Biology of Business

Dead Companies

139 extinct companies: 136 defunct, 6 bankrupt

Every extinction teaches us something about survival

Notable Extinctions

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Blockbuster

Video Rental & Entertainment
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WeWork

Real Estate / Co-working
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Watson Health

Healthcare Technology
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Adelphia Communications

Cable Television
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American Apparel

Retail - Apparel
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Ascena Retail Group

Retail - Apparel
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Barneys New York

Retail - Luxury
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Bethlehem Steel

Steel Manufacturing
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Boo.com

E-commerce - Fashion
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Borders Group

Retail - Books
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Braniff International

Airlines
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Brooks Brothers

Retail - Apparel

All Dead Companies

A

11 companies
Defunct

A&P (Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company)

Retail - Grocery

A&P's 2015 liquidation ended 156 years of grocery retailing. Once America's largest retailer, A&P couldn't survive compe...
Defunct

A123 Systems

Clean Energy

A123 Systems represented America's great hope in EV battery manufacturing. The company received $249 million in federal...
Defunct

Abraaj Group

Private Equity

Abraaj, once the developing world's largest private equity firm managing $14 billion, collapsed in 2018 when investors d...
Defunct

Adelphia Communications

Cable Television

Adelphia's 2002 bankruptcy revealed one of the largest family fraud schemes in corporate history—the Rigas family had st...
Defunct

Alitalia (2017)

Aviation

Alitalia's 2017 bankruptcy was its second - the Italian flag carrier had already failed in 2008. This time, after €7 bil...
Defunct

Aloha Airlines

Aviation

Aloha Airlines' 2008 bankruptcy and closure ended a Hawaiian carrier after 61 years. The company faced impossible econom...
Defunct

Alpha Natural Resources

Mining

Alpha Natural Resources collapsed into bankruptcy in 2015, just four years after its $7.1 billion acquisition of Massey...
Defunct

American Apparel

Retail - Apparel

American Apparel's two bankruptcies (2015, 2016) and liquidation demonstrated how founder-dependent companies can collap...
Defunct

Ansett Australia

Aviation

Ansett Australia's 2001 collapse grounded Australia's second-largest airline overnight, stranding 110,000 passengers. Th...
Defunct

Ascena Retail Group

Retail - Apparel

Ascena Retail Group's 2020 bankruptcy demonstrated how retail roll-up strategies can create unwieldy conglomerates that...
Bankrupt

Avianca

Aviation

Avianca's 2020 bankruptcy demonstrates how Latin American airlines face dual vulnerability—currency exposure and travel...

B

12 companies
Defunct

Blockbuster

Video Rental & Entertainment

Blockbuster didn't fail because it missed Netflix. The company knew about Netflix, even considered acquiring them for $5...
Defunct

Barneys New York

Retail - Luxury

Barneys New York's 2019 bankruptcy ended a luxury retail institution that had shaped American fashion for nearly a centu...
Defunct

Bennigan's

Restaurant

Bennigan's 2008 sudden closure—all 150 company-owned locations shuttered overnight—exemplifies how casual dining's middl...
Defunct

Bethlehem Steel

Steel Manufacturing

Bethlehem Steel's 2001 bankruptcy ended a company that had built the Golden Gate Bridge, the Hoover Dam, and the Madison...
Defunct

Bon-Ton Stores

Retail

Bon-Ton's April 2018 liquidation ended 120 years of regional department store history. The company operated 260 stores a...
Defunct

Bonwit Teller

Luxury Retail

Bonwit Teller's 1990 liquidation ended 95 years of luxury retail and was precipitated by Trump Organization's 1980 demol...
Defunct

Boo.com

E-commerce - Fashion

Boo.com's May 2000 collapse after burning through $135 million in 18 months became the symbol of dot-com hubris. The fas...
Defunct

Borden Dairy

Food Processing

Borden Dairy's January 2020 bankruptcy came two months after Dean Foods, demonstrating the dairy industry's structural c...
Defunct

Borders Group

Retail - Books

Borders' 2011 liquidation ended America's second-largest bookstore chain through a series of mechanism failures so textb...
Defunct

Bradlees

Retail

Bradlees' 2001 liquidation closed 105 discount stores across the Northeast after two bankruptcies (1995, 2000). The comp...
Defunct

Braniff International

Airlines

Braniff International's 1982 bankruptcy was the first major airline failure after deregulation, demonstrating how protec...
Bankrupt

Brooks Brothers

Retail - Apparel

Brooks Brothers' 2020 bankruptcy ended 202 years of American menswear tradition—the oldest clothing retailer in continuo...

