Top 30 HUGE Brands That Don't Exist Anymore

Top 30 HUGE Brands That Dont Exist Anymore

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today were counting down our picks for the major brands that have disappeared or are much harder to find than they once were.

#30: Palm

Before smartphones came along, the Palm Pilot was the ultimate in wireless tech. Palm PDAs thats personal data assistants were revolutionary, allowing users to connect to the internet from anywhere. That might sound unimpressive now, but when the Pilot 1000 was introduced in 1996, it was a big deal. The handheld device was similar to a smartphone, though its screen was grayscale and it used a stylus rather than a touchscreen. But it had familiar apps like email, and even included a feature similar to AirDrop, which allowed users to send info to other Pilots. When smartphones started to take off in the 2010s, Palm tried to pivot, but it just couldnt keep up with Apple. Production of the PDAs was discontinued in 2011.

#29: Lehman Brothers

This investment bank was a cornerstone of global finance. Founded by Henry, Emanuel, and Mayer Lehman in Alabama in the 1840s, the business started as a dry goods store before transitioning to commodities trading. Eventually, it grew to become the fourth-largest investment firm in the U.S. However, in the 2000s the company made the fatal mistake of going all-in on subprime mortgages. When the housing bubble popped and the economy collapsed in 2008, Lehman Brothers went down with it. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and its assets were liquidated. Its hard to feel sorry for execs who raked in hundreds of millions while costing other people their houses, jobs, and retirement funds. Pop culture wasnt too kind to Lehman Brothers as a result.

#28: Borders

The internet has not been kind to brick-and-mortar retail stores, especially bookstores. With the rise of Amazon and e-readers, far fewer people are shopping for books in person, and stores are forced to adapt or die. Borders was founded in 1971 in Ann Arbor, Michigan by brothers Tom and Louis Borders. After opening their second location in 1985, the business took off, ballooning to more than 1,200 stores by 2003 and expanding all over the world. Unfortunately, 2006 was the last year the company turned a profit, and it filed for bankruptcy in 2011. You can still visit a Borders bookstore, but youll have to travel to the Middle East to do it.

#27: Hummer

In the 90s and early 2000s, Hummers were a bit like Cybertrucks today. They were extremely conspicuous, not terribly practical, and people had strong opinions about them. The Hummer was actually a civilian version of a military vehicle called a Humvee. It was huge, lacked basic safety features like side airbags, and was a terrible gas guzzler, with some models getting as little as 10 miles per gallon in the city. As gas prices began to spike in the 2000s, and consumers became more conscious of the emissions they were pumping into the atmosphere, demand for Hummers dropped. The last Hummer was produced in 2010, but General Motors has since revived the brand as an all-electric vehicle.

#26: Blockbuster

We know theres technically still one Blockbuster left in Bend, Oregon. It even released a viral ad on Instagram during Super Bowl LVII. But aside from that, this once-great video rental store has gone the way of the VCR, much like its competitor, Hollywood Video. Founded in 1985, Blockbuster was a staple of family movie nights for decades. It started with tapes before expanding to DVD and video game rentals. At its height, it had more than 9,000 locations around the globe. But as you might guess, competition from Netflix and other streaming services eventually spelled the end. The craziest part is that Blockbuster had the chance to buy Netflix for just $50 million in 2000, and turned it down. Bad move, Blockbuster.

#25: Napster

If you were old enough to be on the internet in 1999, you were on Napster. It was the original peer-to-peer service for sharing MP3s, and it was huge. Although it could take hours to download a single song using dial-up internet, that didnt stop music lovers from building a collection of thousands of tracks. The service was so popular that it often jammed up college dorms networks, with some experts estimating that music downloads made up 60% of online traffic at the time. Of course, all of these songs were copyrighted, and creators werent too happy with their work being shared for free. In 2000, Metallica and Dr. Dre sued the service for copyright infringement, and by mid-2001, it was forced to shut down.

#24: RadioShack

If your dad or grandpa was really into ham radio back in the day, you probably visited a RadioShack at least once. The electronics retailer started in 1921 as a mail-order business for amateur radio hobbyists. It slowly expanded to nine large stores, but that model didnt work well for the brand, and by the 1960s it was in financial trouble. Charles Tandy of Tandy leather goods bought it out in 1962 and reorganized from a few big locations to multiple small ones. As technology evolved, RadioShack started carrying computers, telephones, and VCRs. However, as with so many retailers, online shopping was its demise. It filed for bankruptcy in 2015 and 2017. Some locations remain today, but they bear little resemblance to the original brand.

