Most Intense Corporate Rivals in Business History

Competing Industry: Beer
Industry Market Size: $623.2 Billion (2021)

With a rivalry that began more than 160 years ago,  Anheuser-Busch and the Miller Brewing Company were founded just three years apart, and have had one of the longest and most eventful corporate rivalries in history. The two companies have not only survived each other’s advances but also managed to emerge from the other side of prohibition stronger than ever. Due to a fantastic advertising campaign throughout the ‘80s, the following decade saw the end of Miller Lite’s reign, as America’s best-selling light beer, when Anheuser-Busch’s Bud Light took the crown for itself. 

Anheuser-Busch vs Miller ©Ken Wolter / ©Steve Cukrov / Shutterstock.com

SABMiller and Molson Coors teamed up in 2007, in a joint-venture which they both had hoped would end the “Beer Wars” once and for all. The venture would inevitably end the “Beer Wars” as we knew them, but the result was not quite what the new MillerCoors company had hoped for. In 2015, as part of a deal that would inevitably see Anheuser-Busch acquiring SABMiller, Miller sold its stake in MillerCoors to Molson Coors. With that, Busch and Miller’s rivalry appears to have come to an end. The one between Busch and Molson, however, has only just begun.

Competing Industry: Retail
Industry Market Size: $22.4 Trillion (2021)

By the time the rivalry between Amazon and Walmart had begun, Walmart had already started to establish itself as a name known in multiple countries around the world. Amazon, on the other hand, had only just started operating and was nothing more than an online bookseller called “Cadabra”. It didn’t take long for Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, to shift the company’s focus towards online retail and begin on his path towards his ultimate goal of Amazon becoming larger than Walmart.

Amazon vs Walmart ©Eric Broder Van Dyke / ©Photography / Shutterstock.com

Although {WMT:Walmart}} currently has the advantage with thousands of stores around the world, Amazon has had an enormous head start in taking the digital front. Walmart has since partnered with Google in order to help customers pre-order their groceries, via choice command, for quick pick-up. Amazon was not to be left behind, however, and with the acquisition of Whole Foods, it officially threw its hat in the proverbial (grocery store) ring. Bezos might not have a bigger company than Walmart yet, but he’s put up a pretty good fight.

Competing Industry: Social Media
Industry Market Size: $102.62 Billion (2021)

During the first two years after its initial release, in 2010, Instagram was starting to become rather popular. It wasn’t until 2012, however, when Facebook acquired the company, that the app was given the platform that was needed in order for it to grow to its full potential. TikTok, on the other hand, showed up seemingly out of nowhere in 2017 and took the social media world by storm.

TikTok vs. Instagram ©XanderSt / ©AngieYeoh / Shutterstock.com

As 2020 began, neither company seemed to be slowing down. In fact, with so many people being constrained to their homes and flooding their social media accounts, over the past year, the rivalry has only grown more intense. Instagram’s 6-year head start has led to the company amassing almost 2 billion users worldwide, however, in 2019, TikTok added 250 million more users than Instagram did. It appears as though the tide is turning…

Competing Industry: Technology
Industry Market Size: $5 Trillion (2021)

When it comes to home computing, the battle has divided the world into two very distinct groups of people, Mac people and non-Mac people. Although this rivalry is not as long as some of the others on our list, it has had its fair share of controversy and animosity. In the mid-1980s, a falling out between Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, in regards to idea theft, ignited the flames of what has become one of the most advantageous rivalries to the advancement of humankind.

Microsoft vs Apple ©mariakray / ©ThewayIsee / Shutterstock.com

After parting ways 12 years earlier, Steve Jobs returned to Apple Inc. in 1997. Microsoft might have ruled supreme in the ’90s, however, with Jobs’ vision returning to Apple, things were very different in the 2000s. Today, it is much more difficult to declare a victor to this rivalry. The current armistice in the “Tech War” has allowed both companies to thrive in different branches of the industry. Microsoft created the Xbox and entered the video game industry, while Apple developed the iPhone and revolutionized the mobile phone industry.

Competing Industry: Luxury Sports Cars
Industry Market Size: $495.7 Billion (2018)

Enzo Ferrari was a race car driver who had decided to start his own racing team and design his own cars. In 1939, that dream came to fruition, and Ferrari was founded. The first meeting between Enzo Ferrari and a man named Ferruccio, who happened to be a world-class mechanic, ended up igniting one of the most heated rivalries in the corporate world. A rivalry based on spite. Ferruccio approached Enzo with an idea on how to improve the mechanics of Ferrari’s vehicles (and make them a bit quieter). Advice, of which, Enzo shrugged off as coming from a lower class of talent than himself.