C

15 companies
Defunct

Casper Sleep

Consumer Goods

Casper raised $340M and IPO'd at $1.1 billion to become 'the Nike of sleep.' But mattresses are purchased every 8-10 yea...
Defunct

Celsius Network

Cryptocurrency Lending

Celsius Network's July 2022 bankruptcy destroyed a crypto lending platform that had managed over $10 billion in customer...
Defunct

Century 21

Retail - Department Store

Century 21's 2020 bankruptcy ended a New York retail institution that had operated for 60 years across the street from t...
Defunct

Charming Charlie

Retail

Charming Charlie filed bankruptcy twice - in 2017 and 2019 - before liquidating entirely. The accessories retailer organ...
Defunct

Chesapeake Energy

Oil & Gas

Chesapeake's 2020 bankruptcy ended the fracking revolution's most aggressive evangelist. Aubrey McClendon built America'...
Defunct

Chi-Chi's

Restaurants - Casual Dining

Chi-Chi's 2003 bankruptcy and closure was triggered by a hepatitis A outbreak that killed 4 people and sickened 660 at a...
Defunct

Christmas Tree Shops

Discount Retail

Christmas Tree Shops' 2023 liquidation demonstrates how seasonal retail dependency creates boom-bust vulnerability. The...
Defunct

Christopher & Banks

Retail

Christopher & Banks' January 2021 bankruptcy ended a 65-year-old women's apparel chain targeting women over 40 in suburb...
Defunct

Chrysler (Pre-Bankruptcy)

Automotive

Chrysler's 2009 bankruptcy—its second near-death experience after 1980—reveals the fragility of organisms that survive t...
Defunct

Claire's Stores

Retail

Claire's March 2018 bankruptcy collapsed the teen accessory giant under $2 billion in debt from a 2007 LBO. Apollo Manag...
Defunct

Coldwater Creek

Retail

Coldwater Creek's 2014 bankruptcy collapsed a catalog and retail brand targeting women over 50. The company had thrived...
Defunct

CompUSA

Electronics Retail

CompUSA's decline and 2007 closure by Mexican retailer Grupo Sánchez demonstrated how electronics retail was being squee...
Defunct

Conseco

Financial Services

Conseco's 2002 bankruptcy at $61 billion in assets demonstrated how financial services companies can destroy themselves...
Defunct

Cosi Inc

Restaurant

Cosi's September 2016 bankruptcy collapsed a fast-casual chain known for its signature flatbread sandwiches. The company...
Defunct

Countrywide Financial

Financial Services

Countrywide was America's largest mortgage lender and the poster child for subprime excess before its 2008 distressed sa...

F

10 companies
Defunct

F.W. Woolworth

Retail

Woolworth's 1997 closure ended the original five-and-dime store concept after 118 years, demonstrating how format pionee...
Defunct

Fab.com

E-commerce

Fab.com's collapse from $1 billion valuation to $15 million sale exemplifies startup hype cycles. The design-focused fla...
Defunct

Fast (Checkout)

Fintech

Fast raised $120M to create a one-click checkout button, then collapsed in 2022 after burning $10M per month with minima...
Defunct

Fisker Automotive

Automotive

Fisker Automotive (the first one) collapsed in 2013, burning through $1.4 billion including $529 million in federal loan...
Defunct

Fisker Inc

Automotive

Fisker's 2024 bankruptcy marked Henrik Fisker's second failed attempt at electric vehicles. After Fisker Automotive's 20...
Defunct

Flooz.com

Digital Currency / E-commerce

Flooz.com's 2001 collapse demonstrated that digital currency concepts predated cryptocurrency by a decade—and failed for...
Bankrupt

Forever 21

Retail - Fast Fashion

Forever 21's 2019 bankruptcy was unexpected for a fast fashion retailer that had seemed to understand millennial and Gen...
Defunct

Francesca's

Retail

Francesca's December 2020 bankruptcy collapsed the women's boutique chain after a decade of decline. The company had gro...
Defunct

Fry's Electronics

Electronics Retail

Fry's Electronics' February 2021 closure ended a 36-year-old chain that had been beloved by tech enthusiasts for its war...
Defunct

FTX

Cryptocurrency

FTX's 2022 collapse from $32 billion to bankruptcy in 10 days represents the fastest destruction of institutional value...

