Answers for receivers searching for ways to fix these British Isles brands DUBLIN – The Irish-based owners of Wedgwood, Waterford, Royal Doulton and Rosenthal have put the company into receivership, the British word for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It’s a real tragedy, as both companies have long histories. The 1986 merger of the two into Waterford [...]

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LONDON – Woolworths Group PLC, one of the last remaining pieces of America’s F.W. Woolworth Company, might have a saviour for its brand. While the company, which is in bankruptcy administration, would be shut down, there are apparently groups interested in the company’s intellectual property, including the brand. In addition, many of the company’s top [...]

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DENVER- On a flight back from Denver last week, I sat next to a man on the airplane who talked to his wife in a sad tone on his cellphone. It was the middle of a snowstorm, and we were way late leaving. While I wasn’t eavesdropping, promise, I heard “it’s over” and “Singleton.” As [...]

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American Dollar Stores Provide a Viable Model LONDON – Decades of missteps and a brutal retail recession have hurt the British retailer Woolworth’s, which was one of the few surviving legacies of the giant F.W. Woolworth Co., a company that closed in the U.S. in the late 1990s. In mid-November, the stock price was less [...]

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TOLEDO – A White Tower in the way of the expansion of a downtown YWCA will be moved rather than destroyed, according to The Toledo Blade. We wrote about the imperiled hamburger shop earlier this year, and the YWCA’s offer to sell it for $1 to anyone who would remove it. The brand is also [...]

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WINTER HAVEN – Last weekend, the legendary theme park Cypress Gardens closed for four months while management said it would refocus on its water park and historic garden. In the process, it would drop its roller coasters and rides. This temporary shut down is not the first closure for the park, which has had a [...]

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If you are in any way connected to the business of the Yellow Pages anywhere in America, we had a frightening thing happen in my neighborhood this week. This Saturday, a white van drove around the neighborhood very slowly and began dropping things on stoops. The white van was dropping off telephone books and yellow [...]

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If KLM and Air France can keep their unique identities after a merger, then why can’t Delta and Northwest keep their identities? This week, Landor Associates, the branding firm, redid the positioning of KLM, Royal Dutch Airlines. This was to help build on KLM’s long heritage. KLM is part of Air France, but keeps a [...]

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When a brand goes into decline or a company purchases another company, older legacy brands often get lost or neglected, even when there is value and bankable goodwill. While some names are worth killing off, there is enormous value in many older legacy brands. What is a company to do if they are faced with [...]

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A reader writes: “I remember Fancy Fruit Life Savers being my favorites as a boy and I cannot seem to find them anywhere … Discontinued? What’s the story? I’ve seen Tropical Fruits available but rarely … Hmmm” Yes,  you are not imagining things, dear BrandlandUSA Reader. Life Savers are a declining brand, and it has [...]

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