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25 companies
Jumia
E-commerce
Jumia proves that 'best practices' from one environment can be lethal DNA in another. Launched in 2012 as 'the Amazon of Africa' with European venture...
J. Crew (Bankruptcy)
Apparel Retail
J. Crew's 2020 bankruptcy demonstrates how preppy fashion faces demographic obsolescence. The brand that defined 90s professional casual watched its c...
J.Crew
Retail - Apparel
J.Crew's 2020 bankruptcy was the first major retail casualty of COVID-19, demonstrating how weakened companies die first in industry shocks. The prepp...
JAFCO
Venture Capital
JAFCO is Japan's institutional memory of venture capital—founded in 1973, it has witnessed and survived every boom-bust cycle in Japanese entrepreneur...
Janus Henderson Group
Financial Services
Janus Henderson Group is a global asset management company offering investment solutions including equities, fixed income, and multi-asset portfolios....
Japan Airlines (2010)
Aviation
Japan Airlines' 2010 bankruptcy was the largest non-financial corporate failure in Japanese history - ¥2.3 trillion ($25 billion) in liabilities. JAL...
Jawbone
Consumer Electronics
Jawbone's 2017 liquidation ended a hardware company that raised $930 million but never achieved sustainable sales. The company made Bluetooth speakers...
JBS
Food Processing
JBS operates at a scale that would be biologically impossible without industrial agriculture: $77.2 billion revenue in 2024 processing cattle, pigs, a...
JCPenney
Retail
American department store chain that serves as a cautionary tale about phototropism failure. In November 2011, JCPenney hired Ron Johnson, the retail...
JD Sports Fashion
Retail
JD Sports is a leading retailer of sports fashion and outdoor brands. The company operates over 3,000 stores globally, specializing in athletic footwe...
JD.com
E-commerce
JD.com is one of China's largest e-commerce companies, known for high-quality products and industry-leading logistics network with extensive warehousi...
JD.com, Inc.
E-commerce
JD.com is one of China's largest e-commerce companies, known for operating its own logistics network and emphasis on authentic products. The company c...
Jeff Skilling's Enron
Energy
Jeff Skilling's vision of Enron as 'asset-light' trading company represents how intellectual arrogance can destroy value. The McKinsey consultant-turn...
Jefferies Financial Group
Financial Services
Jefferies Financial Group is a diversified financial services company engaged in investment banking, capital markets, and asset management. The compan...
Jensen Motors
Automotive
Jensen Motors' multiple failures (1976, revival attempts through 2011) demonstrated the impossibility of reviving specialist British car brands. The c...
Jet Airways (India)
Airlines
Jet Airways' 2019 grounding ended India's oldest private airline after cash ran out to fuel planes. The company had been India's second-largest carrie...
Jet.com
E-commerce
E-commerce company acquired by Walmart in 2016 for $3.3 billion, primarily for founder Marc Lore and his team. The acquisition demonstrates Walmart's...
Johnson & Johnson
Pharmaceuticals/Consumer Goods
The pharmaceutical giant that turned a crisis into a masterclass by doing something radical: telling the truth and paying the cost. In September 1982...
Jones Lang LaSalle
Real Estate
Jones Lang LaSalle is a leading professional services firm specializing in real estate and investment management. The company provides comprehensive r...
Joost
Media
Joost, founded by Skype creators Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis, raised $45M to deliver TV over the internet in 2007. The company pioneered streamin...
Jos. Schlitz Brewing Company
Beverages
Schlitz's 1982 sale to Stroh Brewery ended the 'Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous' after quality-cutting destroyed the brand. In the 1970s, Schlitz refo...
JPMorgan Chase
Banking & Financial Services
JPMorgan Chase operates at allometric scale—the biological principle where larger organisms gain disproportionate advantages. With $4.6 trillion in as...
Juicero
Consumer Electronics
Juicero's 2017 shutdown after raising $120 million became Silicon Valley's most mocked failure—a $400 WiFi-connected juicer that squeezed proprietary...
Julius Bär
Private Banking & Wealth Management
Julius Baer survived 133 years in private banking by occupying a Goldilocks niche competitors underserve: clients with $5-10M who need sophisticated s...
Just Eat Takeaway.com
Technology
Corporate autophagy at scale. On 6 January 2025, Just Eat Takeaway completed the sale of Grubhub to Wonder for $650 million—a 92% reduction from the $...