It's become a tradition to post annual predictions for which popular brands will cease to exist within the coming year. Failing brands are never in short supply, and some companies fail because they're just so popular that their competitors decide to buy them out and dismantle them. Other corporations are going out of business because of digital encroachment, losing traction due to shifting trends and expectations, and a few have made dire PR or management mistakes that just can't be corrected. Which popular brands are most likely to fail before 2015? Hopefully none of your favorites... but you never can tell.
http://www.ranker.com/list/companies-that-will-go-out-of-business/devon-ashby,
Aéropostale
Like many snootier companies that used to get away with overcharging gullible teenagers for mediocre clothing, Aéropostale is being upstaged into irrelevancy by "fast fashion" brands like Forever 21 and H&M.
DirecTV Group
A merger has recently been proposed with AT&T, but beyond that, who honestly watches satellite TV anymore?
Lululemon Athletica
Suffering a crippling blow in 2012 following an embarrassing recall (its too-sheer summer line was showing off a little more of its clientele's private assets than originally planned), the formerly popular athletic company is now being aggressively crowded out of the market by Gap and other retailers.
BlackBerry Ltd
In a world dominated by endless competition between iPhone and Samsung, BlackBerry has failed miserably to stay relevant despite investing in smart phone technology.
Russell Stover Candies
Stock up on those fruit creme assortments while you still can – the third largest chocolate company in the world is still miles behind Hershey and Nestle, and tragically, is currently looking for a buyer.
Shutterfly
The for-pay photo sharing company can no longer compete with the stampede of free photography apps like Instagram.
Time Warner Cable
Heralding the forthcoming Net Neutrality apocalypse, Time Warner Cable was recently sold to Comcast and will likely cease to exist as a separate brand.
Zynga
Previously of-the-moment game company Zynga became known as the distributor of games like Farmville, but has recently been decimated by the loss of its exclusive partnership with Facebook and failure to whip up a new hit.
Hillshire Farm
An agreement has already been signed for Hillshire Brands to be taken over by Tyson Foods later this year – hopefully the quality of the lunchmeat won't suffer.
W.N.B.A.
They're still in the fight, but recent declining viewership and heavy financial losses are making WNBA's future look pretty bleak.