polaroids

In the last two years, dozens of top retailers have liquidated merchandise, shuttered stores and filed for bankruptcy. But thanks to customer loyalty and management smarts, brands once given up for dead are now alive and kicking.

Private equity titans Gordon Brothers Brands LLC and Hilco Consumer Capital LP paid $88.1 million in May to acquire what was left of Polaroid, once the most iconic brand in photography. Now the company is looking to make a splash by signing 23-year old pop icon Lady Gaga to a contract that makes...