The Mega-Brands That Built America

Founding fathers of the biggest retail stores in the world battle to be the first to innovate, build, and revolutionize the industry. And one of the top businessmen of the 20th century, Sam Walton, will construct the worlds largest retail empire.

The evolution of Americas most beloved sports of baseball, basketball and football are made possible by the innovations of sporting goods pioneers named Spalding, Wilson, and the Rawlings brothers.

When Motorola introduces the first handheld portable telephone to the world, the futuristic technology sets off a fierce battle among international telecommunications companies to produce the most popular cell phone. The competition for the next great mobile device produces innovations such as flip phones, ringtones, and text messaging. But when a little-known tech upstart from Canada decides to combine the features of a computer with a cell phone to make a smartphone called the Blackberry, the way we use phones will never be the same again.

In the middle of the 20th century, a small piece of plastic revolutionizes the world of commerce as Diners Club, Bank of America, and American Express race to change how people pay for everything kicking off the $6 trillion dollar a year credit card industry.

In the 1950s, rival electronics companies aim to make music portable for the first time ever. What follows is a decades-long rivalry that prompts the creation of iconic products like the Pocket Radio, Cassette Tape, Walkman and the CD, alongside the rise of two of the biggest companies in the world.

A down-on-his-luck car salesman has the visionary idea to start the first rental car company in America, and when he joins forces with cab company owner John Hertz, they spread their revolutionary business across the country. But when WWII veteran Warren Avis starts his own rental car company, fierce competition between the two gives rise to a new industry with a $100 billion annual market.

The biggest names in computers go head-to-head in a race to create the first portable computers; through failures, alliances and the return of an American icon, theyll usher in their first ever handheld device.

An ambitious upstart leaves Wall Street to start an internet store that becomes a global empire, while a young computer programmer revolutionizes the way we buy and sell online--creating rival multibillion-dollar brands that become household names.

To simplify tedious office tasks in the mid-20th century, one unknown company introduces the worlds first photocopier and becomes a household name.

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