Dead Companies

443 extinct companies: 421 defunct, 22 bankrupt

Every extinction teaches us something about survival

Notable Extinctions

†

A&P (Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company)

Retail - Grocery
†

Adelphia Communications

Cable Television
†

Air Berlin

Airlines
†

Alitalia

Airlines
†

American Apparel

Retail - Apparel
†

American Home Mortgage

Financial Services
†

Archegos Capital Management

Investment Management
†

Arrival (EV)

Automotive - Electric
†

Ascena Retail Group

Retail - Apparel
†

BankBoston Robertson Stephens (Failure)

Investment Banking
†

Barings Bank

Banking
†

Barneys New York

Retail - Luxury

All Dead Companies

A

33 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

A&P (Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company)

Grocery Retail

A&P's 2015 liquidation ended what was once America's largest retailer—a company that pioneered chain store economics in...
Defunct

A123 Systems

Clean Energy

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

ABC Learning

Education

ABC Learning's 2008 collapse—then Australia's largest childcare operator—demonstrates how rapid franchise expansion can...
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

Aereo

Media

Aereo used individual antennas to capture over-the-air TV and stream it to subscribers, exploiting a legal loophole the...
Bankrupt

Aeromexico (Bankruptcy)

Aviation

Aeromexico's 2020 bankruptcy completed the Latin American aviation trifecta of COVID casualties. Mexico's flag carrier f...
Defunct

Air Berlin

Airlines

Air Berlin's 2017 bankruptcy ended Germany's second-largest airline after years of losses. The company had tried to comp...
Defunct

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

Entertainment

Alamo Drafthouse's March 2021 bankruptcy collapsed the beloved dine-in cinema chain known for strict no-talking policies...
Defunct

Alitalia

Airlines

Alitalia's 2021 final replacement by ITA Airways ended decades of Italian flag carrier failures. The airline had been ba...
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

Amaranth Advisors

Hedge Fund

Amaranth's 2006 collapse—$6.6 billion lost in a week—demonstrates how concentrated commodity bets can destroy hedge fund...
Defunct

American Apparel

Retail - Apparel

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

American Apparel (Final)

Apparel Retail

American Apparel's 2017 final liquidation after second bankruptcy demonstrates how founder controversy can become perman...
Defunct

American Home Mortgage

Financial Services

American Home Mortgage's August 2007 bankruptcy came just weeks after New Century, as the subprime contagion spread. The...
Defunct

American Motors Corporation

Automotive

American Motors' 1987 sale to Chrysler ended the last independent American automaker. AMC had survived through innovatio...
Defunct

Ames Department Stores

Retail

Ames Department Stores' 2002 liquidation ended a discount chain that had grown to 700 stores through acquisition. The co...
Defunct

Ann Arbor News

Newspaper

The Ann Arbor News' 2009 closure after 174 years to become online-only demonstrates how digital transformation can equal...
Defunct

Ansett Australia

Aviation

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

Approach Resources

Oil & Gas

Approach Resources' November 2019 bankruptcy exemplified the shale oil bust that killed dozens of E&P companies. The Per...
Defunct

Archegos Capital Management

Investment Management

Archegos Capital's March 2021 collapse created $10 billion in losses at prime brokers when Bill Hwang's leveraged positi...
Defunct

ArcLight Cinemas / Pacific Theatres

Entertainment

ArcLight Cinemas' April 2021 permanent closure shocked Los Angeles - the beloved Cinerama Dome and ArcLight Hollywood wo...
Defunct

Arrival (EV)

Automotive - Electric

Arrival's 2024 bankruptcy ended the British EV company that had promised revolutionary microfactory production. The comp...
Defunct

Ascena Retail Group

Retail - Apparel

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

Ascena Retail Group

Retail

Ascena Retail's July 2020 bankruptcy collapsed a conglomerate of women's retail brands: Ann Taylor, LOFT, Lane Bryant, C...
Defunct

Astria Health

Healthcare

Astria Health's December 2019 bankruptcy collapsed a rural Washington state hospital system after a failed merger create...
Defunct

ATA Airlines

Aviation

ATA Airlines' 2008 closure ended a low-cost carrier that had pioneered cheap flights from the Midwest. The company filed...
Defunct

ATI Technologies

Technology

ATI's 2006 acquisition by AMD for $5.4 billion ended an independent graphics competitor. ATI was profitable but faced lo...
Defunct

Avenue Stores

Retail

Avenue's 2019 liquidation closed all 222 stores of the plus-size women's retailer. The company had been through bankrupt...
Bankrupt

Avianca (Bankruptcy)

Aviation

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

B

34 companies
Defunct

B. Altman and Company

Department Store

B. Altman's 1989 closure after 124 years demonstrates how real estate value can exceed retail value, creating perverse i...
Defunct

Banco Espírito Santo

Banking

BES's 2014 collapse demonstrates how family-controlled banks can be hollowed out by related-party lending. Portugal's la...
Defunct

Banco Popular Español

Banking

Banco Popular's 2017 resolution—Europe's first under new rules—demonstrates how banks can fail overnight when confidence...
Defunct

BankBoston Robertson Stephens (Failure)

Investment Banking

While BankBoston itself merged into Bank of America successfully, its investment banking arm Robertson Stephens failed s...
Defunct

Barings Bank

Banking

Barings Bank's 1995 collapse after 233 years demonstrated how a single rogue trader could destroy a century-old institut...
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

Beepi

Automotive

Beepi's 2017 collapse after raising $150 million demonstrates how peer-to-peer used car marketplaces face fundamental un...
Defunct

Bennigan's

Restaurant

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

Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities

Investment Management

Madoff's 2008 exposure as history's largest Ponzi scheme ($65 billion) demonstrates how reputation can conceal fraud for...
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

Better Place

Clean Energy

Better Place's 2013 collapse after $850 million raised demonstrates how infrastructure-first EV strategies can fail. The...
Defunct

Bird Global

Micromobility

Bird Global's 2023 bankruptcy ended the company that had pioneered electric scooter sharing, reaching a $2.5 billion val...
Defunct

Blockbuster

Retail

Blockbuster's 2010 bankruptcy collapsed the 9,000-store video rental empire that twice rejected buying Netflix. At peak,...
Defunct

Blue Apron

Food

Blue Apron pioneered meal kits but watched its $2 billion IPO valuation collapse to under $100 million as customer acqui...
Defunct

Bodega (Startup)

Retail

Bodega raised $2.5M to replace corner stores with AI-powered vending machines, generating immediate backlash for its nam...
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

Boo.com

E-commerce

Boo.com's 2000 collapse after burning $135 million in 18 months demonstrates how feature complexity can kill organisms b...
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

Brandless

Consumer Goods

Brandless sold generic products for $3, betting that eliminating brands would eliminate 'brand tax.' SoftBank invested $...
Defunct

Braniff International

Airlines

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

Breather

Real Estate

Breather raised $120M for on-demand private meeting spaces, essentially WeWork by the hour. The company collapsed during...
Defunct

Bricklin

Automotive

Bricklin's 1975 bankruptcy collapsed Malcolm Bricklin's attempt to build a safety-focused sports car in New Brunswick, C...
Defunct

British Home Stores (BHS)

Retail

BHS's 2016 collapse after sale to serial bankruptcy specialist Dominic Chappell demonstrates how ownership changes can a...
Defunct

Britishvolt

EV Batteries

Britishvolt's 2023 bankruptcy ended UK hopes for domestic EV battery production. The startup had promised a gigafactory...
Defunct

Brooks Brothers

Retail - Apparel

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

Brooks Brothers (Bankruptcy)

Apparel Retail

Brooks Brothers' 2020 bankruptcy after 202 years demonstrates how even the most established brands can become irrelevant...
Defunct

Brookstone

Retail

Brookstone's 2018 bankruptcy and mall store closures ended a gadget retailer that pioneered experiential shopping - mass...
Defunct

Brookstone (Bankruptcy)

Specialty Retail

Brookstone's 2018 bankruptcy and mall store closures demonstrate how gadget retail depends on foot traffic that disappea...
Defunct

Bumble Bee Foods

Food Processing

Bumble Bee's November 2019 bankruptcy collapsed the second-largest canned tuna producer in America. The company pleaded...
Defunct

BuzzFeed News

Digital Media

BuzzFeed News' 2023 shutdown demonstrates how serious journalism couldn't survive when supported by viral content that s...

