“Excuse me, sir or madam. Are you satisfied with your current internet provider? Allow me to introduce you to another one that you’ll be sick of within a year, if you don’t shut the door in my face first!”
The world of business is a brutal one. If you don’t have an excellent idea and a way to execute it without running out of funds, your brand is toast. Yet somehow, despite all odds, there are companies out there who continue to roam the earth like cockroaches, seemingly impossible to destroy.
Reddit users have recently been discussing these confusingly successful companies and business models, so we’ve gathered some of their thoughts below. Enjoy reading through, and be sure to upvote the businesses you’re shocked are still around too!
#1
The Kardashians
#2
F**k Ticketmaster
#3
Nestle – with all the negative press about the terrible things they’ve done, surprised anyone still buys their products.
We reached out to the person who started this conversation in the first place, Reddit user Square-Floor8879, and they were kind enough to have a chat with We.
As far as what inspired them to pose the question, “What company has you shocked that they have not yet gone out of business?” the OP says it was just one of those questions they’re always curious about. “I pass by so many businesses that I have seen since I was a child, and I wonder between the changes throughout my lifetime and COVID how these places survived and why,” they shared.
#4
McAfee
#5
Wells Fargo, why anyone would still trust them with their money baffles me.
#6
Herbalife
There are a few companies that Square-Floor8879 is surprised are still around as well. “Amazon and online shopping have completely taken over society, so any department store that doesn’t differentiate itself from online shopping has me surprised it is still around,” the OP told We. “Macys or JC Penney type [stores].”
#7
Every single cryptocurrency related company
#8
That furniture store that has had the “going out of business” sale going on for the last 4 years.
#9
On a Wednesday at around 2 pm, I received a tap at my door from an elderly woman who wanted to show me a Kirby hoover.
Additionally, it appears that door-to-door salespeople will still exist in 2023.
We were also curious what the OP believes is keeping these companies afloat. “It has to be a combination of loyal customers, reinventing themselves and maybe a financial strategy or aid that was provided either during COVID or otherwise,” they noted.
#10
Every Psychic shop I’ve ever driven by.
#11
All those awful kiosks in malls that sell stuff no one honestly needs
#12
classmates.com still trying to charge what you can get for free on Facebook
Square-Floor9979 also said they loved reading through the responses to their post. “It was exactly what I wanted,” they noted. But some replies were unexpected. “I’m not sure why people are surprised by chain restaurants. In this economy especially, cheap and quick options will always appeal to people.”
Finally, the OP added that they loved how involved their post became. “Every time I checked, there was so much to read and try to keep up with. A cool experience for sure!”
#13
I hope they don’t but Arizona Ice Tea has cost the same my whole life. Good on them.
#14
Burlington. Place is basically Goodwill with clothes people haven’t worn yet.
#15
The Chinese buffet across the parking lot from the coffee shop where I work. My boss saw them defrosting fish fillets on the roof of a car once. Directly on the car. I don’t know how many times we’ve had to call the health department on them.
They leave the dumpsters looking like a war crime, too
#16
Edible Arrangements. I’m convinced this company survives on one time orders that are for the hell of it, not actual repeat customers.
#17
AOL
AOL’s 2022 revenue was $7.4 billion. AOL has 10,350 employees, and the revenue per employee ratio is $714,975 per.
🤯
#18
Kohls. Don’t get me wrong, I love my Kohl’s. But everytime I go in there it feels like 90% of the shoppers there are just there to return their Amazon package. Kohls does have some pretty good stuff so I do hope they stay in business (mostly because they are just so convenient for returns.
#19
Macy’s
One of my favorite stores but it gets pretty depressing to shop there. You see maybe like 2 employees on the entire floor. Products are often never organized and the fitting rooms are even worse. Clothes just dropped on the floor and no one ever checks how many clothes you go in with or what you truly do inside… some macys are better but many are really bad. Feels like a complete ghost town
I’m honestly surprised every “Check cashing” and “payday loan” and “title loan” place hasn’t been shut down due to violence against their staff, yet. Every single one of those places is a detriment to their community and the fact that nobody is throwing molotovs in to them on a regular basis astounds me.
#21
All the mattress stores that are somehow across the street from each other and never have any customers but open new locations down the street all the time.
#22
Mary Kay
#23
Chuck E. Cheese’s, lost its hay day years ago, business sucks, shows aren’t that good, animatronics mostly gone at this point. And debt. Lots of it. Surprised they’re still around even though they just filed for bankruptcy three years ago.
#24
Amway!
#25
Tv guide still exists In print, not just the channel.
#26
Those adult video stores.
#27
Uber. After 14 years and $32bn of cumulative losses, they have only just this year started to turn a profit.
#28
Yahoo. They’ve been through a lot and are still staying alive.
#29
Honestly? F****n Netflix
They upped the price, cracked down on password sharing, and there’s talk about them adding ads.
They don’t have any big or popular franchises anymore, there’s like 5 things worth watching, and don’t bother with any of the original content they spend literal millions of dollars on every year because no matter how good or well received the show is it will be canceled in the first or second season.
The only thing people consistently tune in to Netflix for is Stranger Things, so they’ll probably have a spike in 5 years when the next season comes out.
#30
Guitar Center, I worked for them for 13 years, they were on the brink of death the whole time.