To the Blockbuster CEO that said Netflix wasn’t “even on the radar screen in terms of competition,” this one’s for you.
on Netflix:
“Neither RedBox nor Netflix are even on the radar screen in terms of competition.” – Jim Keyes, Blockbuster CEO in 2008
on Airbnb:
“We have not seen a direct effect in any of our hotels… We don’t feel it’s having any impact on our results or that it has hit our radar as of yet.” – Richard Jones, Senior VP and COO of Hospitality Ventures Management Group in 2014
on the iPhone:
“There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance.” – Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO in 2007
on personal computers:
“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” – Thomas Watson, President of IBM in 1943
on Amazon:
“While recent stories and reports of a new entity competing with three major carriers in the United States grabs headlines, the reality is it would be a daunting task requiring tens of billions of dollars in capital and years to build sufficient scale and density to replicate existing networks like FedEx.” – Mike Glenn, FedEx Executive VP in 2016
on Uber:
“I’m not afraid of Uber.” – CEO of Montreal’s largest taxi company