Ferrari vs Lamborghini ©Tom B Paye / ©BoJack / Shutterstock.com

Enzo’s condescension towards Ferruccio woke something up in the “tractor mechanic”, and his passion for cars became an obsession. Ferruccio started his own car company and named it after himself. After only four months, he had built and was ready to unveil, the first Lamborghini model, the 350GTV, and with it, the rivalry was officially born. Today, Ferrari is valued at more than three times what Lamborghini is, but I don’t think anyone at Lamborghini will be complaining about having a company that’s worth $12 billion dollars.

Competing Industry: NBA 
Industry Market Size: $63.6 Billion (2020)

Two of the most storied franchises in NBA history, the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics’ rivalry began way back more than 60 years ago. They first met in the NBA finals in 1959 and have clashed for the championships an additional eleven times since. Although the Celtics lead the championship matchup 9-3, three out of the last four trophies have gone to the Lakers. 

Los Angeles Lakers vs Boston Celtics @Los Angeles Lakers Georgia / Facebook.com | @celtics / Twitter.com

There is no denying the animosity between the players and fans alike. Between the two, the teams have won a combined 34 out of the 74 NBA championships, and the franchises are worth almost $8 billion together. Believe me, there is no love lost between these teams. Once a player suits up for one, friends on the other side become the enemy. All is fair in love and war, and these monsters of the hardcourt don’t hesitate to prove that.

Competing Industry: Ride Share
Industry Market Size: $85.8 Billion (2021)

Uber first started operating back in 2009, and over the past decade or so, ride-sharing has since become one of the most popular methods of transportation. Similar to any industry, once the potential profitability becomes clear, the pioneers of the industry are forced to constantly fight off new contenders. This is exactly what happened to Uber once Lyft began its operations. 

Uber vs Lyft ©MOZCO Mateusz Szymanski / ©Jonathan Weiss / Shutterstock.com

With its additional services, such as Uber Eats, Uber has taken a stranglehold on the industry, operating in more than 900 metropolitan cities across the globe. These rival companies have been notoriously cut-throat when it comes to defeating their competition, but although both, Uber and Lyft, have been known to actively poach drivers from one another, their passengers’ safety and comfort has remained at the forefront of both companies’ business plans.

Competing Industry: Fast Food
Industry Market Size: $647.7 Billion (2019)

The “Burger Wars” have been raging, almost non-stop, since the 1950s. As heated as the battle has gotten over the years, it was in the 1980s, that the rivalry reached its boiling point. During the “Big Mac Vs Whopper” battle of the ’80s, in an advertisement that featured a 5-year old Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Burger King attacked first by openly stating that their product was better than their rivals. The attack ad led to an eventual lawsuit and the withdrawal of slander ads from the companies’ campaigns. 

McDonald's vs Burger King @Andrey Armyagov / Shutterstock.com

While the king of burgers has a respectable 1.2% of the global fast-food market, it still controls just a fraction of McDonald’s 10% market share. With a footprint in almost twice as many countries as Burger King, and with a symbol that is known worldwide, the “Golden Arches” have seemingly come out on top in this battle.

Competing Industry: Retail
Industry Market Size: $759.5 Billion (2021)

Established in 1858 and 1887, respectively, Macy’s and Gimbels were two of the first major players in the early days of the retail industry. By the middle of the 1920s, the popularity of the two companies was growing, as they both had their own Thanksgiving Day Parades and their images were getting out to larger markets. 

Macy's vs Gimbels @nypost / @80sThen80sNow / Twitter.com

Over the years, the Macy’s vs Gimbels rivalry has become so well-known, that there have even been references to it in popular television shows and major nation pictures. As the retailer for the middle class, Gimbels couldn’t keep up with Macy’s “posh” image, and in 1987, after 100 years of battle, Gimbels closed their doors for the last time and, in doing so, admitted defeat to their long time rival.

Competing Industry: Chocolate Bars
y Market Size: $130.56 Billion (2019)

It’s hard to believe, but a chocolate bar rivalry isn’t as sweet and fun as one would think. It’s actually a lot more like a James Bond film than it is like Willy Wonka. Hershey’s and Mars have gone to great lengths to keep their secret recipes from getting into the wrong hands. It’s not only the recipes that are kept from the public, however, as both companies have become notorious for only letting their stockholders and investors know the absolute minimum that the law requires about their business operations.

