On the surface, these five last of their kind companies couldn’t be more different.  I mean, what could a barber pole company possibly have in common with a company that makes garish jackets for the stock market trading floor?  Nothing, right?  Well, while the companies have survived in many different ways, from diversification to specialization to high-tech manufacturing, they all share a common enemy:  cheap Chinese imports.

It’s weird, these companies have all struggled to survive in their various industries, some for a hundred years, but what did them in wasn’t the guy down the street making stinky cheese, it was cheaper imported products from outside the United States.  Granted, growing obsolescence didn’t help them out much, but the real problem was China for at least four of these five industries.

Chinese competition is still a problem today, as Google could tell you.  Here’s hoping these companies keep their respective unique traditions alive for another hundred years.  It might be hard work, and you might have to adapt to survive, but it can be done.

Tags: dying industries, last of their kind companies, rare goods companies, unusual companies, small businesses, anachronisms

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