Business Wars

It’s the late 1970s and Airbus is on cloud nine after securing a breakthrough deal with Eastern Airlines. But Boeing’s not taking the consortium’s intrusion into American airspace lightly. And it’s going to use every trick in the book to take down the European challenger. But with help from some powerful friends and a bold idea that’s going to transform flying, Airbus is about to increase the throttle on its journey to the heights of the aviation industry.Support us by supporting our sponsors!

It’s 1970 and the Boeing 747 is finally airborne. But bringing this behemoth to market has taken Boeing to the edge of collapse. And it will take years of belt-tightening and perseverance to overcome this jumbo hangover.Luckily, the Seattle manufacturer’s competition is in disarray and its major American rivals, Douglas and Lockheed, are in even deeper trouble.But across the Atlantic, a new threat is brewing. Europe’s government-backed Airbus is finally ready to fly. But the European consortium behind this new jetliner is about to discover that making planes is easier than selling them.Support us by supporting our sponsors!

It’s the 1950s, the dawn of the jet age. And leading the world into this era of faster, less shaky flights is the British-made De Havilland Comet.But when disaster strikes, a hungry American military plane maker called Boeing spots a golden opportunity to break into the civil aviation big leagues.And as Boeing ascends, America’s grip on the aircraft market tightens, crushing the European competition.But with their market share plummeting, Europe’s plane makers decide they must unite or die.Support us by supporting our sponsors!

It's been a hard fought battle for decades, and in the 1970s there's no signs of Ford or Chevrolet slowing down. But this time they're fighting on new grounds, ones dominated by Japanese cars. Honda, Toyota and Datsun dominate the market, and Ford and Chevy seem like they're just... running out of gas.Support us by supporting our sponsors!

In the 1960s, the biggest generation of Americans of all time are reaching driving age. They want cars, and they want them to be fast and powerful, and they want them now. The best showcase for these cars is by winning races, and in the 1960s, Ford and Chevy are gunning for each other at every turn.Support us by supporting our sponsors!

FDR believed that WWII was a contest of mass production. Whoever could build the most trucks, tanks, guns and airplanes would come out on top. What power could defeat the United States of America and its massive automobile industry? But for Roosevelt’s arsenal to work automakers will have to put aside their rivalries and retool.Support us by supporting our sponsors!

In 1896, Henry Ford puttered around Detroit streets testing his “Quadricycle.” This was the whimsical beginning to a revolution that redesigned the landscape of America.Cars changed the way America lived, worked, ate, shopped, and listened to music. And more than 100 years ago, the entire industry was a group of men, whose names are now emblazoned on every bumper, just hanging out at their local bar.Support us by supporting our sponsors!

It’s the 1960s and as Americans flee cities for the suburbs, Macy’s and Gimbels face tough choices. How do they compete with the rise of discount retailers and the exciting new shopping palaces known as malls? Weakened by industry disruption, both stores become vulnerable to the new wave of financial tactics — takeovers and leveraged buyouts. One store’s fateful decision during this transition period will end with it closing its doors forever. Support us by supporting our sponsors!

In the late 1930s Gimbels makes a risky bet by stockpiling goods likely to be scarce in wartime. They also snap up their rival’s star copywriter, who does the best work of her career at their shop. Their savvy planning and advertising strength position them well for the post-war period, when Americans open their wallets wide. But the lifting of Depression era regulations governing retail leads to a series of price wars between all the department stores. None is as extreme as the one between Macy’s and Gimbels, which ends in mayhem, and sometimes, violence. The price wars force Macy’s to choose between honoring a sacred, century-old discount policy, or risk ending the year in the red for the first time in company history. Support us by supporting our sponsors!

It’s the 1920s and wealthy flappers and captains of industry have money to burn for raccoon coats and monogrammed sterling silver hip flasks. Gimbels makes a risky acquisition of Saks Fifth Avenue, that ends up floating Gimbels through hard times and family tragedy during the Depression. Macy’s counters Gimbels’ strategic expansion by hiring a brilliant young copywriter, one of the first female advertising executives, and entering the new industry of radio broadcasting to advertise to the masses.If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, here are some additional resources: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 National Alliance on Mental Illness: 1-800-950-6264Crisis Text Line: Within the US, text HOME to 741741Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance: 1-800-826-3632 Support us by supporting our sponsors!

It’s nearing the turn of the 19th century, and the Straus Brothers now run Macy’s emporium out of a dozen cobbled together stores in lower Manhattan. The next generation of Straus’s pressure the old guard to build a huge new Macy’s flagship on 34th street, in the still seedy red light district of Herald Square. It will take some persuading. And by the time the new venture reaps its reward, the family will be famous for a new reason; the heroism of one of the store’s founding fathers and his wife on the fateful voyage of the Titanic.Gimbels now has mammoth enterprises in Milwaukee and Philadelphia, and one of Adam’s sons also has greater ambitions. He urges the Gimbel elders to ride the wave of Macy’s high profile and build an even bigger store right on the rival’s doorstep. And when they balk, he comes up with a dastardly plan.  Support us by supporting our sponsors!

