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The next Sears?

ReliableOstrich

ReliableOstrich

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Sears thread got me thinking.

What's the next storied American company that will over the next 15 years lackadaisically mismanage itself into the abyss?

I'm going to go with Shell and ExxonMobile (or really your choice of companies in oil and gas).
Electric vehicles and alternative sources of energy are here to stay. There will still be oil needs to generate electricity, but as energy storage & battery tech improves, we'll all be able to have a power station on top of our home or apartment.

If I were in the oil and gas space, I'd be investing like a mofo in consumer energy storage tech.
 
Sports Authority. Who needs them? Junky equipment and awful customer service. The clothes and shoes are decent but you can get clothes and shoes anywhere...
 
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BacardiNole said:
Sears thread got me thinking.
What's the next storied American company that will over the next 15 years lackadaisically mismanage itself into the abyss?
I'm going to go with Shell and ExxonMobile (or really your choice of companies in oil and gas).
Electric vehicles and alternative sources of energy are here to stay. There will still be oil needs to generate electricity, but as energy storage & battery tech improves, we'll all be able to have a power station on top of our home or apartment.
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I'm with you on electric vehicles and alternative sources of energy being here to stay. Hell, right now I'm probably going to sell my Z06 and buy a Leaf in the next 6 months. But the pattern has always been that new energy sources come online to serve additional demand. They don't really substitute.

If I were in the oil and gas space, I'd be investing like a mofo in consumer energy storage tech.
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I fear you'd go belly up when your competitors focused on oil and gas drilling, which we'll be doing for at least another century. The storage tech of the hydrocarbon is hard to beat.
 
Big Oil companies aren't going anywhere. Smaller less financially stable companies will be purchased by the big companies. Gas was $2.29 this morning and we will have low oil prices for years to come due to the glut and massive increase in reserves. Until alternative energy is economically competitive without subsidies, it will remain a niche player. You can probably get a great deal on a Prius now.

McDonalds seems to be in a death spiral, but they will stick around. Subscription cable TV will disappear, but the cable companies also provide internet.
 
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cmanole said:
Sports Authority. Who needs them? Junky equipment and awful customer service. The clothes and shoes are decent but you can get clothes and shoes anywhere...
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They just closed 12 stores in the Denver area earlier this year. Like the slutty girls say, Dick's is where it's at.
 
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Sports authority is getting their butts kicked by Academy. Academy is like the Walmart of sporting goods.

Some old storied companies that might go away are newspapers. All of them. Other print offerrings like Readers Digest and TV Guide, too.
 
dmm5157 said:
Didn't Wards already go belly up in the 90's?
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thatsthejoke.jpg
 
dmm5157 said:
Didn't Wards already go belly up in the 90's?
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The original Montgomery Ward went under in 2000 I think. All of their brick and mortar retail is gone but I think someone bought the rights to the domain name and there is an online retailer called Montgomery Ward.

Sports Authority closed their locations in Jacksonville. Academy opened up close to both locations they had and they were hit hard.
 
Blackberry- Who in the heck has one of these anymore?
Travel Agents- no need for them now, and once the current crop of senior citizens croaks, then game over.
Cable/Satellite TV- crossed fingers
Newspapers/Magazines- good for the airport or hotel breakfast, not much else
Movie Theaters- they have to be taking a hit right?
Hallmark stores- their only saving grace was turning into UPS stores, great move
Burger King- has to be the worst of the big chains
Cell phone accessories- nobody uses the bluetooths or belt clips anymore and they're making the new phones stronger and waterproof, chargers are all universal usb now, etc
Sports Authority- Cman is right, I walked into one the other day and it felt like a Kmart. Dicks and Academy blow it away.
 
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This has already been picked up on in media, but teen fashion stores/brands, like Abercrombie, Aeropostale, etc.
 
Nole Lou said:
Many of these things are all but dead now, so along that line, I'll throw in The Yellow Pages.
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It is so discouraging to have those phone books at my front door every 6 months. I know there are plenty of folks out there that don't have smart phones, and if I wasn't lazy right now ("working") I'd find that stat of how many households in America have internet/hi speed internet. Seems like a giant waste of money and resources to continue to print and distribute phone books.
 
