In 1984, after 10 years in operation, Exxon shut down its office-systems business and write off more than $1 billion.
Here’s a 1980 commercial for the Qyx high speed typewriter:
Nintendo’s virtual boy
In 1995, Nintendo brought virtual reality (VR) to the masses with Virtual Boy, which turned out to be its biggest failure of all time. It was a stilt-legged tabletop gaming machine, which offered stereoscopic 3D graphics. The device was not a commercial success and was discontinued in just a year. The 3D aspect didn’t add much to the gaming experience, the red and black display was harsh on the eyes, and the console was bulky and required players to hunch over.
Apple’s Power Mac G4 Cube
Launched in 2000, Apple’s Power Mac G4 Cube was conceived by Steve Jobs as a powerful, miniaturized desktop computer. It was discontinued a year later due to the high cost of the machine compared to its power, its limited expandability, and cosmetic defects.
Deshaun Watson
In 2022, the Cleveland Browns traded for Deshaun Watson, who was then a quarterback for the Houston Texans. Many experts consider this the worst trade in NFL history where the Browns traded three first round picks, two third round picks, one fourth round pick, and guaranteed him $230 million over 5 years. Not only has his performance been one of the worst in the league, he’s only played 12 games in his first two seasons due to injuries and a suspension.
Avaya
In 2023, Avaya, the one-time networking and unified communications industry stalwart, filed for bankruptcy a second time and was delisted by the NYSE. At a time when both the collaboration and contact center markets were been red-hot, Avaya’s $3.4 billion massive debt obligations prevented it from executing in these areas.
Starbucks Mazagran
In 1995, Starbucks launched a cold, lightly carbonated coffee drink called Mazagran in partnership with Pepsi. It was cold, when people expected coffee beverages to be hot. A lot of customers were willing to give it a try because of the Starbucks brand name, but Mazagran didn’t get the repeat business they hoped for.
Zenefits
Zenefits, which made money by acting as a health-insurance brokerage firm for its customers, raised $500 million at a $4 billion valuation only two years after founding. Zenefits employees cheating on the state’s online broker license course led to the CEO’s departure.
Zenefits was a company consumed by impossible growth expectations to grow into its high valuation. Zenefits began hiring people who had little experience with software sales in a highly regulated industry. To increase revenue, the company moved beyond small businesses to customers with hundreds of employees — and the software struggled to keep up. Instead of pausing to fix bugs, Zenefits simply hired more employees to fill in where the software failed, including repurposing product managers for manual data entry.
There was a laxity about rules and decorum. Zenefits offered beer kegs in its offices, and people freely imbibed during the workday.
Microsoft Band
In 2016, Microsoft killed its fitness tracker, Microsoft Band, after only two years. Microsoft touted it as the most advanced fitness tracker on the market, but it was criticized for being awkward and uncomfortable.
Beanie Babies
Excessive greed infected the parent company Ty, who tried to manipulate the market. The company’s efforts eventually contributed to the implosion of the 1990s’ fad. At the peak, more than 60% of American households owned at least one of these babies.
Ty created a sense of exclusivity around Beanie Babies by regularly retiring popular versions and releasing limited editions. Then Ty upped production of newer Beanies in 1999 and in turn tarnished their rarity and value. Demand from collectors fell and Beanie Baby sales plummeted.
Nike hockey
In 2008, Nike viewed hockey as a sport that doesn’t fit into its strategy of developing multi-billion-dollar global properties. It had already written off a sizable chunk of its hockey investment before putting the subsidiary on the market.