Failed organisational name changes

[Bletchleyite]

There’s a McColls newsagents not far away that is effectively a Co-op with a different badge on it.

It appears from some Googling that the CWS sold some stores to McColls a while ago, so that'll be why.

 

[underbank]

I don’t believe the new blue and dark grey branding with “Welcome to placename’s Co-op” is used by any of the independents. I may be wrong

The other confusion now is that since the Co-op bought the supply side of NISA, you have Co-op branded products being sold in independent NISA franchise stores

Similar happens with "One Stop" privately owned convenience stores as "One Stop" wholesalers/supply chain is owned by Tesco.

 

[SuspectUsual]

Similar happens with "One Stop" privately owned convenience stores as "One Stop" wholesalers/supply chain is owned by Tesco.

One Stop is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tesco

 

[Monarch010]

I'm surprised that Wayne Kerr Electronics of Bognor Regis has never changed its name.

 

[PG]

I'm surprised that Wayne Kerr Electronics of Bognor Regis has never changed its name.

If we assume that it is named after the proprietor, then if they haven't found the need to change their own name I assume that they think it's good enough for their business.

 

[Old Yard Dog]

Le Shuttle
Orient FC
Halifax Blue Sox

 

[High Dyke]

I don’t believe the new blue and dark grey branding with “Welcome to placename’s Co-op” is used by any of the independents. I may be wrong

The other confusion now is that since the Co-op bought the supply side of NISA, you have Co-op branded products being sold in independent NISA franchise stores

Indeed, we've got a small independent retailer just round the corner from me that advertises Co-op products.

 

[lyndhurst25]

I read somewhere that after the takeover by Co-op, the NISA store owners were not happy with the wholesale prices they had for Co-op branded goods: it was often cheaper for them to buy the items from their local Co-op supermarket than buy them directly, especially when you took the Dividend Points into account!

As for failed rebrands, what about the Rover Metro? "They've rebadged it, you fool".

 

[AM9]

In my working years, Hewlett Packard was always a leading supplier of high quality instrumentation, indeed they are famed for the car garage that they started in being landmarked as the 'birthplace of Silicon Valley'. By the '90s, they were not only the world's largest electronic instrumentation company, but they also became a leading computer business as well as specialist component manufacturer. The business was split in 1999 with the computer business taking the HP name and the instrumentation operation taking a name (presumably created at great expense by an ad agency), of Agilent Technologies. Shortly after the new name was announced, it was pointed out - by a UK customer I believe, that Agilent was an anagram for 'genital'. I remember that the UK high profile salesmen were slightly embarassed but saw the funny side of the mistake. The reaction from visiting US suits was either just to blank it or feign ignorance of the faux pas.
Agilent is still of course the leading test and measurement operation which is a testament to the company's quality of offering.

 

[Bletchleyite]

"Agilent calculators - they're the dog's b*****s"?

 

[Ianigsy]

I'd agree that Consignia has top prize for failure in the bag. A brand that really failed to deliver.

I'd argue that merging the various co-ops to form 'the co-operative' rather than the more familiar Co-op wasn't a success, as demonstrated by its eventual return to the Co-op name

The Co-operative brand looked slightly odd on food items- I remember picking up a box of "Co-operative Jam Tarts" and wondering what uncooperative jam tarts would look like.

From what I remember, the Consignia branding was a reaction to market liberalisation and the need to split the business into separate entities for accounting purposes while keeping the various trading names. It was around this time that the Post Office name was trademarked and the independent postal administrations in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man had to change their business names to avoid using "Post Office".

 

[AM9]

"Agilent calculators - they're the dog's b*****s"?

And so were their HP predecessors except that they had reverse polish notation, which wasn't the way that most users had been brought up on. All of the instrumentation was excellent manufactured quality, met its specs, was fully calibrateable and if serviced properly, was servicable for decades.

 

[D365]

Agilent is still of course the leading test and measurement operation which is a testament to the company's quality of offering.

If I understand correctly, the electronics division of Agilent has been spun off under the name "Keysight"!

 

[baz962]

Yes, sackcloth and ashes for that one, to be frank(ed).

Some great comedic delivery here.
Some of the lame jokes should be sacked off though.

 

[baz962]

I'd agree that Consignia has top prize for failure in the bag. A brand that really failed to deliver.

It's rare to find such a good example of commercial entity branding failure because few companies would go to the expense of rebranding their commercial entity - which often isn't a consumer brand in itself - without very good reason, serious research and market testing, so most either succeed (e.g. the charity now known as Scope) or go unnoticed (e.g. Yell > hibu).

I'd argue that merging the various co-ops to form 'the co-operative' rather than the more familiar Co-op wasn't a success, as demonstrated by its eventual return to the Co-op name and retro logo.

Consumer brand change flops are easier to find. Usually they are quickly corrected and forgotten, like Choco Krispies, where British consumers made it clear that they would rather have a bowl of Coco Pops, thank you very much.

Of course, there is occasionally a name that becomes completely toxic: Dasani doesn't fit the 'name change' category, but in the UK it is certainly a victim one of the most extraordinary sets of blunders ever made by any company as large as Coca Cola, and is unlikely ever to reappear here.