As R.H. Macy’s Manhattan emporium and reputation grow during the Civil War, his teenage son rebels and runs away to join the Union army. When the boy goes AWOL, the future of Macy’s burgeoning department store faces jeopardy. But salvation arrives in the form of another recent immigrant from war-torn Germany, Lazarus Straus. His family will lead Macy’s into the next century and a golden age of the department store.But Adam Gimbel has been busy in Indiana; he now has a prosperous business and 11 children. His seven sons spur their father on to open a bigger and better store in booming Milwaukee. Their ambition and Macy’s growing fame in New York will soon lure the Gimbel Brothers east to challenge him on his home turf. Support us by supporting our sponsors!

It's the mid 1800s and two very different young men set out in the world to make their fortunes. A young boy from Nantucket spends four years at sea on a whaling ship, the other becomes an itinerant peddler in the wilds of Indiana. These two adventurers, R.H. Macy and Adam Gimbel, eventually settle down as merchants, and open their own dry goods stores. They don’t know each other yet, but, as they each grow their businesses, they inadvertently create what we now know as the department store. Support us by supporting our sponsors!

In the midst of their heated negotiations over the price of raisins, the CEO of Sun-Maid and the head of the Raisin Bargaining Association face off, each making their pitch about the state of the raisin industry and the road forward. It’s the first time the two men have been able to appeal directly to the farmers themselves. The farmers must decide whether to follow Sun-Maid’s plan for a lower price for their raisins but a more robust market overall -- or stand by the R.B.A. and a higher price for raisins. Their choice will shape the raisin market for decades to come.Support us by supporting our sponsors!

Facing a shrinking raisin market, Sun-Maid hires a new CEO with a mandate to make raisins popular with Millennials. He believes part of the reason consumers are spurning raisins is the price and is set on Sun-Maid paying less money to farmers. This puts him on a collision course with the old school raisin grower who is heading up the Raisin Bargaining Association. With many farmers struggling to make ends meet, the R.B.A. is determined to get the highest price for raisins ever. As the two men clash, tensions escalate to the point of death threats.Support us by supporting our sponsors!

The humble raisin: it’s hard to imagine that dried grapes are at the center of one of the longest running business wars in the United States. But with almost all of the country’s raisins coming from a small area in California’s Central Valley, it is a brutal and cutthroat industry.In the early 20th century a few wealthy raisin growers decided to form a collective called Sun-Maid. After the government mandated that 85% of growers join the collective, Sun-Maid executives used violence and intimidation to get farmers to join. The farmers who held out had little bargaining power and were forced to accept lower prices. But in the 1960s, the independent farmers banded together to fight back. They founded the Raisin Bargaining Association to negotiate higher prices, setting off a power struggle that would last for decades.Support us by supporting our sponsors!Quartz - Just go to QZ.com for 50% off membership and enter code BW. And our friends at LinkedIn are back with a new season of Hello Monday with Jessi Hempel.

Growing the cocoa needed to produce chocolate on the scale a company like Mars or Hershey needs is an immense undertaking. One serious consequence chocolate producers are now facing is deforestation in countries that grow the cocoa for the world's chocolate demands. The Washington Post reports that in 2017, 40 football fields of tropical forests were lost every minute, spurred by the demand for cocoa and other goods like soybeans and palm oil. We conclude our series Hershey vs Mars with Steven Mufson. He reports on business and climate change for The Washington Post and he joins us to talk about why deforestation has become such a serious issue and why producing environmentally sustainable chocolate is so hard. You can read Steven Mufson's reporting on chocolate and deforestation here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/national/climate-environment/mars-chocolate-deforestation-climate-change-west-africa/Support us by supporting our sponsors!

It’s a new century and Hershey’s facing unexpected trouble at home — a showdown between the company and its biggest shareholder that threatens its independence. Meanwhile, Mars is on a mission to become the world’s candy king. And with Hershey yet to break ground outside the U.S., the opportunity to catch up is fading fast.Hershey knows there’s one move that could transform its overseas fortunes: a merger with its British soulmate Cadbury. The question is can it secure Cadbury’s hand in marriage before Mars triumphs in its quest for global chocolate domination. Support us by supporting our sponsors!

It’s the late 1970s and Mars is America’s top confectioner. But Hershey is hungry for a comeback. It’s plotting a return to the top powered by a rush of new candies it hopes can nibble away at Mars’ market share.Not that Mars has any intention of surrendering pole position without a fight. It thinks it can stop Hershey in its tracks by focusing exclusively on best-selling brands like Snickers, M&M’s and Milky Way.But what neither company knows is that a tempting opportunity from Hollywood is about to disrupt the balance of power in candy land. Support us by supporting our sponsors!

It’s 1965 and Forrest Mars has just become the manufacturer of Snickers and M&M’s. He is now – at last – ready to duke it out with Hershey in a battle to become the number one candy maker in America.And he knows Hershey is far from prepared for his sudden switch from ally to enemy. Hershey is a company wedded to tradition. It has no marketing department, doesn’t advertise, and has a completely complacent sales team.The question is: can Hershey shake off its docile ways in time to stop Forrest’s relentless advance?Exciting news! Business Wars is now available globally. That means you can listen to Business Wars in French, German, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese:  wondery.fm/BWPortuguesewondery.fm/BWSpanishwondery.fm/BWFrenchwondery.fm/BWGerman Support us by supporting our sponsors!