10 Great Companies That Lost Their Edge

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Sega, Xerox, Polaroid, Atari. Microsoft shouldnt b here. Oh and IBM

404 of DE 9:26PM September 28, 2011

Agree Xerox belongs on this list for many failings, including failure to recognize how networking standards based on Ethernet would revolutionize computer communications. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20.

Leigh of GA 12:03PM September 09, 2010

You forgot to add Xerox and now-defunct Polaroid. Xerox could never commercialize the products that came out of its PARC (Palo Alto Research Center)one of which was Star - the computer with a GUI and laser printer that visitor Steve Jobs saw in 1975. Polaroid introduced Polavision (instant movies) just as the VCR was being introduced. Edward Land's arrogance doomed the company.
Oddly - one of the products still produced by Kodak is movie film - about a $1 billion per year. Some motion picture directors will never leave it (such as Steven Spielberg) - so that will be around for a while. I went to grad school in Rochester many years ago - the Xerox and Kodak employees then were rather smug - thinking they had lifetime employment. Went back for a wedding about five years ago and took a drive around town. Kodak Park, once a massive industrial complex on the North side of town, was mostly leveled - it looked like post-war Germany. Xerox relocated its headquarters to Stamford many years ago. Rochester had the feel of an old, abandoned New England mill town.

Consultant of MA 10:31PM August 23, 2010

Kodak was a client of mine in during the 80s and early 90s, and it was indeed a great company. Hindsight is 20-20, but I've always believed that if Kodak had begun investing seriously in digital imaging in the late seventies -- instead of wasting hundreds of millions of dollars by deciding to (a) compete with Polaroid in instant photography (b) challenge Xerox in the office copier market, and (c) develop the now obsolete disc camera -- it still would be a Fortune 25 company, would never have been de-listed from the Dow, and would have sustained its remarkable record of rewarding employees with an annual wage dividend and supporting the Rochester community with extraordinarily generous philanthropy.

Bob McEwen of MO 4:44PM August 20, 2010

You are correct that after the Razr, Moto definitely lost its edge. However, it is safe to say they are coming back with a vengeance. Did you miss their recent success with the Droid line of phones and the revenue that is bringing in? I'd say they've got their edge back (though I still prefer my HTC phone).

Justin of GA 3:27PM August 20, 2010

Sears will be bankrupt in less than 2 years... They even sell their worthless "Craftsman" tools at Ace hardware now.

Kevin of WI 2:25PM August 20, 2010

I agree with all on the list with the exception of Sears (yes, Sears). You can't say that Sears has lost its edge because 1. Arguably, it never had that much of an "edge" in the past and 2. Sears is actually on the bleeding edge of multi-channel retail innovation and brand monetization right now. While others obsess on optimization strategies and moving pieces around in-store, Sears is quietly building the platforms for retail's future . Whether they win with all of them is beside the point - they are changing the game. I've covered Sears extensively in my retail blog at http://www.nmbblog.com

carol spieckerman of AR 11:00AM August 20, 2010

I used to love Yahoo, but ever since google and the use of gmail, I honestly forgot that Yahoo even exists anymore. They're too slow on their updates. By the time google gets a new update, Yahoo is right there tagging along.

Mystery of IL 10:30AM August 20, 2010