C

31 companies
Defunct

Caldor

Retail

Caldor's 1999 bankruptcy and liquidation ended a Northeast discount chain that had expanded too fast with too much debt....
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...
Bankrupt

CEC Entertainment (Chuck E. Cheese)

Entertainment

Chuck E. Cheese's 2020 bankruptcy demonstrates how entertainment-dining hybrids faced COVID's existential threat. The pi...
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

Charlotte Russe

Retail

Charlotte Russe's 2019 liquidation closed 500+ stores of the young women's fashion chain. The company had filed bankrupt...
Defunct

Charlotte Russe (Final)

Teen Apparel

Charlotte Russe's 2019 final liquidation after multiple restructurings demonstrates how teen retail faced generational s...
Defunct

Charming Charlie

Retail

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

Cherry (Car Wash)

Consumer Services

Cherry raised $9M for on-demand mobile car washing, then collapsed in 2013 when customers wouldn't pay enough to cover l...
Defunct

Chesapeake Energy (Bankruptcy)

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...
Bankrupt

Cineworld (Bankruptcy)

Entertainment

Cineworld's 2022 bankruptcy demonstrates how theater chains face streaming disruption accelerated by COVID. The world's...
Defunct

Cineworld Group

Entertainment

Cineworld's September 2022 bankruptcy collapsed the world's second-largest cinema chain. The UK company had acquired Reg...
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

Coin (Card)

Consumer Electronics

Coin raised $15M for a single card that stored all your credit cards, eliminating wallet bulk. The company launched just...
Defunct

Coldwater Creek

Retail

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

Collins & Aikman

Auto Parts

Collins & Aikman's 2005 bankruptcy collapsed an auto parts supplier after aggressive acquisition strategy loaded debt it...
Defunct

Colonial BancGroup

Banking

Colonial BancGroup's 2009 FDIC seizure made it the sixth-largest bank failure in U.S. history at $25 billion in assets....
Defunct

Colonial Bank

Banking

Colonial Bank's 2009 failure reveals how fraud can remain hidden until economic stress exposes it. Taylor Bean & Whitake...
Defunct

Compaq Computer

Technology

Compaq's 2002 merger with HP ended the company that had pioneered the IBM PC clone and later challenged IBM directly. Co...
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

Continental Baking Company

Food

Continental Baking, original maker of Wonder Bread and Hostess cakes, was absorbed through conglomerate mergers. ITT acq...
Defunct

Convoy (Trucking)

Logistics

Convoy raised $1 billion to be the 'Uber of trucking' but shut down in 2023 when the freight recession exposed that digi...
Defunct

Corinthian Colleges

For-Profit Education

Corinthian Colleges' 2015 collapse after regulatory action demonstrated the for-profit education sector's vulnerabilitie...
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...
Defunct

Crosley Motors

Automotive

Crosley's 1952 closure ended Powel Crosley Jr.'s attempt to sell Americans on small, fuel-efficient cars. The Crosley wa...

D

18 companies
Defunct

Daewoo Motor

Automotive

Daewoo Motor's 2000 bankruptcy collapsed South Korea's second-largest automaker after the Asian financial crisis exposed...
Defunct

Data General Corporation

Technology

Data General's 1999 sale to EMC ended another minicomputer maker disrupted by PCs and servers. The company featured in T...
Defunct

David's Bridal

Specialty Retail

David's Bridal's 2023 bankruptcy demonstrates how category specialists face extinction when category economics change. T...
Defunct

Deadspin (Shutdown)

Digital Media

Deadspin's 2019 shutdown after 'Stick to Sports' directive demonstrates how media brands can be killed by owners who don...
Bankrupt

Dean Foods

Food & Beverage

Dean Foods' 2019 bankruptcy demonstrates how dairy industry consolidation couldn't save companies from milk consumption...
Defunct

Debenhams

Department Store

Debenhams' 2020 liquidation ended 242 years of British retail, demonstrating how department stores faced extinction acro...
Defunct

dELiA*s

Retail

dELiA*s' 2014 bankruptcy collapsed a catalog-turned-retail brand targeting teen girls. The company had pioneered teen ca...
Defunct

DeLorean Motor Company

Automotive

DeLorean's 1982 bankruptcy collapsed the stainless steel gull-wing sports car company after producing only 9,000 DMC-12s...
Defunct

DeLorean Motor Company

Automotive

DeLorean's 1982 collapse after just 9,000 cars demonstrates how founder ego can create unviable businesses. John DeLorea...
Defunct

Delphi Corporation

Auto Parts Manufacturing

Delphi's 2005 bankruptcy was the largest American manufacturing bankruptcy at the time, demonstrating how GM's problems...
Defunct

Destination Maternity

Retail

Destination Maternity's 2019 bankruptcy collapsed the parent of Motherhood Maternity and A Pea in the Pod after birth ra...
Defunct

Destination Maternity

Specialty Retail

Destination Maternity's 2019 bankruptcy demonstrates how specialty retail for temporary life stages faces particular vul...
Defunct

Digg

Social Media

Digg's collapse from $175 million valuation to $500,000 sale in 2012 shows how platform changes can trigger user exodus....
Defunct

Digital Equipment Corporation

Technology

DEC's 1998 sale to Compaq ended the minicomputer pioneer that Ken Olsen built. DEC's VAX systems dominated business comp...
Defunct

Downey Savings and Loan

Banking

Downey Savings' 2008 FDIC seizure ended a California S&L that had specialized in option ARM mortgages. The bank let borr...
Defunct

Dressbarn

Retail

Dressbarn's 2019 closure ended a 57-year-old women's apparel chain. Parent company Ascena Retail Group (itself later ban...
Defunct

Drexel Burnham Lambert

Investment Banking

Drexel Burnham Lambert's 1990 bankruptcy ended the junk bond pioneer that had financed the 1980s leveraged buyout boom....
Defunct

Duesenberg

Automotive

Duesenberg's 1937 demise during the Depression demonstrates how ultra-luxury goods businesses face existential risk duri...

