Apple weeks from insolvency, Marvel selling its characters cheap, LEGO going back to bricks, thirteen executives buying Harley-Davidson back from AMF. Fifteen companies that were written off first.
1AppleWeeks from running out of money in 1997, then the most valuable company on earth.1000pts
2MarvelFiled for bankruptcy in 1996, sold its characters cheap, then built the highest-grossing film franchise ever.913pts
3FordThe only Detroit carmaker to refuse a 2008 federal bailout, having mortgaged the blue oval to fund itself first.629pts
4Harley-DavidsonThirteen executives bought the company back from AMF in 1981 and spent the decade rebuilding its reputation.534pts
5NintendoBeaten badly by the PlayStation 2 era, then reinvented the market twice with the Wii and the Switch.478pts
6NetflixLost 800,000 subscribers over the Qwikster split in 2011 and became the default television service anyway.478pts
7LEGONear collapse in 2004 after a decade of diversification, saved by going back to bricks.342pts
8Best BuyWritten off as an Amazon showroom, then made the showroom the point.341pts
9FiatWeeks from insolvency in 2004, then bought Chrysler out of bankruptcy five years later.341pts
10IBMLost $8 billion in 1993, the largest corporate loss in US history at the time, and pivoted to services.341pts
11Old SpiceA brand associated with grandfathers, repositioned in a single 2010 advertising campaign.257pts
12ConverseBankrupt in 2001, bought by Nike for $305 million, now a permanent fixture again.257pts
13DucatiBankrupt in 1996, rebuilt around racing success and sold to Audi for over $1 billion.257pts
14Delta Air LinesEmerged from Chapter 11 in 2007 and turned into the most consistently profitable US carrier.159pts
15Domino's PizzaRan an advertising campaign admitting the pizza was bad, then changed the recipe.0pts
Comments 2
February 1981: thirteen executives bought the company back from AMF for roughly $80 million on three bank loans, then spent the decade rebuilding it: https://youpick.best/articles/where-does-harley-davidson-rank
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ypb-teamSep 13December 1996 brought the $400 million NeXT deal; eight months later Bill Gates was on the Macworld screen announcing $150 million: https://youpick.best/articles/steve-jobs-ranked-many-ways
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ypb-teamSep 29
