9 names you know, R.I.P.
Popular auto makes, magazine publishers and retailers were among the businesses
laid to rest in 2009. Here's a list of 8 familiar names you won't see in the future.
The fall of Circuit City was mainly a result of the prodigious belt tightening that took place in households across America during the depths of the recession. But the company's demise had its roots in poor management decisions dating back several years.
In 2007, for example, Circuit City laid off several thousand experienced sales people and replaced them with cheaper but less knowledgeable workers. That took a toll on customer loyalty, and ultimately benefited rivals like Best Buy.
Circuit City also found itself in the unfortunate position of having to compete with Wal-Mart as the world's largest retailer aggressively moved into the electronics market with low prices.
Meanwhile, the Circuit City brand has been resurrected online. Systemax Inc., a direct seller of consumer electronics, acquired the trademark and Internet domain name for Circuit City in April.
Saturn was one of four GM brands orphaned when the largest U.S. automaker went bankrupt early this year. The brand was originally intended to help GM compete with smaller, imported cars. But sales were generally tepid and the Saturn languished as Americans became increasingly fond of big SUVs.
After a protracted, and ultimately futile, courtship with car dealership operator Penske Automotive Group, GM announced in October that the 2010 model year would be Saturn's last.
Pontiac, best known for muscle cars such as the GTO and Firebird, had been a staple of GM's product line since it began production in 1926. But it didn't make the cut when the automaker emerged from bankruptcy in July with a new focus on its "core" brands.
In April, after an effort to salvage it as a "niche brand" failed, GM officially announced that Pontiac would be dropped, and that all remaining models would be phased out by the end of 2010.
But demand for traditional films evaporated over the last decade as digital photography became increasingly available. At the time it was retired in June, sales of Kodachrome were less than 1% of Kodak's still picture film revenue.
Kodachrome was also difficult to manufacture and process. In fact, there was only one processor left in the United States that still developed Kodachrome when it was discontinued.
The Kodachrome brand, however, may be best remembered as the subject of a 1973 song in which Paul Simon begged, "Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away."
Launched in the early 1990s, Expo offered a variety of upscale home decor items and custom-installation services. The brand was aimed at homeowners who wanted a luxury remodel without having to hire an interior designer.
Home Depot officially pulled the plug on Expo in January as part of a plan to focus on its "core" stores. While the weak economy, sluggish housing market and lack of available credit were the final nails in Expo's coffin, the company acknowledged that it had never performed well financially.
The iconic makeup line, which remains a top seller in some European markets, had been losing ground in the United States to more contemporary rivals such as CoverGirl. Max Factor, named for a pioneering Hollywood makeup artist, had its heyday in the 1920s and 1930s.
P&G, which bought the brand in 1991, said Max Factor will be phased out of U.S. stores in early 2010.
Encarta was a relatively revolutionary product when it was first published on CD-ROM in 1993. It contained a trove of articles, images, maps and multimedia features. Later, the content was also accessible online for a yearly subscription fee.
But Encarta's popularity faded throughout this decade with the rise of Web-based encyclopedia Wikipedia. While it has been criticized as inaccurate and unreliable, Wikipedia is free of charge. And, unlike Encarta, it is updated in real time.
Condé Nast said in October that the magazine, introduced in 1940, is expected to close by the end of the year. However, the brand lives on in book publishing and television programming, and Gourmetrecipes still appear on Epicurious.com.
Gourmet, which boasted nearly 1 million subscribers, fell victim to a decline in ad sales and pressure from digital media. It was one of several high-profile magazines that suffered a similar fate this year, including: Portfolio, Vibe and National Geographic Adventure, to name a few.
In August, GM announced it had a deal with the Swedish supercar maker Koenigsegg but, in November, it was announced that Koenigsegg had backed out. Then Spyker, the Dutch manufacturer of wildly-styled exotic sports cars, put in a bid but that deal, too fell through. So GM announced in mid-December its decision to wind down the brand.
Pieces of Saab will live on though. Some tooling and technology used to make the Saab 9-3 and 9-5 cars were sold the Chinese automaker Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings Co. Ltd. Unfortunately, GM's stewardship of Saab may end up being best remembered for brand-stretching retreads like the 9-2X, a Subaru Impreza with a Saab grille, and the 9-7X, shown here, a Saab version of the Chevrolet Trailblazer SUV.