The Best “oops” moments of 2007

Ratatouille! Scampering rodents in February nearly ruined Taco Bell, especially following an earlier E. coli scare. Business is still flat in the U.S. but it’s soaring in China.

• Macy’s issues a bunch of “Ohio State champions” T-shirts in its Columbus, Ohio, stores to celebrate the team’s national football championship. Only problem: Ohio State lost to Florida. And Truman beat Dewey.

• Home Depot board asks Bob Nardelli to resign, then gives him a $210 million severance package. Well, we know what Nardelli was thinking.

• Circuit City announces plans to lay off the 3400 store workers who were earning the most money. Didn’t they earn the most money because they sold the most stuff?

• Finish Line agrees to acquire Genesco for $1.5 billion, outbidding Foot Locker for the troubled property. Three months later, it expresses concern about the state of Genesco’s business. Who’s doing the due diligence?

• Gap Inc. names Glenn Murphy ceo, six months after Paul Pressler’s resignation. Complaint about Pressler: He lacked retail fashion experience. Murphy’s background: Canadian drugstores. Well, it could work out.

• Children’s Place misses its deadline to come up with a new prototype for Disney Stores. Disney had accused the troubled retailer of various breaches of agreement before giving it another chance. Biting the mouse that feeds you.

• Whole Foods ceo John Mackey is exposed as the blogger named “rahodeb” who bad-mouthed Wild Oats on various Internet sites. This as Whole Foods fights to get approval for its merger with Wild Oats.

• Claire Watts, who was going to spearhead Wal-Mart’s fashion revolution, resigns. In 2006, she was one of Fortune’s most powerful women; in 2007, the fashion victim of Wal-Mart’s “too much, too soon” fiasco.

• Chrysler names Bob Nardelli ceo. At Home Depot, morale slumped and the stock price skidded. Then again, Chrysler’s morale and stock price couldn’t be any lower.

• Apple cuts the price of its iPhone by $200, a little more than two months after nearly a million early adopters paid full premium price. Worse, Steve Jobs said a better phone will be introduced next year. But thanks for playing.

For VM+SD's retail yearbook, click here.

For the most magical moments of 2007, click here.

©2007 JupiterImages, Darien, Conn.; VM+SD Magazine (Gap); Courtesy of Wal-Mart, Bentonville, Ark.; Courtesy of Apple Inc., Cupertino, Calif.