Buy your competition, raise prices, cut the quality of the service, and then... shut it down.

[Wolf359]

Yeah all true in every industry, most prevalent in the tech industry right now.
If they don’t raise prices they run the companies they purchase into the ground in order to protect their own brand and price/profits

I think Coke has done the same thing, bought some fancy drinks that had rising market share and then lack of marketing causes sales to go down and then they can kill it a few years later.

In tech, sometimes they buy up the companies just for the patents and then just kill the rest of the company. I think HP had Palm and then just let it die.

Cisco also kinda did it with their video conferencing. But the founder of the company they bought went out and started Zoom so buying out tech doesn't always mean you get to kill the competition.

 

[alarmguy]

I think Coke has done the same thing, bought some fancy drinks that had rising market share and then lack of marketing causes sales to go down and then they can kill it a few years later.

In tech, sometimes they buy up the companies just for the patents and then just kill the rest of the company. I think HP had Palm and then just let it die.

Cisco also kinda did it with their video conferencing. But the founder of the company they bought went out and started Zoom so buying out tech doesn't always mean you get to kill the competition.

Yeah, that Zoom story is interesting depending on what some would think is interesting. Certainly made people some money, that is for sure.
But, even though its technically an American company, some claim and its most likely true most of its development is coming from a group in China.
There is concern here and some of it recently valid, of course with China and security which is stepping all over us on a scale we cant even keep track of.. I just read quickly on it. But understand a certain amount of data from the USA (and world) was being directed through servers in China.
Concern here as always, hacking, passwords learning about our networks. Anyway Zoom stopped it, wasnt intentional or something. I didnt care to read much on it. Im not involved with the company.

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

We have four trash haulers to choose from here, so our monthly cost has only increased once in eight years. Gave the guys $50 Walmart cards last year, and considering doubling that this year. I can almost set my clock by their morning arrival. I know they appreciate the thought, and it's a good investment in the local economy. Just think of the pita we would have if we didn't have that service available.

 

[nthach]

I think Coke has done the same thing, bought some fancy drinks that had rising market share and then lack of marketing causes sales to go down and then they can kill it a few years later.

In tech, sometimes they buy up the companies just for the patents and then just kill the rest of the company. I think HP had Palm and then just let it die.

Cisco also kinda did it with their video conferencing. But the founder of the company they bought went out and started Zoom so buying out tech doesn't always mean you get to kill the competition.

I remember when Cisco came out with TelePresence but that was also an acquisition - it was Tandberg in Norway who developed it. Cisco wanted to compete against Polycom. Now, with VoIP trunks and collaboration platforms like Teams and Slack(who Salesforce just bought out) the legacy suppliers are increasingly having to provide hardware to connect to those platforms. Polycom did get into the VoIP market to compete against Cisco and to a degree Avaya. Lots of SIP providers offered Polycom phones until China’s Yealink entered the market.

LG bought out webOS from HP. But an LG TV’s UX is far different than the Palm Pre’s.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

I think Coke has done the same thing, bought some fancy drinks that had rising market share and then lack of marketing causes sales to go down and then they can kill it a few years later.

In tech, sometimes they buy up the companies just for the patents and then just kill the rest of the company. I think HP had Palm and then just let it die.

Cisco also kinda did it with their video conferencing. But the founder of the company they bought went out and started Zoom so buying out tech doesn't always mean you get to kill the competition.

Look at SEARs. A giant , one time great American/Canadian company. They sold "everything" like big box Lowe's and Home Depot , Walmart etc... Actually they sold more. They had SEARs Auto / Tire Centers which I loved to get batteries , tires and occasional suspension parts from or even alignments. In addition to Lawn & Garden, some of the best tools in America. They even had clothes etc.... Probably too much to handle. Some companies get so big they become unmanageable especially if not traditionally owned and family run. Folks tried to blame Amazon etc for the demise. Not really true as Amazon had a deal for SEARs to install and deal with tire purchases in a partnership. There is an interesting article about the death of SEARs. It points to a hot shot hedge fund manager who has no problem buying / selling / trading and dealing "anything" that affects and destroys thousands of people's lives that were loyal employees to companies just as long as he makes his money thru success or failure. Seems to make no difference to some of these managers who clearly have no soul. https://www.institutionalinvestor.c...tation-and-Lost-Billions-of-Dollars-Or-Did-He

 

[CleanSump]

Yes, Sears wasn't destroyed deliberately by a competitor. It was extremely poor management decisions and misunderstanding of the Sears customer base that killed it. K-Mart didn't have a clue that Sears wasn't going to work with no high end merchandise in a nice store competing with the Macy's etc. The K-Mart model wasn't even working for K-Mart anymore. Poor marketing, poor choice, poor products in general, nasty stores, no real CS. Then the investor buyout of the floundering company SammyChevelle mentions above. Lines names sold, etc. The end of Sears as as we loved it "back in the day", as "they" say.

 

[Job]

I preferred Montgomery Ward to dominant Sears, was sorry to see them go. I liked Sears but maybe favored the underdog. Not necessarily bad management, but consumer trends. Now Walmart is competing with Amazon so I like WM more. Amazon has no retail stores as far as I know, a big negative.

