30 Brands that were born or disappeared in the last 30 years
30 December 2020This year here at Leasing Options we’re celebrating three decades in the motor trade- and so much has changed in the world since we first began way back in 1990! The last 30 years have seen many companies come and go, so we thought it would be fun to take a trip down memory lane and take a look at 30 brands that have been born or disappeared since Leasing Options started.
Born
Year founded: 1998
What began in California as a research project with a revolutionary new way of searching web pages has evolved into a business which offers countless technological services and has grown to be one of the world’s most valuable companies. As it has expanded and become ubiquitous within people’s lives, Google has courted controversy for the amount of power they wield online. Whatever your opinion of the monopoly they hold, their products have certainly made life easier for anyone with a smartphone, I mean where would we be all be without Google Maps?
Netflix
Year founded: 1997
Originally a DVD by mail rental service, Netflix has become the most commonly used global streaming service, now commissioning their own hugely successful programs and films. The company was a pioneer of the subscription service model which has become so popular in so many industries, offering unlimited content for a set monthly fee rather than single one-off rentals. As broadcast television has become less popular and viewers have lost patience with advertising on commercial TV, Netflix have gone from strength to strength.
Brewdog
Year founded:2007
Borne out of frustration at the lack of good quality ales and lagers in UK pubs, Brewdog was started with the intention to shake up the status quo of the brewing industry, a notoriously difficult arena to make an impact in. Using a clever crowdsourced business funding model, its owners raised the necessary capital to take on the big boys and the company has now grown into a massive worldwide brand with bars all over the globe.
Amazon
Year founded: 1994
To begin with simply an online bookstore, Amazon has expanded its product line to include just about anything you could possibly think of, as well as an incredibly successful web hosting services platform. Built on a reputation of unbeatable customer service, the company overcame initial apprehension amongst consumers to spend their money online and has grown to be the largest e-commerce retailer in the world. As shopping via voice activated search continues to grow, Amazon’s robotic assistant Alexa looks set to become ever-present in the home of the future.
Ebay
Year founded: 1995
An online marketplace to buy and sell, Ebay is a brilliant proponent of the law of gamification. A simple but clever grading method for buyers and sellers to give each other star ratings ensured the community has acted with good faith and using auctions as a way for customers to ‘win’ products rather than just purchase them, the site became a highly addictive and fun way to find what you were looking for. Anyone who’s bought themselves something completely pointless after one too many glasses of wine late at night can certainly attest to that!
Tesla
Year founded: 2003
Surely the most exciting car brand in the world, Tesla’s revolutionary battery technology and beautiful vehicle designs have seen the company’s products quickly become some of the most desirable in the marketplace. Charismatic owner Elon Musk has a penchant for the theatrical and has used crazy stunts to promote the business rather than more conventional marketing methods. With an increasing focus on climate change, and the benefits of moving away from fossil fuels becoming clearer by the day, it seems certain that Tesla will be at the forefront of personal transport for years to come.
Ocado
Year founded: 2000
A recent surge in stockprice due to the growth of grocery deliveries during lockdown has seen Ocado overtake Tesco as the most valuable supermarket business in the UK. However, the company is itself merely a platform rather than a store itself, as the recent switch from Waitrose to Marks and Spencer’s as main partner proved. The company has always aimed to be at the forefront of technology and was an early entrant into the Apple Appstore, releasing their first app less than a year after the platform was launched. As food delivery services seem set to grow exponentially in the coming years, Ocado look likely to cement their position as one of the biggest brands in Britain.
Deliveroo
Year founded: 2013
Another big winner from lockdown, as use of delivery services has surged, Deliveroo started with concept of bringing London’s restaurant food directly to customers in their home but has grown to now offer its services in 14 different countries. Deliveroo riders are a ubiquitous sight on the streets of Britain’s major cities as they weave between traffic in their eye-catching turquoise uniforms. Undoubtedly another business on the up, they have recently announced a recruiting drive to bring in another 15,000 more staff.
