CEO Today Magazine May 2018 Edition

www.ceotodaymagazine.com 16 SPECIAL FEATURES 2018 has been off to a tumultuous start with the fall of Carillion as it went into liquidation, and Maplin and Toys R Us going into administration following their struggles with debt and inability to find a buyer. The loss of these businesses led to the closure of over 200 stores in Maplin’s case, and the sale of 735 locations for Toys R Us in the US as well as the closure of all its UK stores. Moving forward, more bankruptcies are anticipated, including Claire’s Inc., Sears Holdings, PetSmart Inc., and Mothercare is facing problems amid the mounting retail crisis in the UK. It’s an unpredictable world to live in and becoming ever more difficult for businesses to stay afloat if these examples are anything to go by. Looking back, is there anything that can be learned from previous success stories that recovered from the brink of ruin? Back from the Dead: Companies That Recovered By Louisa Rochford Netflix has seen its popularity rise immeasurably over the years, but a step in the wrong direction almost ended the business in 2011: the year that Qwikster was launched. The announcement was wedged within a pre-recorded apology video by Reed Hastings, Netflix CEO. Qwikster was a rebranding disaster aimed at splitting Netflix’s streaming service from its DVD-by- mail service, something that was widely criticised as being arbitrary, costing the customer more (from $10 to $16 for both services when both were previously available under the same subscription) and led to the loss of around 800,000 customers. Netflix later abandoned the change due to the overwhelming backlash it received, its saving grace coming in the form of its Netflix Originals shows such as House of Cards that drew consumers back in and led to its return with $400 per share in the business. The lesson to be learned here? Much like when Coca Cola released their New Coke, its important to realise when a drastic change isn’t sitting well with your target audience—apologise, learn, and go back to what works, perhaps