E

11 companies
Defunct

Eastern Air Lines

Airlines

Eastern Air Lines' 1991 shutdown ended 65 years of aviation history and demonstrated how labor conflict can create posit...
Defunct

Eastern Air Lines (1991)

Aviation

Eastern Air Lines' 1991 liquidation ended a 62-year airline after a brutal labor dispute. Frank Lorenzo's Texas Air Corp...
Defunct

Eastern Outfitters / Bob's Stores / EMS

Retail

Eastern Outfitters' 2017 bankruptcy collapsed Bob's Stores and Eastern Mountain Sports, two New England retail chains wi...
Defunct

Electric Last Mile Solutions

Automotive - Electric

Electric Last Mile's 2022 bankruptcy came after SEC investigation revealed executives had purchased shares before SPAC m...
Defunct

eMachines

Technology

eMachines' 2004 acquisition by Gateway consolidated two struggling PC makers. eMachines had captured budget PC buyers th...
Defunct

Enron Broadband Services

Technology

Enron Broadband was the most ambitious fraud within the larger Enron fraud. The unit claimed to revolutionize video stre...
Defunct

Enron Dabhol Power

Energy

Enron's Dabhol power plant disaster in India demonstrates how political risk can strand massive infrastructure investmen...
Defunct

Essential Products

Consumer Electronics

Essential Products' 2020 shutdown ended Andy Rubin's attempt to challenge smartphone incumbents. The Android creator rai...
Defunct

Essential Products

Consumer Electronics

Essential's 2020 shutdown demonstrates how founder prestige cannot overcome market realities. Andy Rubin's Android creat...
Defunct

eToys.com

E-commerce - Toys

eToys.com's 2001 bankruptcy ended a company that had briefly been worth more than Toys 'R' Us despite having a fraction...
Defunct

Exec

Consumer Services

Exec raised $3.3M to create an 'Uber for everything'—booking personal assistants, cleaners, handymen through one app. Th...

F

24 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

Fab.com

E-commerce

Fab's collapse from $1 billion valuation to $15 million sale demonstrates how flash sales e-commerce couldn't sustain cu...
Defunct

Fairway Market

Retail - Grocery

Fairway Market's 2020 liquidation ended a New York grocery institution after private equity expansion destroyed what mad...
Defunct

Falstaff Brewing Corporation

Beverages

Falstaff's 1990 closure ended a brewery that was once America's third-largest. The company had expanded through acquisit...
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

FDX Corporation (Quepasa)

Technology

FDX Corp's 2001 collapse illustrates how tech companies can implode when business models prove entirely fictional. The c...
Defunct

First Republic Bank

Banking

First Republic's May 2023 seizure and sale to JPMorgan made it the second-largest bank failure ever and third in two mon...
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

Fisker Inc. (2024)

Automotive - Electric

Fisker Inc.'s 2024 bankruptcy ended the second attempt by Henrik Fisker to build an EV company. The Ocean SUV launched b...
Defunct

Fleming Companies

Wholesale

Fleming Companies' 2003 bankruptcy collapsed America's largest food wholesaler. The company distributed groceries to ind...
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...
Defunct

Flybe

Airlines

Flybe's 2020 collapse just weeks into the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated how marginal businesses die first in crises. Th...
Bankrupt

Forever 21 (Bankruptcy)

Apparel Retail

Forever 21's 2019 bankruptcy demonstrates how fast fashion faces its own disruption from ultra-fast fashion. The retaile...
Defunct

Forward Health

Healthcare

Forward raised $225M for AI-powered primary care clinics with futuristic pods and body scanning. The company shut down i...
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

Freshly (Shutdown)

Food

Freshly, the prepared meal delivery service acquired by Nestle for $950M, was shut down in 2023 after Nestle concluded t...
Defunct

Friendly's

Restaurant

Friendly's repeated bankruptcies (2011, 2020) illustrate how organisms can enter extinction spirals where each near-deat...
Defunct

Friendster

Social Media

Friendster's decline from social network pioneer to footnote demonstrates how first-mover advantage can be squandered. T...
Defunct

Frontier Airlines (2008)

Aviation

Frontier Airlines' 2008 bankruptcy collapsed a Denver-based carrier competing against United's hub dominance. The compan...
Bankrupt

Frontier Communications (Bankruptcy)

Telecommunications

Frontier's 2020 bankruptcy after acquiring Verizon's landlines demonstrates how legacy telecom assets can be poisoned pi...
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...

G

23 companies
Defunct

G. Heileman Brewing Company

Beverages

Heileman's 1996 bankruptcy collapsed a company that had grown through acquisition to become America's fifth-largest brew...
Defunct

Gander Mountain

Retail - Outdoor

Gander Mountain's 2017 bankruptcy and partial acquisition by Camping World demonstrated how outdoor retail was consolida...
Defunct

Garden Fresh Restaurants

Restaurant

Garden Fresh Restaurants' May 2020 bankruptcy permanently closed both Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes chains. The compa...
Defunct

Gateway

Technology

Gateway's 2007 acquisition by Acer for $710 million ended the cow-spotted computer company. Gateway had pioneered direct...
Defunct

Gawker Media

Digital Media

Gawker Media's 2016 bankruptcy was unusual—killed not by business failure but by litigation funded by a billionaire with...
Defunct

General Growth Properties

Real Estate - Retail

General Growth Properties' 2009 bankruptcy was the largest real estate collapse in U.S. history at $27 billion in assets...
Defunct

General Motors (Pre-Bankruptcy)

Automotive

GM's 2009 bankruptcy—the largest industrial bankruptcy in history—demonstrates how legacy costs can crush even dominant...
Defunct

Genesis Global

Cryptocurrency Lending

Genesis Global's January 2023 bankruptcy revealed that the crypto industry's contagion from 2022 was still claiming vict...
Defunct

Gilt Groupe

E-commerce

Gilt Groupe's 2016 sale for $250 million to Hudson's Bay represented a 75% markdown from peak $1.1 billion valuation. Th...
Defunct

Gimbels

Department Store

Gimbels' 1987 closure ended the retailer immortalized in 'Miracle on 34th Street,' demonstrating how department stores f...
Defunct

Global Crossing

Telecommunications

Global Crossing's 2002 bankruptcy was among the largest of the telecom bust, destroying $50 billion in market value. The...
Defunct

Gold's Gym

Fitness

Gold's Gym's May 2020 bankruptcy collapsed the iconic bodybuilding brand that launched Arnold Schwarzenegger's career. T...
Bankrupt

Gold's Gym (Bankruptcy)

Fitness

Gold's Gym's 2020 bankruptcy demonstrates how iconic brands can't survive format disruption. The gym brand that defined...
Defunct

Gordmans

Retail

Gordmans filed bankruptcy twice - in 2017 and 2020 - before liquidating entirely. The Midwestern off-price retailer had...
Defunct

Gottschalks

Retail

Gottschalks' 2009 liquidation closed a 105-year-old California department store chain. The company operated 58 stores in...
Defunct

GoTV Networks

Media

GoTV Networks, a mobile video pioneer, collapsed in 2007 after betting on mobile TV before smartphones existed. The comp...
Defunct

Greensill Capital

Financial Services

Greensill Capital's 2021 collapse destroyed a $7 billion supply chain finance company in days when Credit Suisse froze f...
Defunct

Grooveshark

Music Streaming

Grooveshark's 2015 shutdown from copyright lawsuits demonstrates how unlicensed music services face legal destruction. T...
Defunct

GTL Limited

Telecommunications

GTL Limited's 2012 bankruptcy represented India's largest corporate debt default at the time - $2.8 billion owed to 26 b...
Defunct

Guaranty Bank (Texas)

Banking

Guaranty Bank's 2009 FDIC seizure was the largest Texas bank failure ever and the tenth-largest nationally. The bank had...
Bankrupt

Guitar Center (Bankruptcy)

Music Retail

Guitar Center's 2020 bankruptcy demonstrates how private equity debt can crush even category-dominant retailers. The mus...
Defunct

Gymboree

Retail - Children's Apparel

Gymboree's two bankruptcies (2017, 2019) and ultimate liquidation demonstrated how children's apparel retail was being d...
Defunct

Gymboree Corporation

Retail

Gymboree's 2017 and 2019 bankruptcies collapsed a children's clothing retailer that Bain Capital had acquired for $1.8 b...