Dyson
Year founded: 1991
British inventor James Dyson spent over a decade perfecting his prototype for a bagless vacuum cleaner before finally bringing it to market in 1993. The company has since expanded its range of products to include a whole suit of helpful devices, the majority of which either suck or blow – air that is. It was recently announced that the company plans to release its first vehicle, a fully electric-powered car, with the initial models set to roll off the production line in 2021.
Monzo
Year founded: 2015
Taking advantage of a movement towards online and app-based banking, Monzo was launched with a prepaid debit card allowing customers a simpler way of managing their money and avoid fees when spending abroad. In 2017 the company were granted a banking license, giving them the opportunity to offer normal deposit services and the business has continued to grow, now boasting more than 4 million users.
Year founded: 2004
The world’s biggest social network began as website only available to college students in the US but has since grown to hold incredible power, even influencing elections all over the world. The acquisition of Instagram in 2012 and Whatsapp in 2014 only strengthened the platform’s stranglehold on screen-time, however with Snapchat and more recently Tiktok entering the market, surely it’s only a matter of time before Facebook is knocked from its perch?
PayPal
Year founded: 1998
Founded during the noughties by, amongst others, a certain Elon Musk, PayPal became the go to company for safe online payments. A succession of acquisitions, as well as a partnership with Ebay, has kept PayPal at the top of the pile for internet transactions and money transfers, and with over 300 million active accounts all over the world, plus a new deal to service payments on Instagram signed last year, the future looks bright for PayPal.
Bulb
Year founded: 2013
Built on an offering of 100% renewable energy for your home, Bulb has grown rapidly to now boast over 1.5 million customers, starting from just 15,000 at the beginning of 2017. Bulb used an offer of benefits for recommendation to friends and the promise of a simple switch in under two minutes to win a massive amount of new business in such a short period of time. The company now claims to be the UK’s largest green energy supplier reducing their customers collective carbon footprint by 5.3 million tonnes of CO2 in 2019.
Tiktok
Year founded: 2016
Tiktok’s Chinese parent company first launched their lip-sync and dancing-based video sharing app in 2016 and it was released around the world in 2018 as Tiktok. The social media platform has grown incredibly quickly using an innovative suite of editing tools that offers users the opportunity to create short clips to share with their followers. Anti-Chinese sentiment from leaders in India and the US has seen governments try to ban the app from their countries as its popularity has surged.
Puregym
Year founded: 2009
Now boasting a membership base of over 1 million subscribers, in a short space of time Puregym has become one of the biggest names in fitness in the UK. Offering a simple no-frills service with 24 hour gyms featuring machines and free classes but not including more luxury benefits like swimming pools or saunas, the company has experienced massive growth aided by the increasing popularity of health and wellbeing over the last decade.
Disappeared
Woolworths
Year dissolved: 2008
An ever-present fixture on UK highstreets throughout the 20th century, Woolworths was set up by American entrepreneur Frank Woolworth back in 1909 but finally succumbed to administration in 2008 as poor sales and declining city centre footfall took their toll. Anyone who grew up in the 90s will remember the highlight of the weekend would be spending their pocket money on pick n mix and CD singles at Woolworths.
Toys R Us
Year dissolved: 2018
Riled up by the constant TV adverts with that famous but rather awkward strapline “there’s millions says Geoffery all under one roof” Toys R Us was something like a child’s toy mecca. Marauding around a one of those gigantic stores was as good as got for kids back in the day, and probably in hindsight a total nightmare for their parents.
BHS
Year dissolved: 2016
At the time of closure in 2016 British Home Stores had 163 locations and was one of the most recognisable brands on the high street but failed to adapt to changing tastes and habits despite a number of attempts to reinvent itself. The name was franchised to other territories and branches still exist in the middle east and other parts of the world but it didn’t survive here in the UK.
