Couldn't Happen To A Nicer Company (Conglomerate)

Bill Ashton

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Seems that J. Crew the fashion brand is in trouble. As some will remember J. Crew, Burger King and...wait for it...Fender were
acquired by Texas Pacific Group, who closed down Guild and the New Hartford factory. I hope TPC eats their shirts :mad:

 

Bill Ashton

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Dreadnut, I agree that the failing of another company stinks, but TPC was so mean spirited with Guild when they acquired Fender, I haven't eaten at Burger King since, and just throw out any J. Crew adverts that come in...I'm just one 'geezer and they could give a %&#$ less, but gets it off my chest...
 

walrus

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I can't be happy about the demise of another company at this time.
Dreadnut, I agree that the failing of another company stinks, but TPC was so mean spirited with Guild when they acquired Fender, I haven't eaten at Burger King since, and just throw out any J. Crew adverts that come in...I'm just one 'geezer and they could give a %&#$ less, but gets it off my chest...

I'm with dread simply because underneath all the management people who messed things up, or were mean spirited, or whatever, are many many regular people trying to make a living. The salespeople at J. Crew had nothing to do with it, but they will be out of work.

walrus
 

beecee

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I'm with dread simply because underneath all the management people who messed things up, or were mean spirited, or whatever, are many many regular people trying to make a living. The salespeople at J. Crew had nothing to do with it, but they will be out of work.

walrus

I think the sob's will simply shed a few hundred million in debt via BK, earn a few hundred million in fees going through BK and then emerge w. a stronger balance sheet. Cram down work out.....jerks!
 

Bill Ashton

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When you really look at the end of the line here, its the poor sods in Pakistan or other far-east company making the goods who get beaten up by this...

So, I really don't give a S*%# about people who invested with these 'juicers, let them take a lose!
 

DThomasC

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I agree that I don't like to see any company fail. OTOH, it can be a good thing in the long run if the company that falls has become oversize and inefficient in the market. It frees up resources and talent to regroup and form better companies.

A giant tree in the forest dies and falls over. The good news is that the sun now reaches the forest floor and allows a new bunch of flora to thrive. Some companies need to die for the economy to remain healthy.
 

dreadnut

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Well DTC, I agree to this extent: companies that can't be or remain competitive need to die, and die they will. No need for any giant tree to fall if it's healthy, and not cut down.
 

DThomasC

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Let me offer an example that might help explain what I mean. About 20 years ago I worked for a high tech company with something like 50 employees. I was thrilled when I started working there because it seemed that it was a very well run company. The working environment was positive. The product they delivered was high quality. Everyone was paid well and had no reason to be unhappy.

About a year after I was hired, the owners sold the company to a much larger conglomerate. In fact, the buyers had competed with us in some markets. Well, it turns out they bought us just for the intellectual property. They methodically dismantled the company and shut it down over the course of two years. I was heartbroken. What a waste of probably the best organization I had worked for (so far.)

But, in just a few years, two other companies were formed by the unemployed employees. I went to work for one of them and it turned out to be an even better place to work than the old one. It was more progressive, better focused, and way faster on its feet. It was the same talent as before, but put to much better use. (BTW, I'm not just talking about engineers. A lot of the production people and office staff were rehired.)

One day a bunch of us that had worked at the old company were talking. I commented how much I liked working there and how sad I was that it's gone. I was reminded that if it hadn't have been sold, then we wouldn't be standing there together on that day doing even better things.

Anyone from the Rochester, NY area knows that Kodak was king here for decades with Xerox also having a huge presence and impact on the local economy. Well, both of those companies are effectively gone now, and a lot of people got hurt when they fell. But Rochester is now the "silicon valley" of optics. Many dozens of smaller companies have been started by former employees of Kodak, Xerox, and Bausch & Lomb.

One of the companies that I do consulting for is developing a point-of-care device for testing blood, urine, etc. It about the size of a Keurig and can potentially replace giant multi-million dollar machines that are the size of an SUV. The idea is that there could be one in every doctors office (for example.) Then, when your doctor orders a blood test, instead of driving to some blood collection facility where they draw blood and send it off to a lab somewhere for testing, the nurse in the doctors office will prick your finger, collect one drop of blood, and you'll have the results of the test before you leave the examining room.