H

17 companies
Defunct

Hahnemann University Hospital

Healthcare

Hahnemann's September 2019 closure demonstrated predatory real estate conversion in healthcare. Private equity firm Pala...
Defunct

Halcón Resources

Oil & Gas

Halcón Resources' August 2019 bankruptcy was the company's second in three years - it had emerged from Chapter 11 in 201...
Defunct

Hanjin Shipping

Shipping

Hanjin Shipping's 2016 bankruptcy stranded containers worldwide when the world's seventh-largest shipping line collapsed...
Bankrupt

Hertz (Bankruptcy)

Car Rental

Hertz's 2020 bankruptcy demonstrates how travel-dependent businesses faced existential crisis during COVID. The rental c...
Defunct

Hexion Holdings

Chemicals

Hexion's April 2019 bankruptcy collapsed a specialty chemicals company assembled through private equity acquisitions. Ap...
Defunct

hhgregg

Retail

hhgregg's 2017 liquidation closed 220 appliance and electronics stores after Amazon and Best Buy squeezed the regional c...
Defunct

HHGregg

Electronics/Appliance Retail

HHGregg's 2017 liquidation ended a regional electronics and appliance retailer that had operated for 60 years across the...
Defunct

HIH Insurance

Insurance

HIH's 2001 collapse—Australia's largest corporate failure—demonstrates how insurance can mask insolvency through reserve...
Defunct

Homejoy

Gig Economy

Homejoy's 2015 shutdown demonstrates how gig economy companies face classification liability that destroys them. The hou...
Defunct

Horn & Hardart Automats

Restaurant

Horn & Hardart's 1991 closure ended the automat concept after 89 years, demonstrating how labor cost advantages disappea...
Defunct

Hostess Brands (2012)

Food Manufacturing

Hostess Brands' 2012 liquidation ended the company that made Twinkies, Wonder Bread, and Ho Hos—brands that had been Ame...
Defunct

Hostess Brands (Bankruptcy)

Food Manufacturing

Hostess' 2012 bankruptcy and temporary death of Twinkies demonstrates how legacy labor costs can kill even beloved brand...
Defunct

House of Fraser

Department Store

House of Fraser's 2018 collapse and fire-sale to Sports Direct demonstrates how luxury retail brands can be gutted by va...
Defunct

Howard Johnson's

Restaurant/Hospitality

Howard Johnson's century-long decline from America's largest restaurant chain to a single location illustrates format ob...
Defunct

Hudson Motor Car Company

Automotive

Hudson's 1954 merger with Nash (forming AMC) ended independence for a company that had pioneered unitized body construct...
Defunct

Hummer

Automotive

Hummer's 2010 discontinuation ended the civilian version of the military vehicle after GM's bankruptcy made Chinese acqu...
Defunct

Hummer (Brand)

Automotive

Hummer's 2010 discontinuation by GM demonstrates how fuel price spikes can instantly kill vehicle segments. The military...

I

9 companies
Defunct

ImClone Systems

Biotechnology

ImClone's 2002 crisis—triggered by FDA rejection of cancer drug Erbitux—illustrates how single-product biotechs face bin...
Defunct

Independence Air

Aviation

Independence Air's 2006 closure ended a low-cost carrier launched by Atlantic Coast Airlines after it terminated its Uni...
Defunct

IndyMac Bancorp

Banking

IndyMac's July 2008 FDIC seizure was one of the largest bank failures in U.S. history, triggered by a bank run after Sen...
Defunct

IndyMac Bank

Banking

IndyMac's 2008 failure—the second-largest bank failure in US history at the time—demonstrates how mortgage concentration...
Defunct

Insys Therapeutics

Pharmaceuticals

Insys' 2019 bankruptcy after executives were convicted of bribery demonstrates how pharmaceutical companies can become c...
Defunct

Intermet Corporation

Auto Parts

Intermet's 2004 bankruptcy collapsed an iron castings manufacturer serving the auto industry. The company made engine bl...
Defunct

Iridium LLC (Original)

Telecommunications - Satellite

Iridium's 1999 bankruptcy wrote off $5 billion in investment in satellite phones that cost too much for too few users. T...
Defunct

Isuzu (US Car Division)

Automotive

Isuzu ended U.S. car sales in 2008 after years of declining volumes, though it continues selling commercial trucks. The...
Defunct

ITT Technical Institute

For-Profit Education

ITT Technical Institute's 2016 closure after 50 years demonstrated how for-profit education could be destroyed by regula...

K

11 companies
Defunct

Kaiser-Frazer

Automotive

Kaiser-Frazer's 1953 exit from U.S. car production ended Henry J. Kaiser's attempt to break the Big Three's dominance. T...
Defunct

Kanebo

Cosmetics

Kanebo's 2004 fraud revelation showed the 117-year-old Japanese cosmetics company had hidden ¥200 billion in losses. The...
Defunct

Katerra

Construction Technology

Katerra's 2021 bankruptcy destroyed $2 billion in invested capital in a construction technology company that was suppose...
Defunct

Kidder Peabody

Investment Banking

Kidder Peabody's 1994 sale to PaineWebber followed a trading scandal where Joseph Jett's fictitious profits of $350 mill...
Defunct

Kingfisher Airlines

Airlines

Kingfisher Airlines' 2012 grounding demonstrated how flamboyant founders can destroy airlines through overexpansion and...
Defunct

Kmart

Retail

Kmart's 2002 bankruptcy ended the discount retailer's decades-long decline from market leadership to irrelevance. The co...
Defunct

Kmart (Bankruptcy)

Retail

Kmart's 2002 bankruptcy—the largest retail failure at that time—exemplifies how organisms caught between ecological nich...
Defunct

Kmart Corporation (2002)

Retail

Kmart's 2002 bankruptcy was the largest retail bankruptcy in U.S. history at the time - $17 billion in liabilities. The...
Defunct

Kozmo.com

E-commerce - Delivery

Kozmo.com's 2001 shutdown after burning through $280 million demonstrated that on-demand delivery economics don't work w...
Defunct

Kozmo.com

E-commerce

Kozmo's 2001 failure after $280 million in funding demonstrates how convenience subsidies create unsustainable metabolis...
Defunct

Krystal

Restaurant

Krystal's January 2020 bankruptcy collapsed the Southern slider chain after 88 years. The company had been through multi...