 

[wag123]

The Sears demise started as far back as the late 70's when they started eliminating their experienced full-time sales staff (because they didn't want to pay their higher wages, sounds a LOT like what is happening now) and cheapening-up their product offerings because they decided that they wanted to compete with K-Mart and Target. At the time they were still the nation's #1 retailer, but things started to go downhill fast when their loyal customers went to the stores and, in addition to higher prices than K-Mart and Target, they couldn't get the help and customer service they were accustomed to and the products they were offering were no-longer a step above what the discount stores were offering. Montgomery Ward did the same thing, and suffered the same fate. If customers can't get any REAL help, they might as well buy from the cheapest place, hence the rise of Amazon.

 

[Wolf359]

I preferred Montgomery Ward to dominant Sears, was sorry to see them go. I liked Sears but maybe favored the underdog. Not necessarily bad management, but consumer trends. Now Walmart is competing with Amazon so I like WM more. Amazon has no retail stores as far as I know, a big negative.

I believe Montgomery Ward made a fatal mistake not to expand their stores, I think they were worried about another depression coming or that their business was already good so they didn't need to change. I was a fan of Sears, got lots of appliances there over the years, even knew the guy at the local sears store as I'd buy an appliance from him once or twice a year. Once they started charging for shipping and Home Depot/Lowes didn't, I stopped buying from them.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

The Sears demise started as far back as the late 70's when they started eliminating their experienced full-time sales staff (because they didn't want to pay their higher wages, sounds a LOT like what is happening now) and cheapening-up their product offerings because they decided that they wanted to compete with K-Mart and Target. At the time they were still the nation's #1 retailer, but things started to go downhill fast when their loyal customers went to the stores and, in addition to higher prices than K-Mart and Target, they couldn't get the help and customer service they were accustomed to and the products they were offering were no-longer a step above what the discount stores were offering. Montgomery Ward did the same thing, and suffered the same fate. If customers can't get any REAL help, they might as well buy from the cheapest place, hence the rise of Amazon.

Right. They all shoot themselves in the foot thinking they can operate successfully with employees they treat like dirt, cut hours and benefits from yet expect loyalty from same workers. I have not been checked out at Walmart by a Walmart employee in going over 3 or more years. They have about 25 cash register stations across the store front and 90% of the customers are checking our selves out. It is pathetic. I been telling the 'greeter,
fake police' at the door "know you do not need to see my receipt!" Blows their mind. I was reading how that is not really legal. They have been sued a few times lately and lost over cases where the "fake police / greeters" got aggressive and grabbed people almost like a citizen's arrest when the customer had less than $20 worth of products and had their receipt proving they had paid. Its such a stupid thing for a retailer to do especilly when no others do that.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

I believe Montgomery Ward made a fatal mistake not to expand their stores, I think they were worried about another depression coming or that their business was already good so they didn't need to change. I was a fan of Sears, got lots of appliances there over the years, even knew the guy at the local sears store as I'd buy an appliance from him once or twice a year. Once they started charging for shipping and Home Depot/Lowes didn't, I stopped buying from them.

I even saw a report about all of these Dollar Tree and General Dollar stores popping up all across the USA that are starting to cut into Walmart. I mean when you get in a position where these places like Walmart or other big stores killed all the little guys they become a pain to shop at. We often joke that our Walmart that opens from 0700am till 0900pm has a parking lot full of cars even when closed! It has really become a pain to go into those places they are so crowded all day long. I go sometimes before 0900am when almost empty yet still check myself out instead of look for a cashier who are usually hiding or talking on their cell phone while at work!

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Look at SEARs. A giant , one time great American/Canadian company. They sold "everything" like big box Lowe's and Home Depot , Walmart etc... Actually they sold more. They had SEARs Auto / Tire Centers which I loved to get batteries , tires and occasional suspension parts from or even alignments. In addition to Lawn & Garden, some of the best tools in America. They even had clothes etc.... Probably too much to handle. Some companies get so big they become unmanageable especially if not traditionally owned and family run. Folks tried to blame Amazon etc for the demise. Not really true as Amazon had a deal for SEARs to install and deal with tire purchases in a partnership. There is an interesting article about the death of SEARs. It points to a hot shot hedge fund manager who has no problem buying / selling / trading and dealing "anything" that affects and destroys thousands of people's lives that were loyal employees to companies just as long as he makes his money thru success or failure. Seems to make no difference to some of these managers who clearly have no soul. https://www.institutionalinvestor.c...tation-and-Lost-Billions-of-Dollars-Or-Did-He

Yes, Sears wasn't destroyed deliberately by a competitor. It was extremely poor management decisions and misunderstanding of the Sears customer base that killed it. K-Mart didn't have a clue that Sears wasn't going to work with no high end merchandise in a nice store competing with the Macy's etc. The K-Mart model wasn't even working for K-Mart anymore. Poor marketing, poor choice, poor products in general, nasty stores, no real CS. Then the investor buyout of the floundering company SammyChevelle mentions above. Lines names sold, etc. The end of Sears as as we loved it "back in the day", as "they" say.

Eddie Lampert looted the company for the real estate. It's really sad since Sears WAS Amazon!
If Amazon was physical stores and paper catalogs, it would be Sears