#23: Kmart

Like Borders, there are still a few Kmarts out there in the Virgin Islands and Guam. Founded under the name Kresge's in 1899, the first true Kmart opened in San Fernando, California in 1962. Over the next 40 years, it expanded to thousands of stores, and its sales even outpaced Walmarts until 1990. But it was all downhill from there. It filed for bankruptcy in 2002 amidst a scandal in which the chairman and CEO were accused of misleading shareholders while spending the companys money on private jets and luxury yachts. In 2004, it merged with competitor Sears, but sales continued to decline. In 2018, Sears Holdings filed for bankruptcy, and by 2024, nearly every Kmart and Sears location had closed.

#22: RCA

Founded in 1919, the Radio Corporation of America was the biggest name in electronics manufacturing for years. It even started the first nationwide broadcast network, the National Broadcasting Company, better known today as NBC. When television came along, RCA jumped into that venture too. It showed off its first TV at the 1939 Worlds Fair and started experimental television broadcasts from NBC studios the same year. RCA remained profitable until the 80s, when General Electric bought it out for around $6 billion. GE promised that RCA operations would continue as usual but that didnt happen. Instead, the new owners broke up the company and sold it for parts. It turned out that General Electric had bought RCA just to get its hands on NBC.

#21: F. W. Woolworth Company

Australian viewers might be wondering what Woolworths is doing on this list, but were not talking about the supermarket chain down under. Were referring to the American company started by Frank Winfield Woolworth in 1879. For more than a century, Woolworths was a cornerstone of American retail. It found early success by selling goods at ultra-competitive prices. By 1912, it had almost 600 locations across the eastern U.S. In the 80s, it expanded into malls, opening smaller stores that specialized in sporting goods, jewelry, and more. This move away from its original format would be Woolworths undoing. It began neglecting its department store operations, which were outpaced by competitors. In 1997, the company announced it would close the last of its U.S. locations.

#20: Worlds of Wonder

After conquering the toy market with products like Lazer Tag and the Teddy Ruxpin bear, Worlds of Wonder earned exclusive retail sales and distribution for the uber-popular NES system. The money was flowing. Until, suddenly, it wasnt. The unprecedented surge in video game sales quickly dwarfed the profits of traditional toys. Then, Nintendo decided not to renew their distribution deal, leaving Worlds of Wonder without a leg or in this case, a product to stand on. The stock crash of 1987 was the final nail in the coffin, and the company shut its doors for good. Both the Teddy Ruxpin and Lazer Tag sets have continued on in various forms, just not with Worlds of Wonder.

#19: Vertu

Evidently, the lifestyles of the rich and famous did not include Vertu. From their inception, the luxury phones were manufactured with an emphasis on style over function. And, to be fair, they definitely succeeded in becoming a status symbol. But, only because they were so ridiculously expensive, only the richest of the rich could afford one. Since Vertu phones also lacked features like GPS and Bluetooth, many felt the hefty price tag wasnt worth it. Following years of messy finances, the company officially went under in 2017. Now that theyre off the market, Vertu phones have ironically become the commodity the company always wanted them to be.

#18: Alta Motors

The saddest part of this closure is that it had nothing to do with the product itself. Despite an overwhelmingly positive response, Alta Motors electric bikes just werent selling enough to keep the lights on. Their biggest issue may have been the continuing controversy between electric and gas-powered engines. In fact, Alta Motors bikes were banned from several official races for that very reason. As a result, price cuts and new models were only band-aid fixes for their unsustainable cash flow. When two partnership deals fell through, the company was left severely strapped for funds, and eventually ceased operations altogether in 2018 after just eight years of business.

#17: Mercury Automobile

70-plus years is a pretty good run for any car division, especially one that never found a consistent buyerbase. See, initially, the Mercury division of Ford was created as a mid-priced alternative to their other models. However, over the years, it underwent more rebrands and redesigns than you can count on one hand. Its been a race-car, a sports vehicle, an economy ride, and more. They tried marketing it to men, and then to young drivers, and then to women. While these shifts occurred gradually across decades, the shufflings eventually began to limit the cars appeal instead of widen it. By 2010, the continuously declining sales forced Ford to put the Mercury brand in park, permanently.

