...What was the basis for Kodak’s success in analog or film photography, and why was it able to maintain its leadership position for so long? In 1884, Kodak roll of film was launched. This was the future innovative product in film business in that era. The first Kodak camera was introduced in 1888. The company distinguished itself and advertised products with the slogan “You press the button, we do the rest.” Kodak focused on customer needs by developing convenient-to-use products. For mass production strategy, the company sold its products by using a razor-blade strategy: low-price camera, but high-profit of film repurchase and having the strong relationship with retailers for selling products and printing photos with Kodak paper. This meant that the company offered customers with complete range of service from photo capturing to photo finishing, resulting in customers’ preference for Kodak rather than higher-quality products from competitors. In order to increase the growth, Kodak also continuously did the research. The company invested in R&D for color film and new cameras to medical imaging and graphic arts. As the result, this technological strength prevented the entry of competitors in the market. Kodak had the largest market share in film market and camera sales by 1976 before the digital era. 2. What are the key ways in which the structure of digital imaging is different from analog or film photography? In photography industry, I would like to divide into 3 processes:...
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...than later when their management made decisions that could help or hurt Kodak. Fuji constantly made changes and made the necessary changes to meet their customer’s needs. As a business owner being able to reach and understand each customer will help in sells so profits will rise. Many people continue to shop where products are cheap and convenient. Staying in business is like knowing and meeting different people with different wants and needs and then helping them with finding an inexpensive means of finding them. That is the nature of business and a way to keep a customer satisfied. Building a relationship with customers is the most important aspect in business. If the business does not speak directly to its customer’s they will soon have a loss in customers. Management plays an important part in the structuring of a business if the manager is not being active in the search for new ideas. Or technics to improve the company that company will be lost. New product must be advertised and sold in order to grow successfully. Ideas must be turned into product and problems concerning issues in a product must be...
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...Abstract Eastman Kodak Company and Fujifilm are competing corporations in the photography supply and equipment industry. When the industry changed both companies were impacted, but due to very unique management styles and ability to adapt to change one Fujifilm excelled while Kodak faltered and eventually declared Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in 2012. History of Kodak George Eastman founded Kodak, in 1888. The company’s early success was based on the new technology for cameras. The camera simplified the photo taking process (Williams, C. 2013) Kodak’s main focus was photography and imaging. They had an array of products that ranged from photography equipment, film, paper and color chemicals. In the1980’s, Kodak’s market share reached 90%. This was a very special moment in the company’s history. Kodak developed the first concept of the digital camera in 1975. Their executives could not imagine the world without traditional film; unfortunately, the idea was dropped because they feared it would threaten the company’s film business (Snyder, 2013). Digital cameras would become common; the technology started to spread and film sales dropped considerably at the late 1990’s. Kodak made a slow transition to digital technology. Unfortunately, their competitors adapted to change. This lead to Kodak’s loss of market shares both in the United States and worldwide. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. After one year of continuous battle to keep the company “alive”, the...
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...based on the launch of its revolutionary camera which simplified the photo taking process (Kodak, n.d.). Kodak’s main focus was photography and imaging, and its products ranged from photography equipment to film, paper and color chemicals. By the 1980’s, Kodak’s market share reached an amazing 90%. Although they developed the basic technology for digital cameras in 1975, the idea was dropped due to fear that it would threaten the company’s film business (Williams, 2013). Because Kodak executives could not imagine the world without traditional film, they failed to realize how fast digital cameras would become common; the technology started to spread and film sales dropped considerably at the late 1990’s. The slow transition to digital technology, denial of the declining film usage, and competition from other companies eventually lead to Kodak’s loss of market share both in the United States and worldwide, placing Kodak at a 7th position. In January 2012, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and a year later the Court approved financing for them. Kodak sold many of its patents to a group of companies such as Apple, Google, Microsoft, and others. Fujifilm, a Japanese company, was founded in 1934. They also focused on photography and imaging. The company soon ruled the Japanese market, which was ranked second after the United States in film usage. Eventually, the company entered the global and American market with a bold move, using aggressive marketing and low prices...