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PoopandBoogers said:
Blackberry- Who in the heck has one of these anymore?
Travel Agents- no need for them now, and once the current crop of senior citizens croaks, then game over.
Cable/Satellite TV- crossed fingers
Newspapers/Magazines- good for the airport or hotel breakfast, not much else
Movie Theaters- they have to be taking a hit right?
Hallmark stores- their only saving grace was turning into UPS stores, great move
Burger King- has to be the worst of the big chains
Cell phone accessories- nobody uses the bluetooths or belt clips anymore and they're making the new phones stronger and waterproof, chargers are all universal usb now, etc
Sports Authority- Cman is right, I walked into one the other day and it felt like a Kmart. Dicks and Academy blow it away.
Click to expand...

It must be only me, but I'm not a fan of Dick's. <------that reads wrong, lol, but what I'm saying is I like Sports Authority better. Way better deals and sales IMO.
 
JCPenny is the next Sears.

cable companies 10 years from now will be a shell of what they are today, due to internet distribution.

ditto for the broadcast networks.

restaurants - Burger King.
 
ericram said:
I am going to say Best Buy. They are just one big display. Go find what you want and then order online.
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As long as there's confusion in the electronics market, which there is a ton of, physical locations like Best Buy will still be around until that generation is no longer a consumer. Best Buy was smart, they have a home theater installation section now (Magnolia) that will install anything home theater related (example: you can buy everything for yourself on Amazon and have them come out and install it - other places you have to buy something from that location). Best Buy also is a fully certified cell phone provider and seller. The last time I went, had to be 30 plus people standing in line for some cell phone issues. Best Buy also became more focused on Apple (certified dealers and technicians) and laptop Geek Squad services.

The big reason why they might stick around, tech is moving too fast for people to keep up and people don't want to waste their time and money researching, so they ask someone at Best Buy. I'm shopping for a TV and looking for someone to do some small installation stuff, the TV section was a mob scene and everyone (most of the people there were over 45) were obsessing over 4K, 1080p, resolution, and tech questions. As long as that gap exist, Best Buy might just hold on.
 
Royal Dutch Shell as an American company? Shell is headquartered in the Netherlands and incorporated in Great Britain.

I agree with the poster that mentioned Best Buy
 
seminoleed said:
Comcast. Lack of any concept of customer service will do them in.
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I don't think that happens any time soon. The lack of customer "care" has been known for a long time, but they're still the largest cable company in the US and the largest internet provider in the US. And for their internet service, there's not much real competition for them in the areas in which they operate. Their service is just good enough to keep the government and potential competitors from doing anything about them.
 
nolebum said:
Royal Dutch Shell as an American company? Shell is headquartered in the Netherlands and incorporated in Great Britain.

I agree with the poster that mentioned Best Buy
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Sometimes, maybe once or twice a year, I'll go to Best Buy or RADIO SHACK (no one mentioned them yet?) just to buy something anything because I like the option to go see an actual person to talk about what I'm buying. Yesterday I over paid horrendously for an aux cable at RS. But the guy showed me some compact Bluetooth speakers that I might get for my daughter's birthday.

I really hated it when TigerDirect closed their physical stores.
 
Motorola...Post split, the Mobility business was bought by Google which sold cable boxes to Arris. Google took the patents they wanted and sold the rest of the business to Lenovo. On the Solutions side, the networks line was sold to Nokia Siemens, the enterprise mobility (bar-code scanners) was sold to Zebra, and the government safety line (police scanners, etc) is looking for a buyer.
 
Bartdog said:
Sometimes, maybe once or twice a year, I'll go to Best Buy or RADIO SHACK (no one mentioned them yet?) just to buy something anything because I like the option to go see an actual person to talk about what I'm buying. Yesterday I over paid horrendously for an aux cable at RS. But the guy showed me some compact Bluetooth speakers that I might get for my daughter's birthday.

I really hated it when TigerDirect closed their physical stores.
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I think Radio Shack has bit the dust also..all the locations around me in Brandon, Fl are all closed
 
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nolebum said:
Royal Dutch Shell as an American company? Shell is headquartered in the Netherlands and incorporated in Great Britain.
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Damn, got rung up on a technicality. Fair enough.

The viability of movie theaters is questionable to me -- seems like people are staying home to watch on their big screens more, theaters are gravitating towards larger seats and full-service to expand revenue streams and utilize unsold seat inventory. Not sure how this premium movie going experience will workout. The "The Interview" straight to online experiment was interesting, though something Sony was forced into -- but if they film studios can start routing movies straight to consumers homes and cut out the middle man (AMC/Regal), then they can work on their own online distribution channels (sonypix.com, apps, etc) and keep the whole pie for themselves.

