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Examples of improved products?

What are some examples of formerly dead brands or products that have been resurrected?

  • I'm particularly interested in examples of consumer brands, such as Mossimo, that have been acquired by holding companies, such as Iconix, in the United States. MINI and Indian Motorcycles are other good examples. But please feel free to include global brands as well as business-to-business examples, such as ThinkPad or Iridium.

  • Answer:

    1. APPLE Issue: Product portfolio unable to drive profits Solution: New product innovation Case: In 1997, when Steve Jobs returned to Apple as the CEO, the company was in shambles — it was struggling to survive. Sales fell down by 28% to $7.1 Billion and the company recorded losses worth a billion. Infact, Microsoft had to invest $150 million in Apple at that time to save the company. The next year, Apple's sales were down by 16%. From thereon, Steve Jobs undertook the transformation of Apple. Back in 1998, there was no iPod, iPad or iPhone to help the company revive its fortunes. The company shifted its focus from computers to mobile devices. The remarkable transformation led Apple to become one of the iconic brands of all times. 2. LEGO Issue: Growing mismanagement, escalation of costs and slump in sales in face of "too-many" products Solution: Stricter focus on quality and eliminating rarely used components Case: In early 2000s, Lego was running into issues as designers were given complete autonomy to create imaginative toys. By 2004, the number of toy components increased from 7,000 to 12,400. As a result, supplier costs went off the roof. To add to Lego's troubles, the news designs were not going down well with kids. In 2004, when Jorgen Vig Knudstorp stepped in as the CEO, he addressed the debt issue by slashing costs and limiting the free autonomy given to designers. Each design created was subject to votes amongst designers and only the top voted designs went into production. This process led to increase in quality of the final output and also helped Lego eliminate rarely used pieces — it successfully reduced the production components back to 7,000, the same number in 1997 3. JAGUAR AND LAND ROVER Issue: Fading brand image, slump in sales, loss-making products Solution: Tightening cost and cash flow management, driving innovation by research and devlopment Case: When Tata acquired JLR, the world was entering a recession. Loss-making former owner, US giant Ford, sold just under 50,000 Land Rovers and nearly 15,700 Jaguars in 2007, before selling JLR to Tata for $2.3 billion. Fast forward 6 years from acquisition, JLR is the primary driver of Tata Motors profits, the success of these brands is helping Tata offset the poor performance domestically. So how did Tata manage to make this remarkable turnaround? It cut costs by integrating shared services like IT. Systems and software were handled by Tata's own IT services firm. Tata tightened the control on cash flow. It shifted a lot of manufacturing facilities to lower costs emerging markets like India. The company also invested heavily into Research and Development which sparked innovation. 4. BURBERRY Issue: Ubiquity in product offering, inconsistency in customer experience Solution: Centralize design and focus on innovating core heritage products Case: When Angela Ahrendts stepped in as Burberry's CEO in 2006, Burberry was growing at a meagre 2% a year, despite a booming global consumer market. It was losing its brand image to licensing. The new CEO was quick to identify that the company was selling a lot of stuff. In luxury, ubiquity will kill you—it means you’re not really luxury anymore. Under Angela's leadership, the company shifted to a more focussed strategy, i.e. selling the iconic products that Burberry is historically know for. Additionally, the company faced the problem of decentralised design. The user experience in one store of Burberry was quite different from the other. The company introduced a centralised design director. Burberry also cut manufacturing costs by identifying low cost production locations globally. Sources: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/06/21/apple-turnaround-jcpenney-tech-revival/ http://www.isegoria.net/2010/07/how-lego-revived-its-brand/ http://www.bgcpartners.com/news-centre/in-the-media/122937798.html http://www.mbaskool.com/business-articles/marketing/1737-tata-motors-jaguar-land-rover-jlr-the-success-story.html http://hbr.org/2013/01/burberrys-ceo-on-turning-an-aging-british-icon-into-a-global-luxury-brand/ar/1

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There's a difference between having a good brand and having a good business. Many a beloved household name — Tower Records, Circuit City — has ended its life inside bankruptcy court. But bankruptcy isn't always the end of the road. Take Converse for instance, which filed for bankruptcy in 2001 and was bought by Nike and turned into the thriving brand it is today.

Prateek Saxena

If you mean totally went out of production and later successfully revived, Star Trek is one of the more astonishing examples.  A show about the future risks being ahead of its time.  "He's dead, Jim!" But wait... "Live long and prosper!" The original show was canceled after just three seasons.  Yet  it became legendary in syndication.  Millions watched the reruns every day when the original struggled to find a weekly audience. A Trekkie portfolio of products and conventions emerged.  People learned Klingon. Later, many from the original cast returned to make several blockbuster movies.  New TV shows, such as Star Trek: Next Generation appeared and enjoyed much longer runs than the original. Now the original iconic characters have been recast with new talent in several movies, making for a reboot within a revival..

Charles Magowan

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