L

12 companies
Defunct

Legend Airlines

Aviation

Legend Airlines' 2000 closure ended an all-business-class carrier operating from Dallas Love Field. The airline competed...
Defunct

LG Mobile Division

Technology

LG's April 2021 exit from mobile phones ended a division that peaked at #3 global market share. Despite innovative desig...
Defunct

Linens 'n Things

Retail - Home Goods

Linens 'n Things' 2008 liquidation preceded Bed Bath & Beyond's collapse by 15 years but shared the same fundamental wea...
Defunct

Linens 'n Things

Retail

Linens 'n Things' 2008 liquidation closed 371 stores after private equity ownership loaded debt the company couldn't ser...
Defunct

LNG Energy

Oil & Gas

LNG Energy's 2016 bankruptcy illustrates how commodity price collapse can instantly kill highly-leveraged exploration co...
Defunct

Logan's Roadhouse

Restaurant

Logan's Roadhouse's April 2020 bankruptcy came weeks into COVID after the chain made an aggressive decision: it furlough...
Defunct

Long-Term Capital Management

Hedge Fund

LTCM's 1998 collapse—requiring Fed-coordinated rescue by 14 banks—demonstrates how leverage combined with crowded trades...
Defunct

Lord & Taylor

Retail

Lord & Taylor's 2020 bankruptcy ended America's oldest department store after 194 years. Le Tote, a fashion rental start...
Defunct

LTV Steel

Steel Manufacturing

LTV Steel's 2000 bankruptcy and subsequent liquidation was the third chapter for a company that had already filed bankru...
Defunct

Luby's Inc

Restaurant

Luby's November 2020 announcement of liquidation ended a 74-year-old Texas cafeteria chain. The company operated 32 Luby...
Defunct

Lucent Technologies

Telecommunications Equipment

Lucent Technologies, spun off from AT&T in 1996, became one of the biggest casualties of the dot-com crash. The telecom...
Defunct

Lucky Brand

Retail

Lucky Brand's July 2020 bankruptcy ended the denim brand's independence after declining for years. The company had been...

M

19 companies
Defunct

Maple

Food Delivery

Maple's 2017 shutdown (sold to UK company) demonstrates how restaurant-quality delivery faces geographic limits. David C...
Defunct

Maple

Food

Maple, David Chang's premium meal delivery startup, raised $29M before shutting down in 2017. The company discovered tha...
Defunct

McClatchy

Publishing - Newspapers

McClatchy's 2020 bankruptcy ended 163 years of newspaper publishing, including the Miami Herald and Sacramento Bee. The...
Defunct

Medley Management

Financial Services

Medley Management, a business development company manager, collapsed in 2021 after years of related-party transactions e...
Defunct

Mercury (Brand)

Automotive

Mercury's 2011 discontinuation ended Ford's intermediate brand after 72 years of increasingly confused positioning. Orig...
Defunct

Mervyn's

Retail - Department Store

Mervyn's 2008 liquidation ended a California department store chain after private equity ownership extracted real estate...
Defunct

MF Global

Financial Services

MF Global's 2011 bankruptcy was triggered by bets on European sovereign debt that went wrong, combined with missing $1.6...
Defunct

MG Rover

Automotive

MG Rover's 2005 collapse ended mass British car manufacturing. The company had been sold by BMW for £10 in 2000 to a con...
Defunct

Midway Airlines (2003)

Aviation

Midway Airlines' 2003 closure was the second death for an airline name that had failed in 1991. The 2001 revival attempt...
Defunct

Modell's Sporting Goods

Retail - Sporting Goods

Modell's 2020 bankruptcy ended 134 years of family-owned sporting goods retail, killed by combination of Dick's Sporting...
Defunct

Modell's Sporting Goods

Retail

Modell's March 2020 bankruptcy ended 131 years of family ownership. The Northeast sporting goods chain faced competition...
Defunct

Monarch Airlines

Airlines

Monarch Airlines' 2017 collapse stranded 110,000 passengers in the UK's largest peacetime repatriation. The 49-year-old...
Defunct

Montgomery Ward

Retail

Montgomery Ward's 2001 liquidation ended a 128-year retail history. The company that pioneered mail-order catalogs and h...
Defunct

Motorola Mobility

Technology

Motorola Mobility's 2012 acquisition by Google for $12.5 billion, then 2014 sale to Lenovo for $2.9 billion, demonstrate...
Defunct

MoviePass

Entertainment Subscription

MoviePass's 2019 collapse demonstrated that subsidized unit economics can create rapid growth that accelerates death rat...
Defunct

Mt. Gox

Cryptocurrency

Mt. Gox's 2014 collapse after losing 850,000 Bitcoin demonstrates how single points of failure can destroy entire market...
Defunct

MUJI USA

Retail

MUJI USA's July 2020 bankruptcy collapsed the American arm of Japan's minimalist retailer. The company had expanded to 1...
Defunct

Munchery

Food Delivery

Munchery's 2019 sudden shutdown—employees learned via text—demonstrates how food delivery faces death spirals. The prepa...
Defunct

Myspace

Social Media

Myspace's decline from $580 million (2005) to $35 million sale (2011) exemplifies how network effects can reverse. In 20...

N

12 companies
Defunct

Nash Motors

Automotive

Nash's 1954 merger with Hudson created American Motors, ending Nash independence after pioneering unitized construction...
Defunct

Nasty Gal

E-commerce

Nasty Gal's November 2016 bankruptcy collapsed Sophia Amoruso's fashion e-commerce success story. The company that start...
Defunct

National Airlines (2002)

Aviation

National Airlines' 2002 closure ended a Las Vegas-based carrier that had grown quickly after 1999 launch. The company ta...
Defunct

National Brewing Company

Beverages

National Brewing's 1979 closure ended Baltimore's last brewery after Carling acquired then abandoned it. The company tha...
Defunct

National Century Financial

Healthcare Finance

National Century's 2002 collapse represents healthcare's Enron—a $3 billion fraud that devastated thousands of healthcar...
Defunct

Neiman Marcus (2020)

Retail

Neiman Marcus's May 2020 bankruptcy ended the luxury retailer's independence after a disastrous $6 billion leveraged buy...
Bankrupt

Neiman Marcus (Bankruptcy)

Department Store

Neiman Marcus's 2020 bankruptcy demonstrates how luxury department stores face dual pressure from online luxury and off-...
Defunct

New Century Financial

Financial Services

New Century Financial's 2007 bankruptcy made it the largest subprime lender failure, a preview of the broader crisis to...
Defunct

Nokia Mobile Phones

Technology

Nokia's mobile phone division sale to Microsoft in 2013 for $7.2 billion ended the world's largest phone manufacturer. N...
Defunct

Nortel Networks

Telecommunications Equipment

Nortel's 2009 bankruptcy ended a Canadian technology giant that had once been worth $398 billion—the most valuable compa...
Defunct

Northwest Airlines

Aviation

Northwest Airlines' 2005 bankruptcy and 2008 merger with Delta ended a carrier with 82 years of history. The airline had...
Bankrupt

NPC International (Bankruptcy)

Restaurant

NPC International's 2020 bankruptcy demonstrates how franchise operators face unique leverage risks. The largest Pizza H...