I still to this day , want to say marathon and not snickers.

 

[pdeaves]

I still to this day , want to say marathon and not snickers.

I'm with you there. It became a family in-joke to refer to a pair of snickers.

 

[route101]

I don’t believe the new blue and dark grey branding with “Welcome to placename’s Co-op” is used by any of the independents. I may be wrong

The other confusion now is that since the Co-op bought the supply side of NISA, you have Co-op branded products being sold in independent NISA franchise stores

In Scotland there is regular Co op but their is Scotmid COOP as well with a different logo.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I'm with you there. It became a family in-joke to refer to a pair of snickers.

I never even made that association in all these years...is that what they meant?

 

[AM9]

If I understand correctly, the electronics division of Agilent has been spun off under the name "Keysight"!

Thanks for that. I didn't know, - I've been away from all that for over 10 years.

looks like they were a bit more careful with the name this time.

 

[D365]

Thanks for that. I didn't know, - I've been away from all that for over 10 years.

looks like they were a bit more careful with the name this time.

Indeed. I started studying electronics five years ago, which is just after when the spin-off took place.

 

[57Tonic]

In the late 50s Will's tobacco launched a new cigarette called "Strand" tag line Your Never Alone With A Strand, but the smoking public thought it gave the impression of a lonely person's cigarette and it bombed, it was re branded to Embassy and became one of the best selling cigarettes on the market and sponsored many sports worldwide, that just goes to show people buy things for the name.

 

[cactustwirly]

Notably, the blue branding isn't used by all of the societies, some have their own (e.g. Scotmid, Allendale) and others kept the green and "the co-operative" e.g. South Midlands.

The whole of the Midcounties Co-Operative retains the old green logo and branding. They also appear to be struggling, after offloading 8 stores in Leicester last summer.

 

[kevconnor]

In the late 50s Will's tobacco launched a new cigarette called "Strand" tag line Your Never Alone With A Strand, but the smoking public thought it gave the impression of a lonely person's cigarette and it bombed, it was re branded to Embassy and became one of the best selling cigarettes on the market and sponsored many sports worldwide, that just goes to show people buy things for the name.

Did it also lose the custom of grammar pedants for using your rather than you're?


In football there was also the famous rebrand of Hyde United to Hyde FC and change kit from Red to White to meet the requirements of their new team Sponsor Manchester City. Only to then be changed back a number of years later to Hyde United (with red kits once again) after Manchester City stopped sponsoring them.

Hyde FC change name back to Hyde United

The Tigers revert to old name after non-league club is given the go-ahead by the FA

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

Hyde FC have been given the go-ahead to change the club’s name back to Hyde United.

Hyde fans are looking to purchase the Tameside outfit this summer and as part of the process the club applied to revert to the name they originally adopted in 1919 and had for 91 years. And at an FA Council meeting held on Tuesday, the club was granted permission to go back to Hyde United.

The club originally changed to Hyde FC in 2010 during a partnership with City, which saw the Blues’ reserve, youth and some Academy teams playing at Ewen Fields.

As well as dropping United from their name, Hyde’s ground was turned from red to blue. The same change was made to the colours of the club badge.

But the badge was changed back on Tuesday, along with the club’s Twitter handle, with a new website to follow.

 

[xotGD]

World Wildlife Fund became World-Wide Fund for Nature.

Then back again.

 

[Hadders]

The whole of the Midcounties Co-Operative retains the old green logo and branding. They also appear to be struggling, after offloading 8 stores in Leicester last summer.

AFAIK Midcounties Co-operative don't operate in Leicester. Central England Co-operative trade in that area.

 

[Jamesrob637]

The Co-operative brand looked slightly odd on food items- I remember picking up a box of "Co-operative Jam Tarts" and wondering what uncooperative jam tarts would look like.

My local used to have a few of those (use your imagination ) however this may be drifting a little OT!

 

[SteveP29]

Notably, the blue branding isn't used by all of the societies, some have their own (e.g. Scotmid, Allendale)

And Scotmid don't accept the Co-Op dividend/ loyalty card.

I still to this day , want to say marathon and not snickers.

On a similar note, they're still Opal Fruits to me and I don't like that they combined the lemon and lime flavours into err lemon and lime to introduce blackcurrant, they could have expanded to 5 flavours

 

[Bletchleyite]

And Scotmid don't accept the Co-Op dividend/ loyalty card.

Though some of the non-CWS ones do, e.g. South Midlands or whatever it's called. You can save but not spend points.

 

[eMeS]

Though some of the non-CWS ones do, e.g. South Midlands or whatever it's called. You can save but not spend points.

My MK sourced Coop loyalty card was refused in Suffolk - and yet the shop's logo seemed identical.

 

[Senex]

I still to this day , want to say marathon and not snickers.

I never understood the point of that change, and there's just something about the very word "snickers" that really grates on me. Like you I still want to say "marathon" even after all these years. I don't know what it is I so dislike about "snickers" — it isn't just that it's a silly name (though it is!) (For a really silly name, what about the car that calls itself a "duster"?)