Sears, MySpace, A&W All-American Foods Restaurants, and Kellogg's Corn Pops are just a few of the brands that one financial website says will disappear in 2012.
Some people might not put much stock in these reports, but at the very least they're entertaining. The website, called 24/7 Wall St., puts out the list yearly and has been relatively on the mark in the past. Previous lists included Blockbuster, which filed for bankruptcy last year with $1 billion in debt, and T-Mobile, which AT&T is in the process of buying for $39 billion.
This year's list also includes Sony Pictures, American Apparel, Nokia, Saab, Soap Opera Digest and Sony Ericsson.
Some of these companies have a presence in Sioux Falls, A&W and Sears among them, but most all of them will have some sort of significance to South Dakotans. Who does not remember the "Gotta have my Pops" commercials as a Saturday morning staple during cartoons?
But according to 24/7 Wall St., it's been a tough couple of years for the cereal business, especially those not considered "healthy." Sales of the brand dropped 18 percent for the year that ended in April, down to $74 million and well behind brands such as Cheerios and Frosted Flakes.
Sears is a bit of a surprise. I don't think it's a secret the company, which includes Kmart, has had a rough go of late, but I never thought the longstanding Sears brand would completely disappear anytime soon. Shares for the Sears holdings are down 55 percent during the past five years, sales are down and the company is posting quarterly losses.
"The path (CEO Lou) D'Ambrosio is likely to take is to consolidate two brands into one - keeping the better performing Kmart and shuttering Sears," according to the report.
A&W, owned by Yum! Brands, has one Sioux Falls location on East 10th Street and is separate from the container beverage business owned by Dr. Pepper/Snapple.
But the restaurants, of which there are now about 320, can't compete with larger chains such as KFC, Subway and McDonald's, according to 24/7.
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