P

36 companies
Defunct

Pabst Brewing Company (1996)

Beverages

Pabst's 1996 closure of its last brewery made it a 'virtual brewer' - owning brands but contracting all production to Mi...
Defunct

Pacific Lumber Company

Forestry

Pacific Lumber's 2007 bankruptcy collapsed a redwood logging company after hostile takeover by MAXXAM Inc. stripped its...
Defunct

Pacific Theatres/ArcLight Cinemas

Entertainment - Theaters

Pacific Theatres and ArcLight Cinemas' 2021 permanent closure without bankruptcy demonstrated that some businesses choos...
Defunct

Packard

Automotive

Packard's 1958 closure ended a luxury brand that once competed with Cadillac and Lincoln. The company merged with strugg...
Defunct

Packard Bell

Technology

Packard Bell's 1999 exit from the U.S. market ended America's largest PC seller of the early 1990s. The company had domi...
Defunct

Packard Motor Car Company

Automotive

Packard's 1958 demise ended one of America's premier luxury automakers and demonstrates how market segment migration can...
Defunct

PacSun / Pacific Sunwear

Retail

PacSun's 2016 bankruptcy collapsed a teen apparel retailer that couldn't adapt as youth fashion moved from surf/skate br...
Defunct

Palm Inc

Technology

Palm's 2010 acquisition by HP for $1.2 billion ended the PDA pioneer that invented the modern smartphone category. Palm'...
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

Panasonic Mobile Communications

Technology

Panasonic's 2013 exit from smartphone manufacturing ended the Japanese electronics giant's mobile ambitions. Despite str...
Bankrupt

Paper Source

Specialty Retail

Paper Source's 2021 bankruptcy demonstrates how specialty retail faces digital obsolescence. The stationery retailer sel...
Defunct

Papyrus

Retail

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

Path

Social Media

Path's 2018 shutdown demonstrates how intimate social networks face scaling paradox. The photo-sharing app limited frien...
Defunct

Patisserie Valerie

Restaurant

Patisserie Valerie's 2019 collapse from accounting fraud demonstrates how franchise growth can conceal problems until re...
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

Penn Central Transportation

Railroads

Penn Central's 1970 bankruptcy was the largest in U.S. history at the time and sent shockwaves through financial markets...
Defunct

People Express

Airlines

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

Peregrine Financial Group

Futures Trading

PFG's 2012 collapse from CEO fraud reveals how single-person control enables theft. Russell Wasendorf Sr. stole $200 mil...
Defunct

Perkins Restaurant & Bakery

Restaurant

Perkins' August 2019 bankruptcy collapsed the family dining chain known for breakfast and baked goods. The company opera...
Defunct

Pets.com

E-commerce

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

Philippine Airlines (Bankruptcy)

Aviation

Philippine Airlines' 2021 Chapter 11 demonstrates how Asian flag carriers faced COVID-accelerated decline. Asia's oldest...
Defunct

Piccadilly Restaurants

Restaurant

Piccadilly's 2019 Chapter 11 filing came after years of decline for the Southern cafeteria chain. The company had been t...
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

Pier 1 Imports

Home Goods Retail

Pier 1's 2020 liquidation after COVID struck a already-weakened company demonstrates how recessions finish marginal busi...
Defunct

Plymouth

Automotive

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

Plymouth

Automotive

Plymouth's 2001 discontinuation ended Chrysler's entry-level brand after 72 years, demonstrating how brands can become r...
Defunct

Polaroid (Bankruptcy)

Photography

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

Polaroid Corporation

Consumer Electronics

Polaroid's 2001 bankruptcy and 2008 final closure ended instant photography after digital cameras made the technology ob...
Defunct

Pontiac

Automotive

Pontiac's 2010 discontinuation ended an 84-year-old brand as part of GM's bankruptcy restructuring. The brand that had b...
Defunct

Pontiac (Brand)

Automotive

Pontiac's 2010 discontinuation ended 84 years of 'We Build Excitement' with a whimper. GM's attempt to differentiate its...
Defunct

PopChest

Technology

PopChest raised $2M to create a YouTube competitor where creators owned their content via blockchain. The company shut d...
Defunct

Prime Computer

Technology

Prime Computer's 1992 bankruptcy ended another minicomputer maker. The company had been profitable throughout the 1980s...
Defunct

Proteus Digital Health

Healthcare Technology

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

Purdue Pharma

Pharmaceutical

Purdue Pharma's 2019 bankruptcy came after the company's OxyContin had contributed to the opioid epidemic that killed hu...

R

21 companies
Defunct

RadioShack

Electronics Retail

RadioShack's slow death across two bankruptcies (2015, 2017) and ultimate liquidation illustrates how an organism can lo...
Defunct

RadioShack (Final Bankruptcy)

Electronics Retail

RadioShack's second bankruptcy in 2017—after emerging from the first in 2015—demonstrates how restructuring without tran...
Defunct

Rainier Brewing Company

Beverages

Rainier Brewing's 1999 Seattle brewery closure ended local production of the Pacific Northwest icon. Successive owners (...
Defunct

Rdio

Music Streaming

Rdio's 2015 bankruptcy demonstrates how music streaming platforms face winner-take-most dynamics. Despite superior desig...
Defunct

Refco

Financial Services

Refco's 2005 collapse came just weeks after its IPO, when it was revealed that CEO Phillip Bennett had hidden $430 milli...
Defunct

Regional Hospital Partners

Healthcare

Regional Hospital Partners' collapse in 2019 illustrated the private equity model in rural healthcare: acquire strugglin...
Defunct

Relativity Media

Entertainment

Relativity's 2015 bankruptcy demonstrates how film studios can collapse from financial engineering gone wrong. Ryan Kava...
Defunct

Reliance Communications

Telecommunications

Reliance Communications' 2019 insolvency ended Anil Ambani's telecom ambitions and demonstrated sibling rivalry as busin...
Defunct

Remington Outdoor Company

Firearms Manufacturing

Remington's 2018 and 2020 bankruptcies ended America's oldest firearms manufacturer after 202 years. The company faced d...
Defunct

Revel Casino

Gaming/Hospitality

Revel Casino's 2014 bankruptcy came just 2 years after opening, making it one of the fastest major casino failures. The...
Bankrupt

Revlon (Bankruptcy)

Consumer Goods

Revlon's 2022 bankruptcy demonstrates how legacy beauty brands face disruption from DTC and influencer brands. The 90-ye...
Defunct

Rex Stores Corporation

Retail

Rex Stores' decline from appliance retailer to synthetic CDO holder exemplifies management distraction. The company oper...
Defunct

Rheingold Brewery

Beverages

Rheingold's 1976 closure ended New York City's last major brewery after the 'Miss Rheingold' beauty contest lost cultura...
Bankrupt

Rite Aid (Bankruptcy)

Retail

Rite Aid's 2023 bankruptcy demonstrates how pharmacy retail's third player faces elimination. The chain couldn't match C...
Defunct

Rocky Mountain News

Newspaper

Rocky Mountain News' 2009 closure after 150 years demonstrates how two-newspaper towns became no-newspaper towns. Denver...
Defunct

RTW Retailwinds

Retail

RTW Retailwinds (formerly New York & Company) filed bankruptcy in July 2020, collapsing a workwear retailer that had piv...
Defunct

Ruby Tuesday (2020)

Restaurant

Ruby Tuesday's October 2020 bankruptcy was the chain's second filing. The casual dining company had emerged from Chapter...
Defunct

Ruby's Diner

Restaurant

Ruby's Diner's October 2018 bankruptcy collapsed a retro 1940s-themed diner chain that had expanded beyond its Californi...
Defunct

Rue La La

E-commerce

Rue La La was sold multiple times at declining valuations: $350 million in 2009 to GSI Commerce, which was sold to eBay,...
Defunct

Rue21 (Bankruptcy)

Teen Apparel

Rue21's 2017 bankruptcy after expanding to 1,200 locations demonstrates how aggressive expansion can accelerate death. T...
Defunct

Russian Aviation Sector

Aviation

Russia's aviation sector effectively collapsed in 2022 after Western sanctions following the Ukraine invasion. Airlines...