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...Tati Kringel Professor Posada CTVR 1 15 September 2016 When Creation Causes Destruction New advances in technology have created and given users a wider rage of ability to potentially become a photographer just by owning a smart phone. This creates a difficult field, or obstacle for those who take their photography careers seriously and are professionals. In the article, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” by Walter Benjamin, he writes about a change in perspective in film and photography and discusses his argument towards the loss of the aura through the mechanical reproduction of art itself. He also touches upon how modern art has changed immensely since the beginning of its creation, and how it has lost a majority of its value. As social media is growing and changing, there are many opportunities for anyone to be able to take professional photos just by having equipment and the social...
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...evolved from a partnership to a $200,000 corporation with 14 shareholders in 1884. At that same time, the company name was changed to EASTMAN Negative Paper. The next evolutionary step for the company was one year later in 1885. This is when the first transparent photographic film came to market. With this groundbreaking and revolutionary product, EASTMAN Negative Paper opened a wholesale office in London England. The next few years were so good at EASTMAN Negative Paper that they were able to employ a full-time research scientist to help the company in the commercialization of a flexible, transparent film. A few years later in 1888 the name Kodak was born and they adopted and marketed the slogan “You press the button – we do the rest”. The next years for Kodak were filled with the growth of their film product and the cameras that used the film, while they developed many new products for the photography industry they always stayed true to their core business of producing film and cameras. That is until the digital camera killed the film industry. The History and Core Business of Fujifilm In 1934, Fuji Photo Film Co. LTD was established because of a Japanese government plan to create a domestic film manufacturing industry. The...
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...timeline George Eastman started Kodak in 1878. In 1888 Eastman presented a first simple camera to the world. He made the complex and complicated process of photography easy and simple enough to use by everyone. "you press the button, we do the rest," Eastman demonstrated his marketing ingenuity (History of Kodak, n.d.) . The success of Kodak continued and in 1895 Kodak introduced the first pocket camera. Later Eastman formed his companies guiding principle: volume production at affordable cost, global presence, creative marketing, satisfied customers with best customer service, and growth through uninterrupted research and development. Furthermore, he stressed on how important it is to value brand name and the quality it stands for. Eastman firmly believed in product quality and never compromised under any circumstances (Kodak, 2006). Introducing color photography, Kodak continued its growth and success by investing in R&D and by 1963 become standard in photography. Sales reached to 1 billion dollars and rose to 10 billion dollar by 1981 (Kodak, 2006). Kodak's performance today Kodak is facing a difficult time: first nine month of 2005, Kodak’s revenue increased by 3% and net-loss from ongoing operational loss totaled to $1.3 billion, versus net income of 139 million dollars (Kodak, 2006). This year the film sales for Kodak dropped by 37% and the sale...
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...products a single brillant idea blossomed; pictures. George Eastman, an American inventor and philanthropist in the 1880‘s with a passion for photography had a dream.1 At the time photography was a very rare past time that only professionals had the knowledge and equipment to partake in. Eastman’s vision was to provide photography for the everyday consumer at low cost. Eastman accomplished this by starting the Eastman Dry Plate Company, which was a global leader in mass producing dry plates for many years. Within four years of of the commencement of research, negative paper was introduced and would be used for the next century. Film became so efficient and cheap, Eastman invented the first commercial camera called the “Kodak” which revolutionized the “point and shoot” concept as the world know its today. 1 The Kodak camera was so popular that Eastman decided to integrated Kodak into the company name. The newly founded and named Eastman Kodak Company in 1892 became so big they had to expand their facilities to New Jersey for access to new trade routes. This was the beginning of Kodak and the start of photography. Kodak’s history is mainly responsible for making the Kodak name what it is today. The initial products invented by Kodak like the camera and film opened doors and provided a foundation for innovation and success in the photography and developing industry. Furthermore, Kodak’s business model, although a failure, taught the world of business how to run a business. In today’s...
