People and Businesses That Barely Survived 2023

Life loves to throw curveballs. Sometimes those unexpected twists and turns can end up being life-defining, career-ruining, business-crushing moments that require hitting the reset button. We’ll take a closer look at some of the most notable businesses and people that just barely squeezed through 2023. 

1. Kohl’s

As Amazon continues to snatch up more and more retail market share, it’s become increasingly clear that Kohl’s is dealing with some serious challenges to remain competitive. 

Kohl’s is struggling to stir up any kind of promising sales growth. Even the more recent partnership with cosmetic chain Sephora wasn’t enough to counteract the more widespread declines in sales.

Looking back, in the third quarter alone the same-store sales for Kohl’s dropped by 5.5%, and shares were down by 11% in New York trading, which is the most significant decline since July 2022. Kohl’s stock was also down by 1.5% for the year. Suffice to say, Kohl’s will need a serious momentum shift if they’re going to make anything out of 2024.

Related: 24 Things You Should Never Buy at Kohl’s

2. Peloton

You’ve probably seen the troubling headlines about a steady series of layoffs at Peleton. Whenever you see numerous rounds of layoffs at a company, it’s safe to assume that the business in question isn’t particularly healthy, as laying off numerous employees is one of the simpler ways to reduce costs. A potential outcome for Peloton could be to see the struggling company picked up by Apple. 

Perhaps, through welcoming a more comprehensive integration with Apple’s smartwatch collection, Peloton could be acquired and bounce back. In the meantime though, Peloton continues to lose hundreds of millions of dollars over each quarter that passes, according to CNBC, while the actual consumer appetite for their various products continues to decline. In fact, Peloton has all but halted manufacturing their machines as it proactively works to clean out the $1.05 billion in their company inventory as of the end of its most recent quarter.

Related: 9 Companies That Are Doomed To Go Out Of Business

3. Eva Green

Oh boy, 2023 was ready to give Eva Green what seemed to be a long time coming kind of reality check. Eva Green was shocked after a series of private WhatsApp messages that she had sent were released in Britain’s High Court, due to a lawsuit that came about from the film “A Patriot.” She originally tried to sue for her $1 million fee from the botched film, but she was then countersued by White Lantern Film Limited and its financiers SMC Specialty Finance LLC, who claimed that she went so far as to storm off production in an attempt to ruin the film. 

Then, the actual context of the messages that were released went on to show that Green addressed her crew members as “s****y peasants,” and the director as “weak and stupid.” When she addressed those texts and other unbecoming messages, her excuse was that she’s a direct communicator and that it’s her “Frenchness coming out sometimes.” Okay, then, Eva.

Related: Celebs Who Got Canceled — and Probably Deserved It

4. AMC’s Pricing Fiasco

AMC took a bit of a far out approach when it came to designing their seating model off of what you would oftentimes see when selecting a specific airline seat. It’s almost like they somehow forgot that people generally don’t like the seat selection process in airlines. 

AMC’s “Sightline” plan aimed to charge their customers different prices for different seats by accounting for factors like the proximity to the theater screen. A pilot program that was rolled out in select cities vividly demonstrated just how much of an ill-conceived idea the plan was, and Sightline was then cancelled in July. Back to the drawing board it is, and they better come up with something quick. 

5. Mark Consuelos

Kelly Ripa, the wife of Mark Consuelos, put him on blast in an Instagram comment that she posted on January 22nd. Ripa shared some tone-deaf sentiments provided by her husband when she was going through childbirth. We’re talking, “Do you mind if I eat?” and then “I’m going to the batting cages since you’re gonna be here a while.” My guy, that is not the way. Not the way at all. Hopefully, he had the wake-up call that he needed.

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