What is a Margin Call?
How much did McDonalds spend to advertise its Arch Deluxe? After planning to sell 10,000 units per week, Segway ended up selling just 10,000 units in its first two years of operation. How many units did Segway sell in its first two years? McDonald’s invested more than $100 million in advertising its Arch Deluxe burger to adults, but the pricey product never took off with fast food lovers. Orbitz featured suspended blobs of gelatin, which created a lava lamp-like effect, but lasted less than a year due to its bad taste. What was Orbitz soda famous for?
When did Ford release its famous Edsel – perhaps the biggest product fail of all time? On September 4, 1957, Ford released the Edsel to great fanfare. How long did HP produce units of its Touchpad tablet? The Touchpad lasted a miserable 7 weeks before HP pulled the plug, resulting in a $3.3 billion loss for the company. Pepsi AM had 28 percent more caffeine per ounce than regular Pepsi, but consumers were unimpressed and the company pulled the product a year later. When did Pepsi release its “morning drink” Pepsi AM? Just two years later, the car was discontinued and the company wrote off $250 million – around $2 billion in today’s dollars.
What was the name of Google’s alternative to the “Second Life” game? The average household buys just 185 standard products, making it difficult for manufacturers to sell them anything new. Just 25 percent of new products sell in excess of $7.5 million the first year. How many standard items does the average household regularly buy? How many new products sell in excess of $50 million in their first year? Just 3 percent of products sell in excess of $50 million their first year, while the vast majority sell much less, and a large number fail completely. What percentage of new retail products exceed $7.5 million in sales – a modest benchmark – in their first year?
Crystal Pepsi was caffeine-free. Released in 1992, the caffeine-free, clear-colored Crystal Pepsi did little but confuse cola lovers and was pulled from shelves the next year. What is the major reason the United States Football League failed? It tried to compete with the NFL head-to-head. Deciding that single adults and college students would enjoy the ease of pureed food in a jar, Gerber released a line of products aimed at adults, but quickly discontinued the line due to poor sales. How long did New Coke last when it was introduced in 1985? After replacing its 99-year old formula with New Coke in 1985, the company switched back to the Classic Coke recipe just 77 days later.
The Type 1 jeans were a disaster in their own right, but also confused buyers with their wide range of prices. The addition of olestra made WOW! One pair of the jeans cost anywhere from $35 to $95, while the original Red line jeans were priced around $150 per pair. The company’s WOW! Chips had little to no fat and were meant to appeal to health-conscious snackers. What name did Frito-Lay give its line of low-fat chips, released in 1998? What unwanted side effect came to buyers who consumed an excess of WOW! Chips lower in fat, but also led to cramps, gas, bloating and loose bowels in those who over-indulged.