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...seconds, Polaroid also is involved in the production of a wide range of related products including film, photography supplies such as filters and lenses, and professional imaging products. Long a manufacturer of sunglasses, the company in 1998 created a new subsidiary, Polaroid Eyewear, and named Dean Butler, the founder of Lens Crafters, to lead it. In 1948 Polaroid introduced the world's first instant camera, the Model 95 Land camera, marking a landmark moment in the history of photography. In the late 1990s, having sold nearly 170 million cameras, Polaroid was in the midst of a new revolution, both within the company and in the field of imaging. The company was remaking itself and adapting to the changes made possible by new digital technologies. Polaroid continued to extend its reach far beyond the borders of the United States, selling its products in hundreds of countries and manufacturing at foreign production facilities in Mexico, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Between 1995 and 1997, the company's sales of cameras rose 15 percent in Europe, while sales of film there climbed 7 percent. Results from Japan were extremely strong during the same two-year period, with camera sales soaring more than 100 percent and film sales rising nearly 40 percent. COMPANY FINANCES Polaroid reported a net loss of $127 million on revenue of $2.15 billion in 1997, compared with a loss of $41 million on revenue of $2.28 billion in 1996. In 1995 the company...
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...Phalke and he joined J J School of Arts in 1885. Due to his passion for art and acting he joined Kala Bhavan in Baroda (now known as Vadodra) in the year 1890. At Kala Bhavan, he mastered sculpting, drawing, painting, photography & also engineering. After passing out he worked as a photographer in Godhra. Tragedy struck him when he lost his wife & children in a plague epidemic. A year later he met a German magician, Carl Hertz. Carl was an employee of Lumiere Brothers. Lumiere Brothers were the first to introduce movies in Europe. With Carl’s company, Phalke developed interest in cinema and photography. He worked for the Archaeological Survey of India for a few months and then joined a printing press. A few months he started his own printing press. Dadasaheb had fascination for the newest technology. This fascination encouraged him to take a trip to Germany to learn about the new technology in printing and art. The trip to Germany had changed Phalke’s perspective towards art. After his return, he ran into problems with the partners of his printing press. He happened to watch a silent movie at a local fair and got inspired by it. Soon he parted ways with the printing press partners and decided to make a film. Phalke had poor finances and the dream of film was going far day by day. But his passion for it kept him going. At this crucial time, Saraswati, Dadasheb’s second wife made a very tough decision. She decided to sell her ornaments to get money for the movie. Soon...
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...produce something of quality. The difference between still photography and video may be more slight, but there is still a level of knowledge on the mechanics of film and movement necessary for making this transition. However, now more than ever, the film industry is seeing a rise in the number of filmmakers with a fine arts education. Due to the exclusive nature of the Hollywood film industry, it is clear that what these artists are producing is not the typical low-budget, unrefined student film. Oftentimes, there is a very evident influence based around Andy Warhol's career path and individual works that these artists tend to follow and become successful in doing so. Andy Warhol produced radical mixed medium photography, moved on to installation motion picture art, and then feature films. Perhaps artists like Warhol have always been best at pushing the limits – they are not afraid of breaking the rules, trying something different or shocking, and taking a risk upon exhibiting the results. Linda Yablonsky in her contribution to ARTNews credits Andy Warhol as the specific artist, and reason, that has convinced current artists to make their way into film; this movement is surprising audiences with the compositions produced. Yablonsky compares and contrasts such artists' work from before and after this transition and states that generally, “their movies are extensions of their usual work, with one difference: the films are based on screenplays that have a fairly conventional narrative...
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...-However, K posted an operating loss of $600 m and net loss of $1362 m for this year (traditional film business was declining faster than they’d anticipated, and the digital business—with intense competition, compressed product cycles, and declining product prices—failed to fill the gap), and share prices were tumbling -Perez’s response: accelerate reallocation of resources from film business to digital imaging; massive layoffs; cut manufacturing capacity by 2/3; phase-out of film; focus on creating digital image management software Background 1980–1993: K diversified into healthcare, commercial imaging systems for printing, image storage and retrieval systems, data storage (floppy disks), photocopiers, Photo CD systems, and early digital cameras 1993–2005: K’s new management decides to focus on traditional imaging business and spin off or sell healthcare businesses; create greater coherence among its digital imaging projects -new digital strategy comprised the following themes: 1. An incremental approach: hybrid strategy where K only introduced those aspects of digital imaging that could offer advanced functionality for users (digital cameras offered poorer resolution than film, but digital imaging offered potential for image manipulation and transmission): provided Picture Maker kiosks where customers could easily edit, print, and share their digital photos or digitize their print photos introduced digital enhancement to conventional film introduced several new digital...
