5 Company Rebrands That Saved Them & 5 That Confused Everyone

5 Company Rebrandings That Saved Them and 5 That Confused Everyone

Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the ten times a company rebranding either worked a charm, or turned into nothing but a waste of money.

#5: Abercrombie & Fitch - Saved

This clothing brand was founded in 1892, and has since been through a variety of unique phases. Initially, it sold mainly outdoor apparel, but in the 80s and 90s, CEO Mike Jeffries changed their target audience. They began tailoring to the elite, but used some controversial methods to do so, causing a ton of backlash. Eventually, Jeffries resigned in 2014, and a few years later, they underwent a major rebrand. In 2016, it was considered America’s worst retailer. Now, they’ve become adored again, after targeting people from all walks of life. It proved to be a lucrative decision, with the company’s shares climbing high during the 2020s.

#5: Netflix - Confused

This video streaming service is so successful, it’s strange to think that it ever could’ve failed. Well, back in its early days, its main priority was DVD-by-mail rental. In 2011, they opted to split rental and streaming into two separate units. Netflix did the streaming, while Qwikster did the rentals. Rather than paying $10 for the whole package, customers had to pay $7.99 for each service. Netflix lost half of its value in only two months after the change. They lost roughly 800,000 U.S. subscribers, leaving them with no decision but to keep failing or undo their change. Needless to say, they picked the latter, and as we all know, it was the better business decision.

#4: Petco - Saved

This pet supplies retailer began in 1965, and in the decades since, it’s become one of America’s largest pet stores. In 2020, during the pandemic, they changed their tagline and logo. The tagline went from “Petco Animal Supplies” to “Petco, The Health + Wellness Co.” This was appreciated, but their logo change had more mixed reviews, since at first, the dog and cat were removed. People liked their decision to focus on health, though. The rebrand worked wonders for a few years, but they’ve unfortunately since started struggling again. One reason is that they stopped the sale of all foods with artificial ingredients. Their hearts were in the right place, but it cost them a lot of customers who preferred the cheaper items.

#4: Royal Mail - Confused

If you live in Britain, you’re certainly familiar with the Royal Mail. They’re the UK’s primary postal service, and have been for decades. Their dominance was challenged in 2001, after historically poor business decisions. They decided they’d rather be named Consignia, to reflect to customers that they do things other than deliver post. It’s estimated that it cost them about $2 million in total. After roughly a year of people detesting the new name, they caved and returned to their roots. This took them about another $1 million, making it one of the most expensive blunders in postal history.

#3: Dunkin’ Donuts - Saved

This coffee and donut store chain was founded in 1950. For decades, they were known for their donuts, but people slowly became more interested in the coffee. The public also began shortening their name, simply calling it “Dunkin’”. So, they decided to ditch the donuts and double down on their coffee. They rebranded in 2019 making “Dunkin’” their official name, and creating a simple logo that was even easier to recognise. It’s since proven to have been a wonderful business decision. It helped attract a younger audience, plus it made them a major player in the more competitive beverage industry.

#3: RadioShack - Confused

Over a century since it was founded in 1921, electronics retailer RadioShack has been almost completely forgotten. A lot of its failures are attributed to its disastrous 2009 rebrand. They decided to rename themselves to simply “The Shack.” A new logo was also created, but it confusingly said “RadioShack The Shack.” This did immense harm to the business. A downward spiral began, leading them to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2015. It was purchased by General Wireless, which filed for bankruptcy itself in 2017. RadioShack still exists, but it’s primarily online with few physical stores remaining.

#2: LEGO - Saved

Our next entry didn’t rebrand the same way as the others on our list. Instead of simply changing their logo or name, they overhauled their entire business over the course of a few years. It’s hard to believe now, but around the turn of the century, LEGO was declining in popularity. Jørgen Vig Knudstorp is the primary figure attributed to saving LEGO. He became CEO in 2004, while they were on the verge of bankruptcy. Almost all unprofitable ventures were cancelled, and they began solely focusing on their core products. Now, LEGO is widely successful, leading some people to jokingly claim LEGO maintains its value better than actual money.

#2: Meta - Confused

Mark Zuckerberg is famous for founding the social media platform Facebook, alongside its respective company, Facebook, Inc. It kept this name until 2021, when it decided to rename itself to Meta Platforms, Inc. This was to reflect their new business focus, the Metaverse. For those unaware, this is an online 3D virtual hangout world. Most people consider the platform to be a massive failure. A lot of false promises were made, pushing away fans. Alongside this, VR headsets were encouraged, with Meta’s own costing hundreds of dollars. While it was a poor business decision, Meta seems way too big to fall, as their platforms are so popular.

#1: Burberry - Saved

In the present day, Burberry is a luxury fashion brand. During the 2000s, they were the complete opposite. In the UK, they were overwhelmingly associated with football hooligan culture. This was because their clothes were relatively cheap, plus there were tons of affordable fakes available. Eventually, along came Christopher Bailey, who became their creative director. Bailey put his heart and soul into changing the brand identity. This included hiring star Emma Watson to model for them. Bailey’s efforts were so adored that when he announced he was stepping down in 2018, the company’s shares dropped by 2%.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

GoDaddy - Saved

People Took Them More Seriously After Removing the Logo’s Strangely Designed Man

Mailchimp - Saved

A Mascot Redesign Proved Incredibly Successful

Capital One - Confused

This Bank's New Logo Looks Like a Design Pulled From “Star Trek”, But Not in a Good Way

GAP - Confused

$100 Million Was Spent on This Rebrand, Which Lasted Only 6 Days

#1: X - Confused

The most scandalous rebrand of a social media platform is easily Twitter’s. The website was known as Twitter from 2006 until 2023, when billionaire Elon Musk bought it for $44 billion. It’s been contentious for many reasons, with one main one being the terrible name change. Instead of retaining its old and catchy name, he renamed it “X.” It’s not the first time he’s used the letter in a name; he’s obsessed with it. This can be seen in his companies SpaceX, X.com, xAI, and even his child X Æ A-Xii Musk, but it’s a mystery why he’s so fond of it. Despite his efforts, people are still calling it Twitter, and will probably continue to do so indefinitely.

Do you have a favorite company rebranding of all time, and did it prove successful? Let us know in the comments below!