Stupid Corporate Decisions

[JohnT]

(Note, this isn't an anger thread nor a political one. I just want us to laugh at other peoples expense.)

Have you been to McDonalds lately? They actually lost money for the first time in over 30 years last quarter... do you know why? Here's a hint:

Hamburger - 89 cents
Cheeseburger - 95 cents
Big 'n Tasty - $1 (now supplanted by the Double Cheeseburger)

So, for a mere .11 cents over their basic burger you got twice as much meat, plus lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, and a sesame seed bun.

I bet they lost $.50 for every one they sold - and they sold a LOT.

Idiots. Ray Croc must be rolling in his grave. I think they should start teaching finance at Hamburger U.

What other stupid decision have you seen corporations make?

[Andrew1999]

New Coke.

[Dom Pedro II]

Releasing certain strategy games without properly testing it for player desirability....

[Dinner]

Airlines which are already on the verge of Bankruptcy getting involved in price wars.

[Dinner]

The all new 1958 Edsel Ranger!

[Dinner]

A really stupid decision was for the Big three to abandon the economy car segment to the Japanese in the late 1960s & early 1970s. Henry Ford II was quoted as saying "Small cars equal small profits and who's going to want a Japanese car any way?"!

[Dinner]

Xerox giving up the patent for the Graphical User Interface (GUI) because they thought it would be far toi complicated to make it work. Microsoft then took up the idea and created the Windows opporating system.

[Bosh]

IBM liscensing DOS instead of buying exclusive rights...

[Dinner]

GE and RCA both way ahead of the Japanese in developing transitor technology in the 1950s but they had previously invested heavily in vacuum tubes so they choice to ignore the emerging technology of transitor radios and instead licienced the technology to a little know Japanese company named SONY.

[Dinner]

In 1945 the West German government found its industry in shambbles and sought foreign investors to help rebuild Germany. The German government offered to sell the Ford Motor Company the Wolfsburg factory where Hitlers "People's Car" was built for just $100,000. Henry Ford II's son Edsel Ford toured the factory and wrote his father saying "this factory and the car made here are worthless; there is no market for such a little car".

That little car went on to be the best selling car in history and built Volkswagen AG into the largest European auto maker.

[chequita guevara]

According to my good freind who works for McDonald's IT, McDonald's had a lot of one-time costs last year, which is why they didn't make a profit. We'll have to see whether they make a profit this year to see if they were snowing him and the rest of their corporate division. Anyway, they don't lose money on the $1 Big and Tasty, just don't make as much. Plus, they drive up volume on fries, drinks, and other items which are the high profit items.

[Dinner]

Many of the one time charges where for buying back unprofitable franchises from the franchisees. The new CEO feels (rightly) that there are to many McDonalds in the US and that profits will rise if they stop competing with each other as well as with the other fast food joints.

Personally, I think they will only get so far with this strategy and they will have to revamp their menus and add better tasting food like Charle's Junior, Jack in the Box, and several other's have done. That will help but they'll still going to be stuck with the imagine of a crap food place which is bad for your health.

[Kirnwaffen]

Sale of QDOS to Microsoft for approximately $25,000.

[chequita guevara]

Turning down Madonna for a record contract.

[Dinner]

In the 1850's the pony express was approached by the Union Pacific Railroad who was looking for a partner to invest in a transcontential telegraph line. The Board of Directors for the Pony express declined to buy a 50% share in the telegraph line because they thought people would always care more about a hand written letter from a loved one then a quickly sent message via telegraph.

The same year the new telegraph line became opporational the Pony Express went bankrupt because everyone switched to telegraph.