Whether because of dated products, broken business models or off-target strategies, a lot of notable companies are struggling as they enter the new year. Consider the plights of Sears, Kodak and these seven others.
AP Photo-Paul Sakuma, File
Micro Center computer store saleswoman Christine Canasa fixes up a display of Vonage products in a Santa Clara, Calif. file photo from May 24, 2006.
Vonage under fire
While 2011 may be the year the market gets back in gear, a lot of sizable companies look almost certain to struggle next year and over the long term -- because of bad bets, misguided merchandising or outdated products.
Take Vonage (VG.N). You might remember the quirky TV ads from this Internet phone company about how "people do stupid things" but shouldn't pay too much for phone service. They blitzed the airwaves a few years back, then dropped out of sight. Vonage itself may do the same before too long.
The company was a leader in cheap "voice over Internet protocol" phone service in the early days of that technology. But now, competitors like Google (GOOG.O), Skype and magicJack offer cheaper -- even free -- Internet phone service. This means that Vonage rates, typically $29 a month, may now be the ones that are too high.
Sales and subscribers declined in the last quarter as a result, a trend that might make it tough for Vonage to survive, believes Scott Stevens of Strata Capital Management, a hedge fund that was up 14.2% this year as of the end of October, compared with 7.9% for the S&P 500 Index ($INX). Read more...
