THE BIGGEST BUSINESS
COMEBACKS OF THE PAST 20 YEARS (3)
The announcement went
out in the summer of 2011: "We will no longer offer a plan that includes
both unlimited streaming and DVDs by mail." Subscribers would have to join
two separate services—one of them ludicrously dubbed Qwikster—and
pay $16 a month instead of $10. The ensuing backlash and exodus stunned
investors; more than 800,000 customers fled Netflix in a single quarter,
sending its stock plunging from $300 a share to around $65 by year’s end. Netflix
quickly scrapped Qwikster and apologized, but the company only truly recovered
from the gaffe with original series such asHouse of Cards, which
launched in 2013. Soon profit was skyrocketing, stock hit $400 per share, and
Amazon and Hulu were working furiously to catch up.
Disney may be the
best-known name in children’s entertainment, but its once-revered animation
division began the 21st century in a major slump. After ’90s successes such
as The Lion King, the studio started churning out duds like Hercules and Fantasia
2000. The result was a major downsizing in the early 2000s. But after
Disney acquired Pixar in 2006 and Ed Catmull and John Lasseter took charge, the
studio roared back with hits like Tangled and last year’s
world-dominating Frozen.
Nobody expected the
fusty Burberry to survive the storms of the modern fashion marketplace. Credit
two American executives with reviving the British brand: Rose Marie Bravo and
Angela Ahrendts (who now runs Apple’s retail division). As CEO from 1997 to 2005, Bravo brought in
designer Christopher Bailey. He and Bravo’s successor, Ahrendts, took the
turnaround from there, deftly blending updates of the old (that traditional
trench coat, that familiar check) with an embrace of the new (social media, aggressive China strategy). That led to an unprecedented
resurrection, record financial results, and acclaim for a fashion house that is
once again a luxury trendsetter.
"Everything is
awesome?" Not for the toymaker in the 1990s, when Lego was suffering due
to the rise of video games and other competition. In 1998, the company lost
money for the first time. Then Jørgen Vig Knudstorp stepped in as CEO in 2004,
and things started to snap into place. Knudstorp cut costs and introduced
soon-to-be-popular Lego lines like Ninjago. It worked: By 2013, Lego was the
world’s most profitable toymaker.
It used to be just
another big-box value store, but in the 2000s, Target rethought its image,
luring higher-end customers with surprising partnerships (Isaac Mizrahi,
Missoni, Lilly Pulitzer) and slick marketing. That new strategy—matched with
a rapid expansion—transformed Target into Tar-zhay: a mass-appeal retailer that
could deliver everyday needs in style. By 2005, Target had reached $50 billion
in annual sales.
BY FAST
COMPANY STAFF
http://www.fastcompany.com/3042431/meme/the-biggest-business-comebacks-of-the-past-20-years
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