Hershey vs Mars ©George Sheldon / Shutterstock.com | @mars / Facebook.com

Hershey’s approximate 4% share of the global chocolate market is respectable, but rather inconsequential when compared to Mars’ market-leading, 14.4% share. Due in large part to expansion, Mars is the largest chocolate company in the world, and has reached out to almost 20% more countries than its rival. The “Battle of the Bars” has been raging for almost 90 years, and through all of it, the main collateral damage has been the waistlines of consumers who haven’t been able to resist these tasty treats.

Competing Industry: Video Games
Industry Market Size: $175.8 Billion (2021)

In the late ‘90s, the “Console Wars” were in full swing. Nintendo and Playstation had already established themselves in the gaming industry and Sega was all but dead in the water. As the decade was coming to a close, Microsoft announced that it was ready to join the battle, and as the new millennium got underway, so did Microsoft’s venture into the unknown.

Xbox vs Playstation ©Anthony McLaughlin / ©Iren Key / Shutterstock.com

Microsoft’s Xbox was released in 2001, with great reviews and a built-in hard drive, of either 8GB or 10GB, in order to save more game files than had been possible on previous companies’ consoles. Over the following two decades, Playstation and Xbox took a clear lead over Nintendo in the “Console Wars”, and more recently, Sony extended its lead over Microsoft as well. The revenue from its PS5 generated nearly $2 billion more in sales than Microsoft’s Xbox Series X/S.

Competing Industry: Automotive
Industry Market Size: $2 Trillion (2018)

The first rivalry between automotive companies in the United States was actually a three-horse race between General Motors, Chevrolet, and Ford. By the 1920s, however, General Motors and Chevrolet realized that they would be better off joining forces in order to defeat the pioneer of mass-produced vehicles, Ford. The subsequent merger resulted in the first real rival to the “Model T”, the “490”. 

Ford vs Chevrolet @CarBuzzcom / @WheatsonSmith / Twitter.com

When General Motors and Chevrolet developed the Corvette, Ford released the Mustang. As a rebuttal to the Mustang, we got the Camaro. And so, back and forth they’ve gone, trading blows for more than a century, and today, not much has changed except, recently, there has been a larger focus, by both companies, on pick-up trucks. 

Competing Industry: Coffee Shop
Industry Market Size: $156.9 Billion (2020)

Opening 21 years after its rival, it didn’t take Starbucks very long to make a name for itself in the coffee shop industry. In just a few decades, Starbucks went from being the “new kid on the block” to surpassing Dunkin’ Donuts in popularity and becoming the world’s biggest coffee shop chain. With over 32,000 locations worldwide, compared to Dunkin’ Donuts’ approximately 12,000, the competition isn’t even close anymore.

Starbucks vs Dunkin’ ©haireena / ©360b / Shutterstock.com

Initially, Dunkin’ Donuts had the upper hand, they sold donuts, as well as their coffee. In the ‘90s, Starbucks upped its food game and in the 2000s, established itself as a more gourmet version of its rival.  In 2008, Starbucks’ CEO, Howard Shultz clarified things rather accurately while being interviewed by Katie Couric when he asked, “Are you going to say to your friend, ‘Let’s go meet at Dunkin’ Donuts?’” 

Competing Industry: Athletic Footwear
Industry Market Size: $98 Million (2019)

When the “Sneaker Wars” began in the 1970s, Reebok was already a seasoned veteran in the sneaker business while Nike was, in contrast, “just a pup”. In order to win this war, the companies turned to the best weapon they knew, advertising. The biggest difference between the companies’ marketing campaigns has been that while Reebok has focused on “the everyday person” in their ads, Nike has been connecting to the public through its endorsements of high-profile athletes. 

Nike vs Reebok @TY Lim / Shutterstock

In 1984, Nike endorsed an individual who had, until then, not played a single game in the NBA. The deal would go on to earn that man more than $1 billion, and earn Nike, and “Air Jordan”, a deciding victory in the “Sneaker Wars” battle of the 1990s. That isn’t to say that Reebok hasn’t endorsed superstars as well. The company has had both, Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson, as the faces of their brand in the past, but let’s be realistic here, neither of them is Michael Jordan.