The person that invented the technology is a professor at NYU, but the company is near Rochester NY. Why? Because of all the expertise in microfluidics that lives here. These are the people that once developed inkjet printers for Kodak and Xerox, and are now available to develop medical devices that can change the world! I'm sad that Kodak failed. Many people in my family worked there and suffered as it slowly sank. But, I'm thrilled that I'm able to work with people creating something even better than inkjet printers.

The king is dead! Long live the king!
 

dreadnut

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I have no idea about J. Crew and I'd be blowing smoke if I said I did.

Sounds like some great things going on there in Rochester.
 

5thumbs

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Let me offer an example that might help explain what I mean. About 20 years ago I worked for a high tech company with something like 50 employees. I was thrilled when I started working there because it seemed that it was a very well run company. The working environment was positive. The product they delivered was high quality. Everyone was paid well and had no reason to be unhappy.

About a year after I was hired, the owners sold the company to a much larger conglomerate. In fact, the buyers had competed with us in some markets. Well, it turns out they bought us just for the intellectual property. They methodically dismantled the company and shut it down over the course of two years. I was heartbroken. What a waste of probably the best organization I had worked for (so far.)

But, in just a few years, two other companies were formed by the unemployed employees. I went to work for one of them and it turned out to be an even better place to work than the old one. It was more progressive, better focused, and way faster on its feet. It was the same talent as before, but put to much better use. (BTW, I'm not just talking about engineers. A lot of the production people and office staff were rehired.)

One day a bunch of us that had worked at the old company were talking. I commented how much I liked working there and how sad I was that it's gone. I was reminded that if it hadn't have been sold, then we wouldn't be standing there together on that day doing even better things.

Anyone from the Rochester, NY area knows that Kodak was king here for decades with Xerox also having a huge presence and impact on the local economy. Well, both of those companies are effectively gone now, and a lot of people got hurt when they fell. But Rochester is now the "silicon valley" of optics. Many dozens of smaller companies have been started by former employees of Kodak, Xerox, and Bausch & Lomb.

One of the companies that I do consulting for is developing a point-of-care device for testing blood, urine, etc. It about the size of a Keurig and can potentially replace giant multi-million dollar machines that are the size of an SUV. The idea is that there could be one in every doctors office (for example.) Then, when your doctor orders a blood test, instead of driving to some blood collection facility where they draw blood and send it off to a lab somewhere for testing, the nurse in the doctors office will prick your finger, collect one drop of blood, and you'll have the results of the test before you leave the examining room.

The person that invented the technology is a professor at NYU, but the company is near Rochester NY. Why? Because of all the expertise in microfluidics that lives here. These are the people that once developed inkjet printers for Kodak and Xerox, and are now available to develop medical devices that can change the world! I'm sad that Kodak failed. Many people in my family worked there and suffered as it slowly sank. But, I'm thrilled that I'm able to work with people creating something even better than inkjet printers.

The king is dead! Long live the king!

A very thought-provoking explanation. Thank you.
 

beecee

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I was invited to bid on managing the properties Kodak still owns in Rochester. In the wide lobby staircase of the corporate tower is a wall of fame of the patents and patent holders Kodak held during the years.....it is a very large wall.

They also have on display their lineage of cameras through the years, pre Brownies to Advantix etc....another very large display

Sadly there was the digital camera in there as well. I'm sure DThomasC will correct me if I was misinformed but I was told on the property tour that Kodak invented the technology but was so concerned about protecting the film market they either shelved or sold the technology.

Interesting tour of the Hawkeye plant that week as well.....you should Google Kodak Hawkeye Building...apparently not many knew what was going on there during the cold war.

It's been recently sold to a group of investors from China
 

chazmo

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I don't know how many of you have read "The Innovator's Dilemma" by Clayton Christensen, I *strongly* recommend it. It's probably the most cogent explanation of what happens to companies like Kodak (perfect example) as time goes on.

I'm not much for these squishy B-school books, but honestly this one was a real page-turner and it's incredibly insightful.

Indeed, the king(s) is dead; long live the king(s)! :D
 
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