#16: Pebble

These days, a smartwatch that connects to your phone isnt that crazy of an idea. But, back in 2014, Pebble burst onto the scene as one of the first to put it into practice. The results were instantaneous. At the time, the smartwatch was the most funded project in Kickstarter history. Unfortunately, after that amazing start, Pebble dropped like a stone. Amid shaky marketing and an unclear vision, the company consistently failed to hit sales goals. That, when paired with growing competition from the Apple Watch, spelled doom for the luxury armwear. The company shut down in 2016 and, interestingly enough, was acquired by Fitbit, who did not take on any of Pebbles debt.

#15: Solyndra

On paper, Solyndras high-class solar panels were cheaper, sturdier, and more efficient than anything else on the market. The pitch proved so enticing, they even garnered government support via a massive loan from the U.S. Department of Energy. However, Solyndras lead didnt last long. Within a few years of its creation, the price of natural gas nosedived, removing any financial incentive to invest in renewable energy. As a result, Solyndras abrupt bankruptcy was about as ugly as it could get, including a full-blown government investigation into their purported excessive spending and misrepresentation of finances. While theyve never been officially charged with any wrongdoing, something tells us Solyndra wont be making more solar panels any time soon.

#14: McCalls

If you read magazines in the 1900s, odds are you read McCalls. While its first issue technically dates back to 1873, it wasnt until the 20th century that it became mandatory reading. As the so-called First Magazine For Women, McCalls featured sewing patterns, short stories, home improvement tips, and more. You dont just have to take our word for it, though. The numbers speak for themselves. At its peak, McCalls had an unprecedented readership north of eight million. With that kind of support, its really no wonder it survived more than a century in print. Unfortunately, stiff competition over the years slowly whittled down its audience. In 2002, it shipped its final issue.

#13: Zune

In 2006, Microsoft went up against Apples behemoth, the iPod, and lost. Badly. In their defense, the Zune portable media players had plenty of potential. They had functionality with the popular Xbox 360, innovative social features, and even a partnership with United Airlines. But, despite all of that corporate support, Zune failed to make a splash in the market. In the six years it stayed on shelves, it consistently sold less than its competitors, let alone the juggernaut that was the iPod. While several reviews praised its HD features, that wasnt enough to move the bottom line, and Microsoft discontinued production in 2012.

#12: Theranos

Around the turn of the century, Elizabeth Holmes founded a revolutionary breakthrough for the healthcare industry. Theranos, as it was called, created technology that could perform rapid blood tests requiring very little of a sample, at a fraction of the cost. Mesmerized by the innovation, Holmes net worth skyrocketed to 4.5 billion dollars. The only issue? It was all a lie. Theranos supposed science was flimsy at best, and a complete fabrication at worst. The company and its incredible funding both went down in flames, but that was the least of Holmes issues. She still faced multiple counts of fraud, and was later sentenced to eleven years in prison. Given all that, dont expect Theranos to resurface ever again.

#11: Vine

In just six seconds, this video-looping app took the world by storm. Its short-form content was the very definition of addictive, and because of that, Vines viral videos quickly became a staple of pop culture. However, it wasnt long before rivaling social media platforms got in on the trend. When the likes of Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat added their own video-sharing features, Vine lost its reason to be and most of its user base, too. By 2017, the app shut down altogether. At the very least, a comprehensive archive of its many videos still exists, ensuring well never forget that it is Wednesday, my dudes.

#10: Tab

When someone says they want a tab, it usually means theyre going to order more at an establishment and want to keep a tally so they can pay later. Not for Coca-Cola. In 1963, they introduced their very first diet beverage known as Tab. Considered very popular in the 60s and 70s, they spawned various flavors of the drink, including root beer and ginger ale. Yet when Diet Coke hit the market in 1982, Tab started to take a hit. The company began producing less and less of it as interests shifted, and Coke eventually announced in 2020 they were discontinuing the brand. There are however pockets of places here and there that still carry the cult favorite as of writing, but those are rare and the soft drink is pretty much retired.

#9: Bugle Boy

Fun fact: Bugle Boy founder William C. W. Mow actually started his entrepreneurial career in electrical engineering. When ousted from his company due to an SEC inquiry, Mow shifted gears and started making clothing. Best known for their jeans and earworm-inducing commercials, Bugle Boy was also responsible for one of the surprising trends of the 1980s: parachute pants. Between the denim trousers and the ballooning slacks, the company sold nearly a billion dollars worth of product. Despite its success, the company had difficulty staying up with the ever-changing trends of youth culture. They eventually went bankrupt in 2001.