My habits aren't indicative of the general public but I only go to the theater if it's some huge action movie and even then I'm ultra selective about the movies I waste money on. Most of my movie watching happens on flights. :(
 
Best Buy
On a separate note, I do think cable/satellite providers are going to change drastically in the next 10 years but I don't think they are going away. I know "cutting the cord" is the trend but I'm not sure that model can be sustained as is. Lots of factors to that thought but really I just think their will always be a premium on live events and that typically requires a subscription.
 
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nolejam99 said:
Best Buy
On a separate note, I do think cable/satellite providers are going to change drastically in the next 10 years but I don't think they are going away. I know "cutting the cord" is the trend but I'm not sure that model can be sustained as is. Lots of factors to that thought but really I just think their will always be a premium on live events and that typically requires a subscription.
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espin exec came out and said they plan on offering a free standing espin product in the next 5-10 years, decoupled from cable subscriptions.

but to your point, cable/sat companies have huge lobbies and dump millions into making sure laws are such that they are protected from real competition. it'll be tough to crack legislated grip they have on anyone who seeks to consume anything on the on tv or the internet. they'll fight and bribe this to their death.
 
Rhino_nole said:
As long as there's confusion in the electronics market, which there is a ton of, physical locations like Best Buy will still be around until that generation is no longer a consumer. Best Buy was smart, they have a home theater installation section now (Magnolia) that will install anything home theater related (example: you can buy everything for yourself on Amazon and have them come out and install it - other places you have to buy something from that location). Best Buy also is a fully certified cell phone provider and seller. The last time I went, had to be 30 plus people standing in line for some cell phone issues. Best Buy also became more focused on Apple (certified dealers and technicians) and laptop Geek Squad services.

The big reason why they might stick around, tech is moving too fast for people to keep up and people don't want to waste their time and money researching, so they ask someone at Best Buy. I'm shopping for a TV and looking for someone to do some small installation stuff, the TV section was a mob scene and everyone (most of the people there were over 45) were obsessing over 4K, 1080p, resolution, and tech questions. As long as that gap exist, Best Buy might just hold on.
Click to expand...


Additionally, Samsung pays Best Buy for spots in their locations. Windows does too. You go into a bigger store you'll see 3 or 4 vendor sections, maybe more.

So while people are using Best Buy as a showroom, they're actually being paid to BE a showroom for those vendors. The vendors don't care that you didn't buy that cable there, as long as you need that cable because you are buying their products somewhere.

And yeah, the Beat Buy Mobiles are a huge money maker, as are the Geek Squads.

I was convinced they were going under a few years ago. Now, however, I'm convinced they're sticking around for a while.
 
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Bartdog said:
RADIO SHACK (no one mentioned them yet?)
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I was going to, but figured that was a forgone conclusion. The last time I went into one was to get my contact data switched over to a new phone due to a broken screen. They said that it was impossible, they needed the screen to be operational and I was SOL. Well I go home and jump on the laptop, google search, find Samsung's KIES program and transfer all my data over in less than 15 minutes. This is from knowing nothing at all about transferring to getting it done in 15 mins, and these guys are supposed to be the experts, psshh.

Their hdmi, audio, cat5, coax cables are pure crap and I can go to HD or online and find better, cheaper equivalents. There is one 10 mins away from here next to a Walmart and both times I've been in there in the last year, I was the only customer, with 2 sales associates acting like I'm their savior when walking through the door.
 
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BacardiNole said:
espin exec came out and said they plan on offering a free standing espin product in the next 5-10 years, decoupled from cable subscriptions.
Click to expand...

would like to see a link for that. its inevitable, but they'll do it kicking and screaming. it will prevent another must-take network like the SECN. ESPN is also in litigation with Verizon over pared down packages.

radio shak - they are already 86.

motorola- funny you mention that Google took the best parts and sold the rest to nokia. Nokia was then bought by Microsoft.

the republican party is another one that could disappear.
 
Sometimes I wonder if Apple is that company. Seems like it's a bit wobbly since Jobs died.

And although it is so popular you can't imagine it ever going away, I think the NFL is being mismanaged now.
 
