Remember them? We found 11 brands that used to be a hit with consumers but eventually went bust.
Wanamaker
Philadelphia’s first department store founded by retail pioneer John Wanamaker in 1876 lasted nearly 120 years before being absorbed by Macy’s in 1995.
Daewoo
The Korean automaker filed for bankruptcy in 1999 after struggling to get market share in the U.S. despite crazy deals like “buy one, get one free.” Eventually the brand was sold to GM and was renamed GM Korea.
Woolworths
The retail store founded in 1879 in Pennsylvania played an integral role of the Civil Rights Movement during the ‘sit ins’ by the Greensboro Four. But its historical significance couldn’t last forever and the company, which was one of the original American five-and-dime stores, closed its last store in 1997 to focus on its Foot Locker division.
TWA
Once one of the world’s largest airlines, Trans World Airlines faced a myriad of problems in the 1990s. After filing for bankruptcy protection in 1992 and 1995, and the disaster of TWA Flight 800 in 1996, the airline was acquired by American Airlines in 2001. TWA conducted its last flight in 2001.
Oldsmobile
The 107-year brand was phased out by General Motors in 2004 and its last car rolled off the line in 2009.
Gimbels
The iconic American department store accredited with creating the nation’s oldest Thanksgiving Day Parade in Philadelphia shut its doors for good in 1986.
Saturn
GM announced it was closing Saturn in 2009 as it struggled to stay afloat. There was talk of The Penske Automotive Group buying the 24-year old Saturn, but discussions came to a abrupt end in September 2009. More than 350 Saturn dealerships closed their doors across the United States.
Circuit City
The most-recent recession got the best of the electronics retailer as a drop in consumer spending and reported mismanagement forced it to close its doors in 2009 after 60 years of operation. The company, which was once the nation's second largest consumer electronics retailer, was forced to lay off 34,000 employees.
Max Factor
Founded in 1909 by Maximilian Faktorowicz, the cosmetics company was purchased by Proctor & Gamble in 1991. The conglomerate decided to drop the brand in 2009 to focus on the more popular CoverGirl brand. Max Factor will continue to be sold in other countries around the world.
Schlitz
‘The Beer that Made Milwaukee Famous,’ was at one time the highest-selling beer in the world, but could not keep up with demand and was purchased by Stroh in 1982 and was later sold to the Pabst Brewing Company in 1999. Pabst reintroduced Schlitz in 2008.
Pontiac
The GM brand that put out some of America’s greatest muscle cars couldn’t withstand the economic downfall and was folded along with other brands in 2009.