I had no idea actually I just saw the
for sale signs as I was pulling in
welcome to watch Mojo and today we're
counting down our picks for the top 10
American companies that don't exist
anymore it was an airline like no other
for this list we'll be looking at once
iconic us-made companies that have since
retired merged into something new or on
the very edge of being entirely extinct
some of the brand names may still be
used but the companies themselves have
faded with the times which American
companies do you want to see make a
comeback let us know in the comments
number 10. American Motors Corporation
nowadays it feels like U.S companies
merge every other week in 1954 though it
was jarring to see Nash Kelvinator
Corporation merger with Hudson Motor Car
Company forming American Motors
Corporation at this point it looks like
the rebels are going to outlast the
teachers at 3 at 355 million dollars it
was the largest corporate merger for a
period even with that sizable amount
American Motors was still only America's
fourth largest Auto brand trailing
behind Ford General Motors and Chrysler
despite some success AMC struggled to
compete with the big three eventually
being acquired by Chrysler in 1979. the
AMC name would persist until 1988 when
it was renamed Jeep Eagle Corporation
before completely merging into Chrysler
two years later how fitting a company
born from a merger ended with another
merger they're tough tougher than ever
before even the toughest American cars
can't beat big business
number nine Gulf oil
commencing in 1901 this big oil
company's main backers were William
Larimer melon and his Uncle Andrew what
started with a ten thousand dollar
investment developed into one of the
Seven Sisters oil companies but by the
early 40s Gulf oil was among the 10
largest U.S manufacturing companies by
the end of the 70s it could still be
found in the top ten you you guys
certainly give good service
thanks
we make it a point to give good service
and we're competitive in our prices too
in 1985 though Gulf oil merged with one
of its fellow Seven Sisters Standard Oil
of California being rebranded as Chevron
at the time it was a record deal of more
than 13 billion dollars in today's style
of living yes is the way to go and
Chevron says yes the gulf oil brand name
still exists with various companies
buying the trademark however the
original Titan that inspired a
Pennsylvania skyscraper no longer casts
its massive Shadow number 8. coleco
coleco went through an intriguing
Evolution starting as the Connecticut
leather company in 1932 as the name
suggests the company initially produced
leather for products like shoes when
their leather moccasin kit performed
well at the 1954 New York Toy Fair the
company shifted gears by the early 60s
coleco was officially a toy company
making plastic playthings in pools after
a failed experiment with snowmobiles
coleco entered the electronic realm with
Telstar and coleco Vision ColecoVision
the only system you'll ever need
although the video game Crash came as a
blow coleco had another life preserver
Cabbage Patch Kids you can love and care
for them like your very own you're a pal
following the peak of Cabbage Patch
Mania and the infamous atom computer
coleco filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy
in 1988. ah she's a beaut you get beta
kalika how many can I put you down for a
lot please say a lot I'd eat this well
the company itself is defunct the brand
name was resurrected in 2005. number
seven ShowBiz Pizza Palace speaking of
video games did you know that Nolan
Bushnell atari's co-founder also brought
us Chuck E Cheese Chuck E Cheese's is
better than ever thank you thank you
thank you despite some recent Financial
hiccups this chain Remains the leader in
arcade-style children's pizza joints
with creepy animatronics they had a very
specific competitor in the 80s though
businessman Robert alprock entered a
deal with Pizza Time theater Chucky's
owner when that fell through Brock
founded ShowBiz Pizza Place using a
similar model
[Music]
Brock seemingly came out on top as Pizza
Time theater filed for bankruptcy in
1984 merging with their competitor to
form ShowBiz Pizza time however all
Showbiz locations turned into Chuck E
cheese joints by 1992 while it's
debatable who won the pizza War the
Chucky brand proved more enduring
he can be a kid number six Stein Mart
are you like me where you love name
brands but you don't really like the
prices that's why you have to come to
Stein Mart because you get more Fashion
For Less Price when a company is around
for more than a century you assume that
it's a permanent Mainstay such was the
case with Stein Mart which opened its
first Mississippi location in 1908. the
store shared the same name as its
founder Sam Stein who immigrated from
Russia what started as a general
department store evolved into a
discounted clothing company when Jake
Stein took the reins from his late
father in 1932 Steinmark continued to
grow over the decades but the company
struggled financially during the late
2010s with stock prices plummeting Stein
Mart announced plans to go private in
February 2020 yikes the plan is to close
most if not all of its 281 locations and
stop online sales the pandemic caused
Stein Mart to file for bankruptcy six
months later closing all stores and
relaunching a Stein Mart on online to
all the people that have been loyal to
us
it means more to us
than you could absolutely imagine number
five borders group borders started as a
used bookstore in Ann Arbor about 40
years ago expect all stores to close by
the end of September in 1971 Brothers
Tom and Louis borders opened a bookstore