Staples
Year dissolved: 2016
The US office stationery outlet was probably most memorable for being rather more expensive than it should be. Competition from online retailers like Amazon forced the company to close their UK branches in 2016.
Blockbuster
Year dissolved: 2013
As movie rentals first moved online and then towards streaming services there was certainly an air of inevitability to the failure of Blockbuster. Unfortunately fond memories of a Saturday evening scanning through new releases on VHS or DVD and picking up a bag of popcorn weren’t enough to keep the brand alive. It surely was a much better experience than the time spent scrolling through Netflix menus for something to pass the time.
Maplin
Year dissolved: 2018
Although the brand still exists online, Maplin closed their remaining stores during 2018. Sellers of a fairly random selection of electronics, music equipment and assorted cables, the retailer was no doubt another casualty from the movement towards online shopping on sites like Ebay and Amazon.
Virgin Megastores
Year dissolved: 2013
Perhaps the most famous of Richard Branson’s business ventures, Virgin Megastores were a big presence on UK highstreets as well as globally until the company began to wind down around 2013. Primarily selling music, books, magazines and films, Virgin Megastores were always likely to struggle as both shopping online and streaming became more popular.
Tie Rack
Year dissolved: 2013
Is it just me or is there more than a touch of the nonsensical to the idea of a standalone tie shop with outlets in pretty much every railway station and airport in the country? Maybe it made more sense back in the eighties. The move to more casual attire both in the workplace and social situations ultimately rendered Tie Rack unviable, no doubt to the great disappointment of all those customers needing a last-minute tie in that crucial sartorial emergency .
Poundworld
Year dissolved: 2018
One of the big winners of the 2007/2008 recession, pound shops became a ubiquitous presence in British town centres over the following years. Poundworld peaked at some 335 stores before trading difficulties caused their demise, the business was one of a number of bankruptcies around 2018 to be blamed on the impact of the Brexit vote on consumer confidence and the diminished strength of the pound.
Thomas Cook
Year dissolved: 2018
Founded in 1841 by a Leicester cabinet maker, the travel company’s first excursions were trips organised for the followers of the anti-alcohol consumption Temperance movement. Ironic beginnings for a brand which became synonymous with the debouched Club 18-30 holidays of the nineties and noughties. The business’s insolvency in 2018 sparked the UK’s biggest peacetime repatriation of citizens as 150,000 tourists were left stranded abroad.
C&A
Year dissolved: 2001
The Dutch clothes shop C&A, or Coats & ‘Ats as it was affectionately known, still exists in many countries around the world but withdrew from the UK in 2001 after years of dwindling sales and competition from trendier brands like H&M and Topshop as well as discounters such as Primark.
Phones4U
Year dissolved: 2014
With its instantly recognisable logo and memorable TV adverts, Phones4U was one of the most well-known brands in the UK throughout the noughties. Just a few years later the collapse of deals with the major phone companies and competition from online price comparison brokers led to its demise.
Threshers
Year dissolved: 2009
As a part of the First Quench Retailing group, the Threshers brand formed the lion’s share of the company’s 1,300 UK stores, which made it the largest independent off-license in the country. Ultimately under pressure from primarily supermarkets the remaining outlets were closed in 2009 and the name disappeared from high streets to be reborn as an online only retailer.
Radio Rentals
Year dissolved: 2000
When the brand disappeared from UK highstreets in 2000 it brought to an end 70 years of trading. The business was started in Brighton back in 1930 and grew to have more than 500 stores throughout the country hiring out electronics equipment. The catchy moniker was a household name, and also had the dubious honour of meaning ‘crazy’ in Cockney Rhyming Slang, because Radio Rental rhymes with mental.
Our Price
Year dissolved: 2004
What began as a London record shop in 1971 grew to become the second largest music retailer after Woolworths back in the early eighties. A succession of sales to the likes of WH Smith and then Virgin failed to revive the brand as it suffered from dwindling music sales and pressure from the advent of MP3s and the success of online stores.