PoopandBoogers said:
Blackberry- Who in the heck has one of these anymore?
Travel Agents- no need for them now, and once the current crop of senior citizens croaks, then game over.
Cable/Satellite TV- crossed fingers
Newspapers/Magazines- good for the airport or hotel breakfast, not much else
Movie Theaters- they have to be taking a hit right?
Hallmark stores- their only saving grace was turning into UPS stores, great move
Burger King- has to be the worst of the big chains
Cell phone accessories- nobody uses the bluetooths or belt clips anymore and they're making the new phones stronger and waterproof, chargers are all universal usb now, etc
Sports Authority- Cman is right, I walked into one the other day and it felt like a Kmart. Dicks and Academy blow it away.
Click to expand...
Some cell phone accessories will fade, but cell phone accessories in general is still a massive industry and will never just go away. Cell phone cases and screen protectors will still be huge EVEN if they continue to be built stronger and stronger.
 
nolejam99 said:
Best Buy
On a separate note, I do think cable/satellite providers are going to change drastically in the next 10 years but I don't think they are going away. I know "cutting the cord" is the trend but I'm not sure that model can be sustained as is. Lots of factors to that thought but really I just think their will always be a premium on live events and that typically requires a subscription.
Click to expand...

I would be all about "cutting the cord" if I could get a DVR option to work with my Roku. Alas, no real good options are out there yet that I know of.
 
Lemon Thrower said:
would like to see a link for that. its inevitable, but they'll do it kicking and screaming. it will prevent another must-take network like the SECN. ESPN is also in litigation with Verizon over pared down packages.

radio shak - they are already 86.

motorola- funny you mention that Google took the best parts and sold the rest to nokia. Nokia was then bought by Microsoft.

the republican party is another one that could disappear.
Click to expand...

Motorola isn't going anywhere, I know people that work there. According to him they just don't really have much in the way of commercial applications for consumers, they're still making a ton of money mainly as military and law enforcement contractors. They're basically big brother now, they just got rid of their consumer facade.
 
Nokia-Siemens, along with Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, and Samsung all seem to be humming along in the wireless infrastructure category. They all produce the radios that feed cell tower antennas and all seem to be doing just fine from my perspective. I think many of them shed the dead weight (minus Samsung, who seems to have a hand in everything) and focused on what they were good at.
 
Bartdog said:
Sometimes, maybe once or twice a year, I'll go to Best Buy or RADIO SHACK (no one mentioned them yet?) just to buy something anything because I like the option to go see an actual person to talk about what I'm buying. Yesterday I over paid horrendously for an aux cable at RS. But the guy showed me some compact Bluetooth speakers that I might get for my daughter's birthday.
Click to expand...

PoopandBoogers said:
I was going to, but figured that was a forgone conclusion. The last time I went into one was to get my contact data switched over to a new phone due to a broken screen. They said that it was impossible, they needed the screen to be operational and I was SOL. Well I go home and jump on the laptop, google search, find Samsung's KIES program and transfer all my data over in less than 15 minutes. This is from knowing nothing at all about transferring to getting it done in 15 mins, and these guys are supposed to be the experts, psshh.

Their hdmi, audio, cat5, coax cables are pure crap and I can go to HD or online and find better, cheaper equivalents. There is one 10 mins away from here next to a Walmart and both times I've been in there in the last year, I was the only customer, with 2 sales associates acting like I'm their savior when walking through the door.
Click to expand...

When I was a senior in college back in 1987 one of my last business classes was a group project which made a business plan for a failing business. We got Radio Shack. This was back when the PC Market was just emerging. Our plan was to spin off the hobby electric stuff and put all of the capital into the Tandy computer stuff...
 
FSUTribe76 said:
Motorola isn't going anywhere, I know people that work there. According to him they just don't really have much in the way of commercial applications for consumers, they're still making a ton of money mainly as military and law enforcement contractors. They're basically big brother now, they just got rid of their consumer facade.
Click to expand...

the company was split in two - motorola mobility, and motorola solutions. Google bought mobility. solutions is still around.
 
there is a good book on one of the trends behind all of this called the Long Tail.

with the internet economy, people want a lot more choices. Radio Shak previously offered an amazing selection of odd ball electronics parts, but amazon killed their selection by a couple orders of magnitude. what's the point of going to a retail store which may or may not have what you need when you can get it shipped to your door from amazon if it exists.
 
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