while studying at the University of
Michigan the borders Brothers expanded
their business after buying out War's
bookstores which have been operating for
80 years ironically Wars lasted longer
than borders which still had a
respectable run of almost 40 years
things took a turn for the worse in 2007
though when borders ended their deal
with a little online retailer called
Amazon borders figured that they could
launch their own online store but sales
fell one billion dollars over the
ensuing years before finally filing for
bankruptcy in 2011. after 40 years the
bookstore chain is now in its final
chapter all 399 of its remaining stores
including three in Rhode Island will be
shut down over the next few months
borders would sell to its longtime
adversary Barnes Noble which has managed
to survive a global pandemic and the
wrath of Amazon you go Barnes Noble
getting the news today
it's upsetting
we tried number four Toys R Us childhood
is fleeting but Toys R Us is forever
[Music]
actually scratch that nothing lasts
forever especially companies run by a
talking giraffe in all seriousness Toys
R Us was a childhood staple that
struggled to adapt like borders Toys R
Us entered an online retail agreement
with Amazon in 2000 when Amazon violated
their contract the toy company walked
away with 51 million dollars in Damages
42 million less than desired Amazon
remained a competitor along with Walmart
and Target this is a challenge Toys R Us
is having along with a lot of bricks and
mortar it's a lot of competition right
now from the digital world it was all
downhill after filing for bankruptcy in
2017. the final U.S Toys R Us locations
closed in 2021 ending a streak of more
than 7 years I feel like kids are going
to miss out on the best store ever I
still love the store however whp Global
sought to revive the brand that same
year giving hope to Toys R Us kids
number three gimbals decades before
throwing Toys R Us a Lifeline Macy's
defeated its longtime department store
rival gimbals in the vein of Coke and
Pepsi or McDonald's and Burger King
gimbals was locked in a consumer war
with Macy's for much of its existence
even sparking the phrase does Macy's
tell gimbals opening in 1842 gimbal's
predated Macy's by 16 years
[Music]
see you at gimbals war was declared when
the Pennsylvania store expanded to
Macy's New York stomping ground in 1910.
Ten Years Later gimbals launched their
annual Thanksgiving Day Parade with Macy
starting their own just four years later
we are having a terrific time the parade
is the best that I've ever seen that's
the big news in town everybody the fact
that Santa is here despite the public
Feud companies co-existed until 1987.
failing to meet the profitability
standards of baddest Retail Group
gimbals entered liquidation well I guess
Macy's and gimbals learned to live side
by side gibbles is gone Marge long gone
yard gambles Macy's won but without
gimbals Betty had no Joan well I said
what I came to say
I'm going to bed number two Pan American
[Applause]
[Music]
during their 2022 scheduling meltdown
many wondered if Southwest Airlines was
destined to become the next Pan Am this
led to younger generations to ask what's
pan M you might recognize this Airline
from Hook which came out only a week
after this American Airlines ceased
operation first taking off in 1927 Pan
Am came to be synonymous with luxury and
international air travel it was Second
To None I didn't think you'd even see it
in some of the finest restaurants Pan Am
turned flying into an event but the
expenditures required to meet those high
standards could only be sustained for so
long following a series of financial
woes the Gulf War provided the final
nail in the cabin with fuel prices
rising and fewer people traveling
unfortunately we simply did not have the
financial string
to absorb the enormously adverse impact
of these external events at the time of
declaring bankruptcy Pan Am had the
second most recognized trademark
globally Pan-American Airways went
bankrupt and they shut down Services it
broke people's hearts before we continue
be sure to subscribe to our Channel and
ring the bell to get notified about our
latest videos you have the option to be
notified for occasional videos or all of
them if you're on your phone make sure
you go into your settings and switch on
notifications
number one blockbuster we're not sure
what's more surreal that video stores
are essentially extinct or that people
under the age of 10 probably won't even
recognize one
24-hour quick drop return open late
every night well the perfect video store
welcome to Blockbuster Video it is
popping up all over the country
there's one near you
before streaming provided a limitless
gateway to entertainment you had to
drive to a video rental shop like
Blockbuster or Hollywood Video to select
the flick you wanted assuming they even
had it in stock plus they have all kinds
of video games for the kids it was a lot
more fun than it sounds but even the
most nostalgic Blockbuster Patron can
understand why such a business couldn't
compete with the rise of streaming 2010
marked the beginning of the end and by
the decade's conclusion only one
privately owned Blockbuster remained its
various Partnerships folded and stores
worldwide were rapidly plunged into
Administration we're closing early it's
9 000 strong chain have been reduced to
one single franchise in Bend Oregon it
even inspired a Netflix sitcom which got
canceled after one season that's twice
that Netflix killed Blockbuster no one
has anything to worry about
oh boy the creepy animatronics at Chuck
E cheese where a kid can be a kid
I don't wanna grow up I'm a Toys R Us
kid I love those commercials