From zero to hero

ick n Pay’s predicament isn’t unique. Globally, some of the biggest and brightest brands have lost their edge. Some have found it again, often by launching new products or bringing in fresh management; others have collapsed.

The best-known recent turnaround is Apple. Cofounder Steve Jobs was elbowed out of the computer firm in 1985 after a struggle with its board. Eventually, by the time Apple rehired him in 1997, the company was posting huge losses.

Jobs, despite being an “insecure, aciddropping hippie kid” according to Rolling Stone , slashed the number of projects from 350 to 50, and then to 10. He focused on creating the “next big thing” — which led to

Pthe iMac, the iPod, iTunes and the iPhone. There are other cases, too. Doug Conant took over as CEO of Campbell’s Soup in 2001, when sales were falling because of his predecessor’s decision to hike prices. In Conant’s first few months as CEO, he replaced 300 of the company’s top 350 leaders and put in place a 10-year turnaround plan. Then he retired.

In the mid-1990s, Marvel, which launched Spider-Man and other superhero titles, went bust when the comics market crashed. It restructured, and began focusing on movies rather than comics. Soon, Iron Man, the Avengers, Spider-Man and X-Men became powerful brands.

Lego, those blocks that are the staple in many children’s toyboxes, also recovered after its nadir in 1998, when it made losses for the first time. In 2004 Jørgen Vig Knudstorp came in as CEO. He cut costs and introduced licensed series with some hugely popular lines using Star Wars and Ninjago. By 2013 Lego was the world’s most profitable toymaker.

In the commercial world, the Target retail chain also revamped its image to woo higher-end consumers with “surprising partnerships” such as fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi and Italian fashion house Missoni, as well as slick marketing. This, along with fast expansion, transformed Target, so that it was called “Tar-zhay”, pronounced with a French accent, to lend it a certain je ne sais quoi for fashionistas.

Of course, there are also some great failures — none more so than Kodak. Once, Kodak had the world in its hands.

But it failed to grasp the importance of digital photography and ended up on the scrap heap.