4 ms·
Considering that the GE brand is mostly likely to be encountered by consumers is the appliance line, and that division and branding was sold to a Chinese compan
by dv_dt 6y ago
Considering that the GE brand is mostly likely to be encountered by consumers is the appliance line, and that division and branding was sold to a Chinese company in 2016, I think this brand erosion is just another chunk of company brand falling into the sea.
- jimbob45 6y agoThis should be the top comment. GE effectively has nothing to do with the lightbulb brand anymore. They don't even own the naming rights to use their own name on lightbulbs that they could (but don't) make.
- kube-system 6y agoDid you mean to say 'appliances'? This very article is about them divesting the lightbulb business which, according to the linked statement from GE themselves, will happen in mid-2020.
- terracatta 6y agoYeah it's definitely part of a pattern of behavior that started with the ouster of Immelt. Basically the start of their downfall was Trian Partners, an activist investor, bought $2.5 billion of GE stock in 2015 with the express goal of GE taking on a ton of debt to do share buybacks and raise the dividend https://steveblank.com/2017/11/01/why-ges-jeff-immelt-lost-his-job-disruption-and-activist-investors/ https://steveblank.com/2017/11/01/why-ges-jeff-immelt-lost-h...
- petra 6y agoWasn't it GE's CEO who pushed the idea that the company's goal is to optimize share value ? Karma's a bitch.
- beervirus 6y ago“Stakeholder capitalism” notwithstanding, that’s kind of the goal of every company.
- samdamsamm 6y agoStakeholder capitalism is an oxymoron. You either hold capital or you bear the stakes. That’s the point.
- Simulacra 6y agoPrecisely
- windexh8er 6y agoThanks to Milton Friedman's doctrine [0]. Unfortunate that is viewed as the default goal. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedman_doctrine https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedman_doctrine