Brand names that could vanish soon

Website predicts which companies could disappear in near future

DETROIT – We've seen the rise and fall of some big brand names.

Each year the website 24/7 Wall Street makes predictions about with brand names might vanish. This year the list includes an airline, some retailers, and a company that made one of the most addictive products in recent memory.

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The website says American Airlines could soon be gone, as its fallen behind competitors who became bigger and bigger through mergers.

Research in Motion is the company that makes the once red-hot Blackberry. Remember when people were so addicted to their Blackberries they were called "Crackberries". Unfortunately, RIM did not adapt its technology for consumer use. Once the iPhone was launched in 2007, RIM quickly lost ground.

The website also says retailer Pacific Sunwear no longer has the capital to compete, its running low on capital, and not meeting financial obligations. Talbots is another battered retailer. It was supposed to be taken private by Sycamore Partners, but the offer has been delayed. 24/7 says the store chain was hurt by the recession and its failure to appeal to consumers with distinctive products.

The website also predicts Current TV will become a thing of the past. It says the network was struggling before it fired Keith Olbermann, and now it's doing much worse.

2012 Results: Which Predictions Came True?

24/7 says it was on the money with some of its predictions for which companies would be gone by 2012. MySpace was sold by News Corp. less than a week after the website published its list. Saab filed for bankruptcy only five months later. Ericsson dumped its half of the Sony Ericsson mobile phone business, apparently aware of something that Sony has yet to realize -- the smartphone industry is owned by Apple and Google's Android-run phones.

The website admits it made a few bad calls: Sears and Sony Pictures are still operating in essentially the same form they were a year ago. Kellogg's Corn Pops and Soap Opera Digest are doing just fine.

To read more 2013 predictions of which brands will disappear click here.