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It's like how you can't buy an oscilloscope from HP, the company that defined the test equipment market. Or how you can't buy an IBM pc anymore. Or how Boston

It's like how you can't buy an oscilloscope from HP, the company that defined the test equipment market. Or how you can't buy an IBM pc anymore. Or how Boston chicken changed to Boston market and back and back

vkou 3y ago
> It's like how you can't buy an oscilloscope from HP, the company that defined the test equipment market. Or how you can't buy an IBM pc anymore Or how you can't even buy an express horse-and-buggy package delivery from Wells Fargo. Moving out of markets (because you lost your competitive edge, because your star players have died/retired/became goat farmers, because the margins have gone to zero, because some other market is much more profitable) is completely different from actively and preventably screwing up a market you're in.
- mitthrowaway2 3y ago
  Except unlike horse and buggy delivery, there's still demand for test equipment. In this case, HP spun off their test equipment arm as Agilent, which spun it off again under the name KeySight. They still make scopes.
  - vkou 3y ago
    There's still demand for express deliveries, but as it turns out, there's a lot more money in banking. (And in HP's case, it's a branding decision that, frankly, is reasonable for them to go either way with.)
    - iancmceachern 3y ago
      Well Fargo's previous business wasn't really express deliveries. It was secure deliveries: "The company had built a reputation for taking safety seriously, and its stagecoaches carried gold, silver, and other valuables from one location to the next. To safeguard such shipments, Wells Fargo shipped gold and other treasure in sturdy wooden boxes carried in the front boot of a stagecoach or secured inside the stagecoach in an iron safe." https://www.wellsfargohistory.com/outwitting-outlaws/ https://www.wellsfargohistory.com/outwitting-outlaws/ So, basically banking. Securing, and moving money as a service.
- hyperhopper 3y ago
  > how you can't even buy an express horse-and-buggy package delivery from Wells Fargo. You're focusing on implemention details which are irrelevant. Every company changed what machines or processes they use under the hood after the industrial revolution and computerization. From their own history [1], they weren't a general package service, but mainly delivered/transferred money. They still do this as one of their core services. Even internationally at a much larger scope than they used to. [2] This is not the same as not being able to buy an IBM PC or HP oscilloscope. [1] https://www.wellsfargo.com/about/corporate/history/ https://www.wellsfargo.com/about/corporate/history/ [2] https://www.wellsfargo.com/international-remittances/ https://www.wellsfargo.com/international-remittances/
- iancmceachern 3y ago
  A big part of Wells Fargos business back in the day was moving money around, same with western union. Wells Fargo still does that, just in a different way. Same with Western Union. "The company had built a reputation for taking safety seriously, and its stagecoaches carried gold, silver, and other valuables from one location to the next. To safeguard such shipments, Wells Fargo shipped gold and other treasure in sturdy wooden boxes carried in the front boot of a stagecoach or secured inside the stagecoach in an iron safe." https://www.wellsfargohistory.com/outwitting-outlaws/ https://www.wellsfargohistory.com/outwitting-outlaws/ They both kept their billion dollar names.

vkou 3y ago

> It's like how you can't buy an oscilloscope from HP, the company that defined the test equipment market. Or how you can't buy an IBM pc anymore Or how you can't even buy an express horse-and-buggy package delivery from Wells Fargo. Moving out of markets (because you lost your competitive edge, because your star players have died/retired/became goat farmers, because the margins have gone to zero, because some other market is much more profitable) is completely different from actively and preventably screwing up a market you're in.

mitthrowaway2 3y ago
Except unlike horse and buggy delivery, there's still demand for test equipment. In this case, HP spun off their test equipment arm as Agilent, which spun it off again under the name KeySight. They still make scopes.
- vkou 3y ago
  There's still demand for express deliveries, but as it turns out, there's a lot more money in banking. (And in HP's case, it's a branding decision that, frankly, is reasonable for them to go either way with.)
  - iancmceachern 3y ago
    Well Fargo's previous business wasn't really express deliveries. It was secure deliveries: "The company had built a reputation for taking safety seriously, and its stagecoaches carried gold, silver, and other valuables from one location to the next. To safeguard such shipments, Wells Fargo shipped gold and other treasure in sturdy wooden boxes carried in the front boot of a stagecoach or secured inside the stagecoach in an iron safe." https://www.wellsfargohistory.com/outwitting-outlaws/ https://www.wellsfargohistory.com/outwitting-outlaws/ So, basically banking. Securing, and moving money as a service.
hyperhopper 3y ago
> how you can't even buy an express horse-and-buggy package delivery from Wells Fargo. You're focusing on implemention details which are irrelevant. Every company changed what machines or processes they use under the hood after the industrial revolution and computerization. From their own history [1], they weren't a general package service, but mainly delivered/transferred money. They still do this as one of their core services. Even internationally at a much larger scope than they used to. [2] This is not the same as not being able to buy an IBM PC or HP oscilloscope. [1] https://www.wellsfargo.com/about/corporate/history/ https://www.wellsfargo.com/about/corporate/history/ [2] https://www.wellsfargo.com/international-remittances/ https://www.wellsfargo.com/international-remittances/
iancmceachern 3y ago
A big part of Wells Fargos business back in the day was moving money around, same with western union. Wells Fargo still does that, just in a different way. Same with Western Union. "The company had built a reputation for taking safety seriously, and its stagecoaches carried gold, silver, and other valuables from one location to the next. To safeguard such shipments, Wells Fargo shipped gold and other treasure in sturdy wooden boxes carried in the front boot of a stagecoach or secured inside the stagecoach in an iron safe." https://www.wellsfargohistory.com/outwitting-outlaws/ https://www.wellsfargohistory.com/outwitting-outlaws/ They both kept their billion dollar names.