Kodak: Smile and say Chapter 11
After 132 years of business America’s photography giant Kodak has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection. It’s not too surprising with the digital revolution brought about by competitors Nikon, Canon and Olympus, but it is rather ironic when you consider Kodak made the first digital camera in 1975 that never hit the market. Have a look here http://www.retrothing.com/2008/05/kodaks-first-di.html
Digital vs. Film 
Regardless Kodak didn’t immediately embraced the digital era fearing it would reduce their film business, which they had cornered, but it was inevitable. No longer were we forced to buy roll after roll of film good for one use and requiring a third party to develop (assuming you don’t have your own dark room) in order to see our images. We could now sit in the comfort of our own homes twea
k and edit picture on our own PC’s. Who needed film then? Convenience is king, or is that cash? Wait convenience = cash therefore convenience is king and Kodak missed the train.
When 2001 came around Kodak decided it was time to take the digital plunge, but unfortunately it was too little too late and now they are just trying to keep the competition in view. Kodak had a workforce of 150,000 employees in the late 80’s and since has dropped progressively to today’s 18,800.
Kodak makes printers?
They do!!! You wouldn’t know from the marketing campaigns, but they are out there. In the printer business we come across these machines very rarely, but that may change. Kodak has to find a new avenue in which they can thrive, and since it’s too late to be number one in digital photography, printing is an open avenue. 2012 could see Kodak make waves in the home photo printing sector that continues to grow.
Is it the End?
We all know filing for chapter 11 doesn’t mean the end of a company, and Kodak certainly doesn’t view it that way whatsoever with intentions of using this protection to revamp the company in the direction of the future. With cameras on countless electronic devices from phones, to computers Kodak can certainly find their way back into the market with the right innovation, but can they ever achieve the heights they once did?
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