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...inception in 1888 to become a leading business in the field of unprofessional photography. The Government has concluded that Eastman Kodak monopoly in amateur photography market violates Article 2 of the Sherman Act, by acquiring competitors and using types of exclusive sales contract with the retailer, the judgment was judged the first time in 1921 … This ruling forbade Kodak, ”prevent retailers … freely selling the product of manufacturing competitors,” prevent retailers selling the product of Kodak without permission, and sell “the trademark dispute” or some no-name products of Kodak on it. In late 1930, Kodak began selling color film called Kodachrome smooth out market, and color print film, Kodacolor in 1954. At this time, the company has accounted for over 90% of the color film market. Kodak sold its color film in the package which included the image laundering, and account for over90% of photo laundering market. This close agreement led to the trial of the monopoly market by the Government and a verdict ruling in 1954. The major of judgment in 1954 is to ban Kodak in “bound or otherwise associated in the sale of color photographic film to photo finishing company. Consequently, color film laundering must be made in places that sell those movies.” There are five enterprises producing color film which is sold in the U.S market: Kodak, Konica, Agfa and 3M. There is almost no difference about the quality of films that is produced by those enterprises in U.S, but Kodak still sells more...
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...-However, K posted an operating loss of $600 m and net loss of $1362 m for this year (traditional film business was declining faster than they’d anticipated, and the digital business—with intense competition, compressed product cycles, and declining product prices—failed to fill the gap), and share prices were tumbling -Perez’s response: accelerate reallocation of resources from film business to digital imaging; massive layoffs; cut manufacturing capacity by 2/3; phase-out of film; focus on creating digital image management software Background 1980–1993: K diversified into healthcare, commercial imaging systems for printing, image storage and retrieval systems, data storage (floppy disks), photocopiers, Photo CD systems, and early digital cameras 1993–2005: K’s new management decides to focus on traditional imaging business and spin off or sell healthcare businesses; create greater coherence among its digital imaging projects -new digital strategy comprised the following themes: 1. An incremental approach: hybrid strategy where K only introduced those aspects of digital imaging that could offer advanced functionality for users (digital cameras offered poorer resolution than film, but digital imaging offered potential for image manipulation and transmission): provided Picture Maker kiosks where customers could easily edit, print, and share their digital photos or digitize their print photos introduced digital enhancement to conventional film introduced several new digital...
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...Case Analysis 1879: George Eastman invented the dry-plate process and filed patent for a machine that coated dry photographic plates 1880: George Eastman established the Eastman Dry Plate Company, at Rochester N.Y. 1884: Introduced paper roll film 1889: Invented perforated celluloid film 1900: The Brownie box camera went on the market with a price of $1 1935: Introduced color film 1960: Brought the Instamatic camera to the market 1970: Major sales growth for Kodak. Concentrates on film and basic cameras 1980: Fuji emerges as a serious competitor 1994: Kodak abandoned its non-imaging health-related businesses began to invest in digital imaging products for medical practice 1997: Kodak was a high-cost manufacturer with a growing portfolio of digital products which was losing hundreds of millions of dollars annually 1997: Restructuring that eliminated 19,000 jobs and cut more than $1 billion from annual costs 1999: Kodak entered the digital radiography market 2001: Kodak is pushing aggressively into China, an important growth market 2003: Carp unveiled the plan to invest $3 billion in the next three years in digital products by cutting dividends by 72% - to 50 cents per share 2004: Kodak announced that it would stop selling traditional film cameras in Europe and North America, and cut up to 15,000 jobs 2005: The Kodak EasyShare-One Digital Camera, the world’s first Wi-Fi consumer digital camera capable of sending pictures by email, was unveiled 2012: Kodak filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy...
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