#8: Compaq

Founded in the early 80s, this thriving computer company sold IBM PC compatible devices with PC standing for Personal Computer under their own name. A few notable devices included one of the first portable computers and the Compaq Presario, which featured a long line of desktop and laptop computers. By 1994, they had lapped IBM and Apple in the home computer market. However, with the market shifting, and some bad management decisions, Compaqs star began to fall. In 2002, they were acquired by Hewlett-Packard, and the last Compaq-branded devices were discontinued in 2013.

#7: Pontiac

In the 1920s, GM discovered a major price gap between their Chevrolet and Oakland branded vehicles, prompting the birth of the 1926 Pontiac. By 1929 the Pontiacs were outselling the Oaklands enough that they discontinued the latter in 1931. Since then, Pontiac grew to become a major success for GM. Notable entries include the 69 Pontiac GTO, the Grand Am, the Fiero, and the Firebird Trans Am. However, the turn of the century was not good for GM as they faced bankruptcy. Having already taken Oldsmobile out of the picture in 2004, Pontiac largely saw its end in 2009 when the company pulled the plug on the long-standing brand in an effort to keep themselves afloat.

#6: Kudos

Candy bars come and go, but some have stood the test of time. Mars, Kit Kat, and Twix are just a few whove hung on over the years. Kudos, on the other hand, did not. It was a granola bar snack introduced by Mars in 1986, with a Simply Kudos offshoot that was meant to address the high calorie count in the original. Oddly enough, in 2017 a post on the companys Facebook page confirmed the brand had been discontinued. No official reason has ever been given and fans of the granola snack were left scratching their heads. All may not be lost as Mars apparently re-registered the brand trademark in 2020. Maybe well see it again someday.

#5: Orbitz

We have no idea what this company was thinking when they released this beverage back in 1997, but to no ones surprise, it didnt last. Made as a clear, non-carbonated fruit drink, Orbitz became infamous for the reaction it spawned from onlookers. If it had been released today, were sure the likes of YouTube and TikTok would be filled with reaction videos of people trying to figure out exactly what the orbs floating in the drink were. Not only did it look like a lava lamp to-go, the drink itself tasted poorly, and the orbs were apparently even worse. This is a drink we thankfully kicked into orbit.

#4: Netscape Navigator

Unless you used the internet in the 90s, or recognized the icon from a quick scene in Captain Marvel, youve probably never heard of this browser. At a time when the World Wide Web was just starting out, web browsers were few and far between. Netscape reigned king for a while until Microsoft came to the scene and the browser wars began. Netscape won the first few rounds, but by the time Internet Explorer 3.0 and 4.0 came out, Netscape was already lagging behind. And it didnt help that Microsoft included Explorer with every version of Windows. Netscape came to an end in 2007, but left Javascript as a legacy since its used by virtually every webpage out there.

#3: Enron

Enron is a name that went down in history as one of the biggest financial scandals to rock the United States. Known mainly as an energy company, Enron grew by leaps and bounds as it began to diversify its portfolio beyond just the basics of energy. Sure, that all sounds great as many companies broaden out. The problem for Enron was that as large as they were, much of their financial success was due to creative accounting. In basic terms, they said they were doing fine, all the while hiding massive debts and liabilities from everyone. They filed for bankruptcy in 2001, and a full investigation into their practices was launched.

#2: Kodak

Trademarked in 1888, Kodak is a name synonymous with photography. For years, the term Kodak moment referred to a perfect instant to capture in a photo. Kodak cameras hit the market shortly after the company was formed, and became the de facto standard for all things photography for decades. In 1975, they produced the worlds first digital camera, but scrapped it for fear of losing their film camera business. Company executives held the line on film photography, but did eventually give in and joined the digital revolution, which helped the company for a short time. A combination of both market growth, the explosion of the smartphone, and other competitors eventually pushed Kodak out of photography, and it now only operates as a print company after filing for bankruptcy in the early 2010s.

#1: Pan Am

Air travel in the mid-20th century was a whole other world. Pan American World Airways, or Pan Am, practically held a monopoly on international travel at the time. They were also responsible for shifting the types of aircraft being flown to much larger planes such as the Boeing 747. They had an advanced collection, top-notch service, and were not owned by any government entity. That state of the art fleet of planes ultimately hurt them, however, when the 1973 oil crisis struck. No one was flying, and the company was taking a hit. Their accumulating debt and failure to adapt to an ever changing industry saw them sell off their assets to various other airlines as they went under in 1991.

Which of these major brands would you like to see make a comeback? Let us know in the comments below.