5 iconic companies that disappeared
http://money.msn.com/investing/5-iconic-companies-that-disappeared
Amoco
The oil company that started in 1910 was a giant in 1989. It was a leader in the lead-free gas movement and became the largest natural-gas producer in North America in the late '90s. Amoco never saw significant financial troubles: In 1997 the company earned $2.7 billion on revenue of $36.3 billion. But in 1998 it merged with British Petroleum in a $61 billion deal. Existing service stations were rebranded under the BP name, and the Amoco brand slowly dissolved.
Bethlehem Steel
Once America's second-largest shipbuilder and steel producer, Bethlehem Steel was beginning its decline in the late '80s, as the U.S. transitioned away from industrial manufacturing (amid lower labor costs in other countries).
But the thought of the company that built the Golden Gate Bridge going away entirely was still something few considered. It gave up shibuilding in 1997, and in 2001 the company was forced to file for bankruptcy, weighed down in part by spiraling pension and health-care costs as workers were laid off. Two years later International Steel Group bought what was left.
F.W. Woolworth
Woolworth's was the original five-and-dime store, blazing the trail for other retailers in the late 1800s. In the 1960s it was the site of the Greensboro sit-in that became a key moment in the civil rights movement. The department-store chain was already in decline in 1989 but didn't seem in danger of extinction.
A 1993 restructuring closed half of its 800 stores. And slowly but surely the rest followed. Woolworth as a retail brand and name is gone, but the company technically lives on. It renamed itself the Venator Group and began shifting its focus to its footwear division in 2001. Today it's known as Foot Locker.
Circuit City
Along with Best Buy, this electronics retailer was where you went to pick up the latest and greatest gadget through much of the 1990s. As online shopping took off, though, things began to falter. And bad retail locations and questionable business moves (like abandoning its lucrative appliance-sales business and partnering exclusively with Verizon for mobile phone sales) led to bankruptcy.
Officials tried to secure a buyer but were unable to do so, forcing the company to lay off 30,000 employees and liquidate its stores in 2009.
Compaq
In the early days of the personal computer, Compaq was a premier name, and by the mid-'90s it was the country's largest supplier of PC systems. By the end of that decade, though, it was suffering from product-quality issues and wasn't able to keep up with the rapidly changing industry.
Lower-cost competitors, like Dell, began capturing the attention of consumers — and the collapse of the dot-com bubble didn't help matters, as demand for the company's high-end systems evaporated. In 2002 the company agreed to merge with Hewlett-Packard, and the Compaq name slowly evaporated. Now, click to CNBC.com for a look at more icons that disappeared.
http://money.msn.com/investing/5-iconic-companies-that-disappeared
Amoco
The oil company that started in 1910 was a giant in 1989. It was a leader in the lead-free gas movement and became the largest natural-gas producer in North America in the late '90s. Amoco never saw significant financial troubles: In 1997 the company earned $2.7 billion on revenue of $36.3 billion. But in 1998 it merged with British Petroleum in a $61 billion deal. Existing service stations were rebranded under the BP name, and the Amoco brand slowly dissolved.
Bethlehem Steel
Once America's second-largest shipbuilder and steel producer, Bethlehem Steel was beginning its decline in the late '80s, as the U.S. transitioned away from industrial manufacturing (amid lower labor costs in other countries).
But the thought of the company that built the Golden Gate Bridge going away entirely was still something few considered. It gave up shibuilding in 1997, and in 2001 the company was forced to file for bankruptcy, weighed down in part by spiraling pension and health-care costs as workers were laid off. Two years later International Steel Group bought what was left.
F.W. Woolworth
Woolworth's was the original five-and-dime store, blazing the trail for other retailers in the late 1800s. In the 1960s it was the site of the Greensboro sit-in that became a key moment in the civil rights movement. The department-store chain was already in decline in 1989 but didn't seem in danger of extinction.
A 1993 restructuring closed half of its 800 stores. And slowly but surely the rest followed. Woolworth as a retail brand and name is gone, but the company technically lives on. It renamed itself the Venator Group and began shifting its focus to its footwear division in 2001. Today it's known as Foot Locker.
Circuit City
Along with Best Buy, this electronics retailer was where you went to pick up the latest and greatest gadget through much of the 1990s. As online shopping took off, though, things began to falter. And bad retail locations and questionable business moves (like abandoning its lucrative appliance-sales business and partnering exclusively with Verizon for mobile phone sales) led to bankruptcy.
Officials tried to secure a buyer but were unable to do so, forcing the company to lay off 30,000 employees and liquidate its stores in 2009.
Compaq
In the early days of the personal computer, Compaq was a premier name, and by the mid-'90s it was the country's largest supplier of PC systems. By the end of that decade, though, it was suffering from product-quality issues and wasn't able to keep up with the rapidly changing industry.
Lower-cost competitors, like Dell, began capturing the attention of consumers — and the collapse of the dot-com bubble didn't help matters, as demand for the company's high-end systems evaporated. In 2002 the company agreed to merge with Hewlett-Packard, and the Compaq name slowly evaporated. Now, click to CNBC.com for a look at more icons that disappeared.
I loved RCA's TVs. I don't think they ever gave us any problem. Oh well,it's the era of Samsung and LG.