P

11 companies
Defunct

Pan American World Airways

Airlines

Pan Am's 1991 bankruptcy ended an airline that had defined international aviation. The company pioneered transoceanic fl...
Defunct

Papyrus

Retail

Papyrus closed in January 2020 - weeks before COVID - demonstrating that the greeting card industry's collapse predated...
Defunct

Patriot Coal

Mining

Patriot Coal's story is one of deliberately manufactured failure. Peabody Energy spun off Patriot in 2007, stuffing it w...
Defunct

Payless ShoeSource

Retail - Footwear

Payless ShoeSource's two bankruptcies (2017, 2019) and liquidation ended America's largest discount footwear retailer, d...
Defunct

Pebble

Consumer Electronics

Pebble's 2016 sale to Fitbit for just $23 million after pioneering smartwatches demonstrates how category creators can b...
Defunct

People Express

Airlines

People Express's 1986 absorption into Continental demonstrated how low-cost airline strategies can succeed spectacularly...
Defunct

Pets.com

E-commerce / Pet Supplies

Pets.com's 268-day lifespan from IPO to liquidation made its sock puppet mascot the face of dot-com excess. The company...
Defunct

Pier 1 Imports

Retail - Home Goods

Pier 1 Imports' 2020 liquidation ended a home goods retailer that had been declining for a decade before COVID-19 delive...
Defunct

Plymouth

Automotive

Plymouth's 2001 discontinuation ended Chrysler's mass-market brand after 73 years. The brand had been Chrysler's volume...
Defunct

Polaroid (Bankruptcy)

Photography

Polaroid's 2001 bankruptcy demonstrates how instant gratification businesses face extinction when faster alternatives em...
Defunct

Proteus Digital Health

Healthcare Technology

Proteus Digital Health raised $500M to revolutionize medicine with ingestible sensors that tracked medication compliance...

S

13 companies
Defunct

Sabena

Aviation

Sabena's 2001 bankruptcy ended Belgium's 78-year-old flag carrier and triggered Swissair's collapse. The airline had bee...
Defunct

Sam Goody / Musicland

Retail

Musicland's 2006 bankruptcy collapsed Sam Goody, Suncoast, and Media Play stores after Best Buy sold the chain for $408...
Defunct

Sanchez Energy

Oil & Gas

Sanchez Energy's August 2019 bankruptcy collapsed an Eagle Ford shale operator that had grown through aggressive drillin...
Bankrupt

Sears Holdings

Retail

Sears' 2018 bankruptcy ended a 132-year run that once made it America's largest retailer. The company's collapse wasn't...
Defunct

Silicon Valley Bank

Banking

Silicon Valley Bank's March 2023 collapse was the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history and demonstrated how inter...
Defunct

Solyndra

Solar Manufacturing

Solyndra's 2011 bankruptcy became a political symbol of government investment failure, but the company's collapse was fu...
Defunct

Sports Authority

Retail - Sporting Goods

Sports Authority's 2016 liquidation ended America's largest sporting goods chain at a time when Americans were spending...
Defunct

Steak 'n Ale

Restaurant

Steak 'n Ale's 2008 closure alongside sister chain Bennigan's demonstrates how restaurant concepts age out of relevance....
Defunct

Stein Mart

Off-Price Retail

Stein Mart's August 2020 bankruptcy ended 112 years of discount retail. The Jacksonville-based chain operated 281 stores...
Defunct

Steinhoff International

Retail

Steinhoff's 2017 implosion ranks among the largest accounting frauds in history - €10 billion in fabricated profits over...
Defunct

SunEdison

Clean Energy

SunEdison's 2016 bankruptcy was the largest in solar history - $16 billion in debt. The company invented the yieldco mod...
Defunct

Sur La Table

Retail

Sur La Table's July 2020 bankruptcy collapsed the upscale kitchenware retailer after COVID shuttered its cooking classes...
Defunct

Swissair

Aviation

Swissair's 2001 bankruptcy shocked the world - Switzerland's flag carrier, once called the 'Flying Bank' for its financi...