Prediction: 10 Brands That Might Disappear In 2015

(Molly)

Every year, 24/7 Wall Street looks around the American business landscape and makes a list of ten brands that they think are doomed. The list includes corporations, retail chains, and product lines, and is quite diverse. However, it’s not very accurate.

Let’s begin with the site’s prediction list of brands that will disappear in 2015:

1. Lululemon

2. DirecTV

3. Hillshire Brands

4. Zynga

5. Alaska Air

6. Russell Stover (this list was published before Lindt and Sprüngli made an offer to buy the company)

7. Shutterfly

8. Time Warner Cable

9. BlackBerry

10. Aeropostale

That’s a pretty good list, mixing companies that are doomed (Blackberry) with likely acquisition targets (Hillshire Brands and Time Warner Cable.)

Let’s look at the list that they released at this time last year of companies doomed in 2014. Granted, the year isn’t over yet, but we still have a good idea now of which companies will survive until December.

1. J.C. Penney – Okay, so the top CEO candidate didn’t want the job of running this place, but JCP isn’t dead yet.

2. Nook – The e-reader from Barnes & Noble will be spun off into its own company so it will stop dragging down the bookstore chain’s earnings, but continues to exist.

3. Martha Stewart Living Magazine – still going, and even available for iPad.

4. LivingSocial – still kicking, one of the few survivors of the coupon bubble of the Great Recession.

5. Volvo – still in business, making offensive social media posts in China.

6. Olympus – shut down its biotech division recently, but still selling cameras.

7. WNBA - the league got media attention for starting to openly market to its LGBT fans, and remains in business.

8. Leap Wireless – this one they got right, sort of. Leap Wireless is marketed as Cricket, and AT&T completed its acquisition of the company earlier this year.

9. Mitsubishi Motors – still in business and marketing tiny electric cars.

10. Road & Track magazine – the Hearst publication is still here, still putting out a print edition.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist