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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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.
Ler o casoGoogle launched Stadia in 2019 with a custom controller and exclusive studios. By 2022 it was dead: no games, no users, no refund questions.
Ler o casoSnapchat merged friends and media into one feed. Users revolted, a Change.org petition hit 1.2M signatures, and Instagram Stories accelerated past it.
Ler o casoSwatch Group's CEO dismissed smartwatches as a passing fad. Apple Watch revenue now exceeds the entire Swiss watch industry's exports.
Ler o casoEstée Lauder derived ~30% of revenue from travel retail, mostly Chinese shoppers. When the rebound stalled, the stock lost over half its value.
Ler o casoA livestream host called critics 'lazy' for questioning Florasis's pricing. The backlash turned into a national debate about domestic brand premiums.
Ler o casoIn 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.
Ler o casoYatsen 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%.
Ler o casoTiffany'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.
Ler o casoLeEco, 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.
Ler o casoLuckin 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.
Ler o casoofo raised billions for dockless bike-sharing and burned it in a subsidy war. When funding stopped, millions waited for deposit refunds that never came.
Ler o casoA 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.
Ler o casoDecades of 'Angels' and a narrow ideal of sexy couldn't survive a culture shift toward inclusivity. The fashion show was cancelled in 2019.
Ler o casoFor 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.
Ler o casoHealthSouth, 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.
Ler o casoIn 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.
Ler o casoFor 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.
Ler o casoTupperware 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.
Ler o casoIn 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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