S

49 companies
Defunct

Saab Automobile

Automotive

Saab Automobile's 2011 bankruptcy ended 64 years of Swedish automotive engineering after GM's divestiture left the compa...
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

Sambo's Restaurants

Restaurant

Sambo's collapse from 1,117 locations in 1979 to bankruptcy in 1981 demonstrates how brand toxicity can kill organisms r...
Defunct

Sanchez Energy

Oil & Gas

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

SandRidge Energy

Oil & Gas

SandRidge Energy's 2016 bankruptcy demonstrates activist investor destruction of a vulnerable organism. Carl Icahn's agg...
Defunct

Saturn Corporation

Automotive

Saturn's 2009 discontinuation ended GM's experiment in different labor relations and customer experience. Launched in 19...
Defunct

Saturn Corporation

Automotive

Saturn's 2010 discontinuation demonstrates how revolutionary concepts can be starved to death by internal competition. G...
Defunct

Satyam Computer Services

Information Technology

Satyam's 2009 fraud revelation showed $1 billion in fictitious assets at India's fourth-largest IT services company. Fou...
Defunct

Sbarro (Bankruptcy)

Restaurant

Sbarro's multiple bankruptcies (2011, 2014) demonstrate how mall dependency became existential risk as retail shifted on...
Defunct

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...
Bankrupt

Sears Holdings

Retail

Sears Holdings' 2018 bankruptcy combined two declining retailers (Sears+Kmart) and demonstrates how mergers of weakness...
Defunct

Secret

Social Media

Secret's 2015 shutdown after raising $35 million demonstrates how anonymous apps face rapid user exodus when novelty fad...
Defunct

Sharp Mobile

Technology

Sharp's mobile phone struggles led to Foxconn acquisition of Sharp in 2016. The display pioneer's phone business couldn'...
Defunct

Sharper Image

Retail

Sharper Image's 2008 bankruptcy collapsed the gadget retailer after its main product, the Ionic Breeze air purifier, was...
Defunct

Shopko

Retail

Shopko's January 2019 bankruptcy collapsed a Midwestern discount department store chain serving small towns that Walmart...
Defunct

Shyp

Logistics

Shyp raised $62M to let consumers photograph items and have them picked up, packaged, and shipped. The company discovere...
Defunct

Signature Bank

Banking

Signature Bank's March 2023 FDIC seizure came two days after SVB, making it the third-largest bank failure. The bank had...
Defunct

Signature Bank

Banking

Signature Bank's 2023 failure two days after SVB demonstrates how crypto exposure and contagion combine fatally. The ban...
Defunct

Silicon Graphics

Technology

Silicon Graphics' 2009 bankruptcy ended a pioneer in 3D graphics that had powered Hollywood visual effects. SGI workstat...
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

Silvergate Bank

Banking

Silvergate Bank's March 2023 voluntary liquidation came after crypto-focused deposits fled following FTX's collapse. The...
Defunct

Sizzler USA

Restaurant

Sizzler USA's September 2020 bankruptcy collapsed the American operations of the steakhouse-buffet chain. The brand had...
Defunct

Skybus Airlines

Aviation

Skybus Airlines' April 2008 closure came after only 12 months of operation. The ultra-low-cost carrier sold $10 tickets...
Defunct

Solectron Corporation

Manufacturing

Solectron's 2007 sale to Flextronics for $3.6 billion marked the end of the world's largest electronics manufacturing se...
Defunct

Solyndra

Solar Manufacturing

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

Sony Ericsson / Sony Mobile

Technology

Sony Mobile's 2020 restructuring to niche positioning acknowledged failure in mass smartphone market. The Sony-Ericsson...
Defunct

Sony Ericsson Mobile

Consumer Electronics

Sony Ericsson's decline from premium phone maker to exit demonstrates how joint ventures can prevent adaptation. Neither...
Defunct

Souplantation / Sweet Tomatoes

Restaurant

Souplantation's May 2020 liquidation permanently closed all 97 locations. The buffet chain faced an existential problem:...
Defunct

South African Airways

Airlines

South African Airways entered business rescue (South Africa's bankruptcy equivalent) in 2019 after years of losses, mism...
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

Sprig

Food Delivery

Sprig's 2017 shutdown demonstrates how premium food delivery faces unit economics that don't scale. The healthy meal del...
Defunct

Stage Stores

Retail

Stage Stores' May 2020 bankruptcy collapsed 738 stores operating under names like Bealls, Goody's, Palais Royal, and Pee...
Defunct

Stanford Financial Group

Financial Services

Stanford Financial's 2009 exposure as $7 billion Ponzi scheme demonstrates how offshore structures and regulator shoppin...
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

Steak 'n Shake

Restaurant

Steak 'n Shake's 2023 recapitalization came after years of operational collapse. Owner Sardar Biglari had implemented a...
Defunct

Stein Mart

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

Steve & Barry's

Retail - Apparel

Steve & Barry's 2008 bankruptcy ended an ultra-discount apparel chain that sold branded celebrity clothing for under $10...
Defunct

Stroh Brewery Company

Beverages

Stroh Brewery's 1999 sale to Pabst and Miller ended Detroit's brewing heritage after ambitious acquisition strategy fail...
Defunct

Studebaker

Automotive

Studebaker's 1966 closure ended 114 years of manufacturing that began with wagons before the Civil War. The company that...
Defunct

Studio Movie Grill

Entertainment

Studio Movie Grill's October 2020 bankruptcy collapsed a dine-in cinema chain that had pioneered the premium theatrical...
Defunct

Sun Microsystems

Technology

Sun Microsystems' 2010 acquisition by Oracle for $7.4 billion ended the workstation pioneer that coined 'the network is...
Defunct

Sunbeam Corporation

Consumer Appliances

Sunbeam's 2001 bankruptcy followed the exposure of 'Chainsaw Al' Dunlap's accounting fraud. The appliance maker had repo...
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

SunEdison

Clean Energy

SunEdison's 2016 bankruptcy—the largest in US solar history at $16 billion debt—demonstrates how aggressive yieldco stra...
Defunct

Sur La Table

Retail

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

Suzuki Motor Corporation (US)

Automotive

Suzuki's 2012 U.S. bankruptcy ended the Japanese company's American automotive sales after decades of marginal presence....
Defunct

Swissair

Aviation

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

T

29 companies
Defunct

Tailored Brands

Retail - Menswear

Tailored Brands' 2020 bankruptcy ended the parent company of Men's Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank, demonstrating how workpla...
Defunct

Terra (LUNA)

Cryptocurrency

Terra's May 2022 collapse destroyed $40 billion in value within a week, demonstrating how algorithmic stablecoin mechani...
Defunct

Texaco (Bankruptcy)

Oil & Gas

Texaco's 1987 bankruptcy—triggered by a $10.5 billion Pennzoil judgment—represents the largest verdict-driven failure in...
Defunct

