7 companies that won't make it to 2020

MSN Money ^ | 12/9/2009 | Michael Brush

[clintonh8r]

Apparently a business plan that isn’t working too well....

[PLMerite]

What’s wrong with Wendy’s ? Their food is good. They need to do breakfast though.

[AFreeBird]

I used to have a Sears Hardware 5 minutes from my house. It was great to be able to hope in the truck and go get a part or tool I needed while working on a project. Then along come K-Mart and some genius decides - hey, lets take out half of the hardware and put in appliances.

Lets see, people go out and buy appliances once every 10 years or so? Hardware on the other hand...

They closed about six months or so later. Maybe a year tops. Sat empty for a year or two, and is now an ACE Hardware. Busy place.

[TypeZoNegative]

Palm should get out of the smartphone market and go back to stand alone PDAs. There are many markets that still use PDAs and will need PDAs for the distant future. If they choose to go back into the PDA market, they will have a virtual monopoly. Perhaps they should merge with Magellen and start making niche electronic devices for nerds on the go.

Film is still needed for disposable cams. Advertising's future is in billboards and painting the sides of vehicles and buildings.

Sears needs to scale down or it will go the way of Ward's.

Blockbuster also has a niche too, since a brick and mortar store is always a needed due to the nature of the business, but scaling down is a good option. Same for B&N.

[Richard Kimball]

I’ll take your word that there’s a market for stand alone PDAs. I thought that trend went away faster than Nehru jackets.

[Lancey Howard]

Last week the Blockbuster in our town unveiled a giant “Going Out of Business” banner out front. I remember walking into the local West Coast Video when that store went out of business about 8 years ago to see if there were any good deals. Basically all they had was shelves upon shelves of... VHS tapes. Cheap. Real cheap. I bought nothing.

[bt_dooftlook]

Better yet, try www.alibris.com, an online catalog of used and new bookstore inventory from around the world. Usually save 50-80% for 3-month old books, and great to find the older books in which I am interested.

[ConservativeMan55]

bttt

[norraad]

...Bought nothing!"

..and why should you?

$9/month @ Netflix gets you a gazillion hours of great streaming, and no need to handle or store anything.

I love the bookmark feature, you can pick up exactly where you left off even if it was last year when you stopped watching a movie or show.

I do love the libraries though, even the naughty commie librarians don't bug me too much.

How did the libraries become communist indoctrination centers?

[JoeSixPack1]

Your memory is flawed.

.....Blockbuster continued its ambitious expansion program in 1988. In March, the company purchased Video Library, Inc., for $6.4 million plus stock.

Thanks for playing.

[Mamzelle]

Your list is interesting. Why do you think these companies are not long-termers? And why Wendy’s?

[GSWarrior]

Okay.

[TypeZoNegative]

Not really. Doctors and nurses still use stand alones in the field.

[Le Chien Rouge]

JC Pennys has had terrible earnings the last three quarters as had other retailers but JC Penny stores are mostly located in malls which are headed for extinction.

In the next 10 years, retail is going to change dramatically and I believe Pennys fades.

JMO...

[Le Chien Rouge]

“What’s wrong with Wendy’s ? Their food is good. They need to do breakfast though.”

The fast food will industry will become even more cut throat competitive in the next decade. I believe that the economy will probably be rough in the next several years and one of the big Fast Food giants will crash.

Unlike BK or MCDonalds, Wendy’s has not had much innovation in the 90’s, and I think it’s going to catch up with them.

Furthermore,their patrons are older and the let’s face it, fast food is mostly consumed by a younger demographic.

I

[freespirited]

Well in that case, I will settle for new management!

[highlander_UW]

What’s wrong with Borders?

Schools aren't producing literate kids. Additionally, I imagine they project online and digital book content to eliminate the need for hard print books.

[highlander_UW]

I hate Blockbuster. Their selection strinks and they’re a massive strip mall eyesore.

Once I went into a Blockbuster looking for Chariots of Fire. In 1981 it was nominated for 7 academy awards (back when they took picture quality into account) and won 4 of them, including best picture of the year. Blockbuster didn't have a single copy, they did, however, have an entire shelf end display of Jackass 2 with at least 20 copies.

[highlander_UW]

Unlike BK or MCDonalds, Wendy’s has not had much innovation in the 90’s, and I think it’s going to catch up with them.

But BK food is nasty and their "mascot", the king guy is just plain creepy. I'd avoid them for either of those reasons.

[HOYA97]

JC Pennys has had terrible earnings the last three quarters

Now I remember something about them trying to do some stand alone stores like Kohl's. But it may be too late. You are right, the retail industry is headed for big changes in the next decade. If JCP and Macy's do not make it this will further kill the commercial real estate portion of the economy.