In less than two years, only 10,000 Segways sold. Once people got them, some cities banned them from sidewalks. Many of the sales were institutional to provide Segways to mall cops and warehouse executives. It was a massive letdown, to say the least.
In 1998, Kellogg’s announced an all-in-one breakfast package: cereal with a carton of milk, bowl, and a plastic spoon. The product, called Breakfast Mates, catered to busy families. Yet, it failed in over 80% of grocery stores and was discontinued in 2000.
Customers questioned why they should drink room-temperature milk when they could make their own cereal in about the same amount of time. Breakfast Mates charged more for the convenience, which many people didn’t see. Plus, the advertising showed customers eating it at home, not on-the-go.
Before Netflix streamed shows and movies, it ran a DVD rental service. In 2011, the company turned its focus to streaming and moved its rentals into another company called Qwikster. When the separate entity came out, though, customers were not happy.
Netflix’s new model charged customers for both streaming and rentals. After receiving backlash, CEO Reed Hastings dropped plans for Qwikster but kept billing for DVD and streaming separate. Netflix lost 600,000 subscribers during this year, and Qwikster quickly faded into oblivion.
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