TGI Fridays

Restaurants - Casual Dining

TGI Fridays' 2024 bankruptcy ended the casual dining chain that had pioneered the 'fern bar' concept in 1965. The compan...
Bankrupt

Thai Airways (Bankruptcy)

Aviation

Thai Airways' 2020 bankruptcy demonstrates how state airlines face political constraints that prevent restructuring unti...
Defunct

The Limited Stores

Women's Apparel

The Limited's 2017 closure demonstrates how parent company diversification can orphan original brands. Les Wexner built...
Defunct

The Sports Authority

Retail

The Sports Authority's 2016 liquidation closed 450 stores after competition from Dick's Sporting Goods, Amazon, and spec...
Defunct

The Weekly Standard

Magazine

The Weekly Standard's 2018 closure demonstrates how ideological publications face extinction when they diverge from thei...
Defunct

The Weinstein Company

Entertainment

TWC's 2018 bankruptcy after Harvey Weinstein's sexual abuse exposure demonstrates how organizations can be destroyed by...
Defunct

The Wet Seal

Retail

Wet Seal's 2015 and 2017 bankruptcies collapsed a teen fashion chain that couldn't survive fast fashion competition. The...
Defunct

Things Remembered

Retail

Things Remembered's 2019 liquidation closed 400+ stores selling personalized gifts and engraved items. The company had o...
Defunct

Thomas Cook (Collapse)

Travel

Thomas Cook's 2019 collapse ended 178 years of travel history and stranded 600,000 tourists worldwide. The company could...
Defunct

Thomas Cook Group

Travel/Tourism

Thomas Cook's 2019 collapse ended 178 years of travel history, stranding 150,000 UK tourists abroad. The world's oldest...
Defunct

Thomas Cook Group

Travel

Thomas Cook's 2019 collapse ended 178 years of history - the company that invented the package holiday couldn't survive...
Defunct

Thornburg Mortgage

Financial Services

Thornburg Mortgage's 2009 bankruptcy destroyed a 'prime' mortgage lender that had avoided subprime entirely. The company...
Defunct

Three Arrows Capital (3AC)

Cryptocurrency Hedge Fund

Three Arrows Capital's June 2022 collapse helped trigger the crypto industry's worst contagion event. The hedge fund, fo...
Defunct

Toshiba Mobile Communications

Technology

Toshiba's 2015 exit from smartphones followed years of declining market share and losses. The company that pioneered man...
Defunct

Tower Automotive

Auto Parts

Tower Automotive's 2005 bankruptcy collapsed another auto parts supplier dependent on the Big Three. The company made me...
Defunct

Tower Records

Retail

Tower Records' 2006 liquidation closed 89 stores after digital downloads destroyed the music retail business. The compan...
Defunct

Trans World Airlines (TWA)

Airlines

TWA's 2001 absorption by American Airlines ended an airline that had defined transcontinental and transatlantic travel f...
Defunct

Tribune Company (Bankruptcy)

Media

Tribune's 2008 bankruptcy demonstrates how leveraged buyouts can kill healthy organisms by loading them with lethal debt...
Defunct

Trump Taj Mahal

Gaming/Hospitality

Trump Taj Mahal's multiple bankruptcies (1991, 2014, 2016) demonstrated how Atlantic City's decline killed even its larg...
Defunct

Tucker Corporation

Automotive

Tucker Corporation's 1949 collapse ended Preston Tucker's attempt to revolutionize automotive safety and design. The Tuc...
Defunct

Tucson Citizen

Newspaper

The Tucson Citizen's 2009 closure ended Arizona's oldest newspaper at 138 years. The joint operating agreement with Ariz...
Defunct

Tuesday Morning

Retail - Home Goods

Tuesday Morning's multiple bankruptcies (2020, 2023) demonstrated how off-price retail struggled when consumer spending...
Defunct

Tupperware Brands

Consumer Goods

Tupperware's 2024 bankruptcy ended a brand that defined mid-century American domesticity. The direct sales model that bu...
Defunct

Turing Pharmaceuticals

Pharmaceuticals

Turing's notoriety from 5,000% price hike on Daraprim demonstrates how drug pricing can trigger regulatory backlash. Mar...
Defunct

TVR

Automotive

TVR's 2006 closure ended British sports car manufacturing after Russian owner Nikolai Smolensky couldn't revive the bran...
Defunct

Tweeter Home Entertainment

Retail

Tweeter's 2007 bankruptcy collapsed a premium electronics retailer caught between Best Buy and online. The company had g...

W

17 companies
Defunct

Wachovia

Banking

Wachovia's 2008 forced sale to Wells Fargo demonstrates how one bad acquisition can destroy a century-old institution. T...
Defunct

Wachovia Corporation

Banking

Wachovia's 2008 emergency sale to Wells Fargo (after initially agreeing to Citi) came after a deposit run and regulatory...
Defunct

Waldenbooks / B. Dalton

Retail

Waldenbooks and B. Dalton, Borders Group's mall-based chains, closed before the parent company's final liquidation. The...
Defunct

Wang Laboratories

Technology

Wang Laboratories' 1992 bankruptcy collapsed a word processing giant that couldn't transition to personal computers. The...
Defunct

Washington Mutual

Banking

Washington Mutual's September 2008 failure remains the largest bank collapse in U.S. history—$307 billion in assets wipe...
Defunct

Washio

Consumer Services

Washio raised $17M for on-demand laundry pickup, then collapsed in 2016 when it couldn't achieve profitability. The comp...
Defunct

Webvan

E-commerce - Grocery

Webvan's 2001 collapse after burning through $1.2 billion demonstrated that being right about the future doesn't guarant...
Defunct

Wet Seal (Final)

Teen Apparel

Wet Seal's 2017 final closure after emerging from 2015 bankruptcy demonstrates how teen retail's decline was structural,...
Defunct

WeWork (Bankruptcy)

Real Estate

WeWork's November 2023 bankruptcy completed the fall from a $47 billion peak valuation to zero equity value. The company...
Bankrupt

WeWork (Crisis)

Real Estate

WeWork's 2019 failed IPO at $47 billion valuation followed by 2023 bankruptcy demonstrates how real estate arbitrage dre...
Defunct

Willys-Overland

Automotive

Willys-Overland's 1953 sale to Kaiser-Frazer ended the company that built the WWII Jeep. Willys couldn't convert wartime...
Defunct

Windstream Holdings

Telecommunications

Windstream's February 2019 bankruptcy was triggered by a hedge fund's legal maneuver. The rural telecom company had comp...
Defunct

Winn-Dixie (Bankruptcy)

Grocery Retail

Winn-Dixie's 2005 bankruptcy illustrates how regional dominance provides no protection against national predators. The S...
Defunct

Winn-Dixie Stores (2005)

Retail

Winn-Dixie's 2005 bankruptcy collapsed a once-dominant Southern grocery chain. The company had operated 1,000+ stores ac...
Defunct

Wirecard

Financial Technology

Wirecard's 2020 collapse after €1.9 billion went 'missing' was Europe's largest accounting fraud. The German payments co...
Defunct

WorldCom

Telecommunications

WorldCom's $104 billion bankruptcy in 2002 revealed how acquisitive growth strategies can become pathological when the a...
Defunct

WOW Air

Airlines

WOW Air's 2019 collapse stranded thousands of passengers when the Icelandic budget airline suddenly ceased operations. T...