Bankrupt

It's well known today that all department store retail in America is pretty bland and uninspired. Walmart, Target and others all look more or less the same. But there was one retailer in the mid to late 20th century that shook things up a bit. That invested into insane and bizarre architecture for their showrooms and was led by charismatic and innovative family. The BEST Products Company ultimately grew into 200 stores across the country and revenue of over $2 billion. But it all came crashing down in the late 90's and now is more or less forgotten about as truly one of the most unique retailers in history. So join me today as I explore the history of this truly incredible company.

Since the early 90's, one special cruise line made a name for themselves as the ultimate, luxury vacation at sea. Crystal Cruises became a large brand despite only having a small fleet of ultra luxury cruise ships. Competing with the likes of Viking and Ponant, the line became beloved by their millions of passengers. However, just as the new year of 2022 was rung in, the company announced they would by filing for bankruptcy and their ships arrested for non-payment. How did this once great cruise line fall so far?

In 1994, film industry elites Steven Spielberg and Jeffery Katzenberg came up with an idea to build their very own, highly themed restaurant chain. It opened in Los Angles as Dive! the underwater dining experience where much like Planet Hollywood, you'd be immersed in a grand environment. But unlike their highly successful competitor, Dive only saw 3 locations built. They all closed not long after opening and have been more or less forgotten.

Cruise ships are a massive business worth billions of dollars around the world with multiple companies with massive fleets of ships. Out of all of them however, there is only one cruise ship that is registered to the United States. That being the Pride of America which began life by a completely different company, encouraged by the US Government. Them, along with Norwegian Cruise Line, both tried their hand at building out an all American fleet of cruise ships under a completely American company. Today I'm going to tell that little known story and how both those attempts at something special in the industry, failed spectacularly.

With over 1,500 stores across the country and over 200,000 employees, the J.C. Penney Company was a mega retailer in the United States. It grew from humble beginnings with its founder James Penney and grew into an iconic retail institution in America. However those golden years only lasted until the early 2000's, when the retailer experienced a violent downturn until its eventual bankruptcy in 2020. Join me as I find out how this company went from billions to nothing.