Finding Opportunity in Chaos: How Two Companies Survived the Depression Together

In chaos we find opportunity.

The Great Depression was an economic slump in North America, Europe, and other industrialized areas of the world from 1929 to 1939.

It was the longest and most severe depression ever experienced by the industrialized Western world.

After a decade of optimism and prosperity, the US devastated on Black Tuesday, Oct 29, 1929, the day the stock market crashed, and the official start of the Great Depression.

As stock prices plummeted with no hope of recovery, panic struck.

People tried to sell their stock, but no one was buying.

The Walt Disney Company was also struggling during this time and looking for new ways to profit off licensing their cartoon character Mickey Mouse.

A partnership between Disney and Ingersoll Waterbury (now Timex Group) then produced one of the most iconic watches in American history.

On the first day of sales at Macy’s, 11,000 watches were sold.

Two years later, 2.5 million were sold and Disney had become the largest watch manufacturer in the world.

The move saved both Disney and Waterbury while laying the foundation for Hollywood that merchandising was a major profit center as well as a key marketing strategy.

What opportunities will you create during this pandemic?