlement deadlines for nine months, RCom entered bankruptcy in February 2019 while the Supreme Court threatened Anil Ambani with jail.
Read the caseRACQ's renewal notices overstated last year's premium; ASIC sued over 434,548 of them
ASIC alleges RACQ renewals compared new prices with a 'last period premium' above what customers paid; RACQ apologised, then denied misleading.
Read the casePoshmark swapped its 20% seller fee for buyer fees, then reversed within three weeks
In October 2024 Poshmark cut seller fees to 5.99% and added buyer fees. Sales fell, sellers protested, and the CEO apologised and restored the old structure.
Read the casePopeyes Korea shrank from 200 branches to 10 and closed after no buyer would take it
Operator TS Food & System opened Popeyes in Seoul in 1994; outlets fell from over 200 to 10 by 2019, and it ended the licence in December 2020 with no buyer.
Read the casePhilips Hue stopped making two of three Lightguide bulbs over looks testing exposed
In February 2023 Signify found no fix for 'aesthetic inconsistency' in Lightguide triangle and globe bulbs and ended production; buyers could get refunds.
Read the casePayPal fired CEO Alex Chriss after two years; shares fell 17% on the day
PayPal replaced Alex Chriss with HP's Enrique Lores in Feb 2026 as its stock sat about 80% below five years earlier and 2026 earnings were guided lower.
Read the caseMexican makeup brand Pai Pai pulled its 'A la mexicana' palette over racism accusations
Shades named Norteña (white) and Sureña (dark brown) read as a colorism map of Mexico; the founders withdrew the palette and formed an activist council.
Read the caseNike's DTC gamble: purging wholesalers cost Donahoe his job and $24 billion
Outsider CEO John Donahoe cut wholesale partners and leaned on lifestyle dunks — a $24B stock rout and his exit followed in 2024.
Read the caseNestlé dropped Milkybar Wowsomes, its 'world first' lower-sugar bar, after under two years
The UK and Ireland bar used hollow sugar to cut sugar 30%. Nestlé pulled it in late 2019 with no reason given; reports cited weak sales and distribution.
Read the caseMEC lost C$11.5M as costs grew 2.5 times faster than sales, and its new CEO sounded alarm
Canada's top outdoor retailer lost C$11.5M on C$462M sales in 2018–19, with C$8M of restructuring, unsold inventory and members blaming over-expansion.
Read the caseKlarna cut human support for AI, then put engineers and marketers on the phones
Klarna's CEO admitted that prioritising cost 'lowered quality' after AI replaced support staff, and reassigned staff from other teams to handle customer calls.
Read the caseA Chase ATM glitch let bad checks pay out cash; JPMorgan sued to claw back $660,000
Viral videos in August 2024 showed customers withdrawing against bounced check deposits; Chase sent 1,000+ letters and recouped about $580,000 in court.
Read the caseJBS closed its Planterra plant-based meat unit 2½ years after launch, cutting 121 jobs
JBS USA launched Planterra and its Ozo brand in March 2020. In late September 2022 it filed a layoff notice, a week after touting a foodservice expansion.
Read the caseIntel's board shelved a $20B Nvidia bid in 2005, then spent four years on failed Larrabee
Intel passed on buying Nvidia for up to $20B and sank four years into Larrabee, the NYT reported; Nvidia is now about 30 times Intel's value.
Read the caseICICI Pru's '100% refund' pension plan was gamed: 90% surrendered, commissions clawed back
ICICI Prudential's 2024 annuity offered a full refund on surrender; advisers collected upfront commissions and rewards, and 90% of policies were surrendered.
Read the case