I'm fascinated and curious about lists that predict the death of a corporate entity...they're often accurate foreshadowing but the timing isn't usually on par.
So, for 2012, the following companies are on 'death watch', as they struggle to find themselves in the new economy (as of right now anyway), blindly wandering around for the almighty dollar.
Eastman Kodak-well...for some obvious reasons-they waited too long to convert a decades-long hold on the market to accommodate the new consumer as print photos fade into the obscurity they propose to save. They broke into a bizarre array of other businesses-showing the corporate desperation to make something out of their eroding business plan.
I hate to say it but once the Baby Boomers are done with pictures, the photo print business will die too. It's too easy to look at and share online for FREE. Printing them at home is also cheaper and faster...and EK failed to capitalize on that market as it emerged.
OfficeMax-I can't say I'm surprised by this one. They're a local company...I used to have a corporate contract with them but canceled it after going through 5 reps in less than a year-each one having to take 2 weeks to get up to speed on my account. They don't have their shit together at all. The supplies are WAY over-priced and the staff in the stores ask you if you need help at least 20x per visit. I recall one of my last visits to their stores: One guy asks if I need help-I politely say "no, thanks". I make it 1/2 way down the aisle and a woman approaches from the other end and asks the same question. I told her that there was a guy wearing the same uniform as her-she could help me by keeping him from bothering me while I shop. I hate shopping for office supplies in the store...
Netflix-Reed Hastings can kiss my ass. There, I said it. They had a great business plan-a good business model and then they went and got stupid. Did they sit around their big comfy table, bored with counting the cash rolling into their account and wonder:
"Things are going great, Reed, how can we screw this up?"
"I know, let's break apart the two parts of our successful business model, raise prices by 60% and change the name of the part of the business that's funding this monkey operation." Yep, that should do it.
The Quikster name was a joke-check Twitter for the punchline. They made some loser-dipshit super famous by sending all kinds of Twitter traffic his way. Anyone with 10 minutes of common sense would have done a little research to see if the name change could work (and maybe checked the now market driving social media) before making the change. Nope, we're fucking invincible...DO IT!
I canceled my account with Netflix as soon as they announced the break up of the two sides. I watch movies and enjoyed the on demand part but the truth is-their best selection was the DVDs because the streaming side was like a crusty Blockbuster on a Saturday night-shitty movies that no one wanted to watch were the selection.
Now I get emails asking me to come back to Netflix. Until I get a picture of Reed on his knees, I'm not even going to consider it.
Research In Motion-this one is a true lesson in just how fast the market can bite you in the proverbial ass. Two years ago, RIM held more than 50% of the market. I used to have Blackberries and I really liked them. Well, until the Android platform came around and showed me (and countless others) how much easier and useful a phone could be. They now have less than 10% of the market in the US. Maybe they should have looked back to a time at the turn of the decade when Nokia held a commanding chunk of the US cell phone market-and they lost it all due to not being able to convert their strategy fast enough. When is the last time you saw a Nokia phone?
Best Buy-All I can say is that I can't WAIT for these asshats to go out of business! I loathe this company. I'm pretty sure their interview process exists to simply ensure that you're a self-righteous douchebag with no common sense. The Geek Squad is a joke played on those who are not smart enough to use common sense. With the evolution of consumer intelligence, Best Buy should receive the punch in the throat they deserved years ago.
HewlettPackard-This company is a complete mess. A mess that started with the acquisition of Epson...and just keeps getting crazier every year. A fast food joint has more stable management with far more common sense. They're on, what, their third or fourth CEO in as many years? Is it at all feasible that anyone below the CEO believes that the company knows where it's going? They sell shitbox computers loaded with bloatware that does nothing but slow everything down. The only way to make it slower is to have The Geek Squad 'optimize' it for you.
It's going to be an interesting year...
Background Tune: "Tighten Up" by The Black Keys
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