Assignment 1: Kodak and Fujifilm

It was Kodak’s’ strategy to sell the cameras at low prices, and it used to earn revenue from the films; this strategy is called the razor-blade strategy. This model for photography became flop when Sony introduced a camera with floppy disk inside, in which there wasn’t any use of films. As a result of Sony’s introduction of the Mavica in 1981, Kodak took it as a threat and started investing in the digital photography. For this purpose, it has conducted a huge research on the digital photography. As exposed by Fisher in 1997, Kodak’s respond wasn’t appropriate for the digital world: “One of the mistakes we [Kodak] have made is that we [Kodak]’ve tried to do it all. We [Kodak] do not have to pursue all aspects of the digital opportunity and service side.”

Fujifilm got its start with the production of motion picture film, dry plates and photographic paper. It was difficult for Fujifilm initially to develop brand recognition due to the market prevalence of the Eastman Kodak Company.   Fujifilm’s quality standards were not on par with Kodak and this created a challenge to gaining any traction. Fujifilm’s plan to compete was to develop film and paper that were compatible with the processing systems used mostly worldwide.   By 1969, all of their films, photo paper and chemicals completely matched these processing systems.   With the concentration on the quality of its products, Fujifilm was able to develop its first film product and a motion-picture negative film which proved to consumers in Japan that Fujifilm was technically proficient and resulted in a demand for their products.

For a century, Eastman Kodak Company was a leader in their field of capturing images on film but in the late 1980’s the company was struggling to be at the top of their field. According to Bolman & Deal (2008, p. 93) “its name and film were known around the word, but the company had been rocked by intense competition, high cost, declining customer satisfaction, threats of hostile takeover, and low employee morale.” The CEO, Colby Chandler, understood that reorganization was necessary so that the company could emerge from decline. Chandler decided to divide the company into six different divisions, one being the black-and-white film division, which evolved into the most successful division of the company (Bolman & Deal, 2008). The executives in this division examined what changes, expectations, and productivity they wanted for the division and its employees.

Kodak used advertising to sell and create a market for their cameras, papers, and film. But during the 20th century, the advertising industry was turning to photography.

Technology is constantly advancing with new ideas and developments of old ones. The newest invention surpasses the version previous, and devices become outdated and need updating. As evolving humans, it is natural to discard obsolete technology and to succeed it with improved means of communication that best fits the demands of the public. However, since the 19th century, one demand has remained timeless: the desire to capture moments in the form of a photo. George Eastman’s innovations opened up the door to seemingly unimaginable possibilities in the world of photography, and with his influence through the Kodak company and philanthropical contributions, the world has benefitted remarkably.

In general, Kodak has done well in the innovation implementation. This paper mainly discusses the innovation system within the group also influence the innovation

To account for their miscalculation in film sales, Kodak is undergoing a massive digitally based shift. Kodak plans on building a stronger base in its consumer, medical, and profession imaging products. However, this shift does not come without a price tag. Kodak’s projected spending could reach as much as $3 billion in future investments to aid the shift. With these investments Kodak claims a tremendous turnaround in revenue. Kodak anticipates reaching $16 billion in revenue by 2006 and $20 billion by 2010. To pay

This attention to detail and ability to out pace Kodak technology had endeared Fuji to its professional market, and serve as a bridge to build credibility on all of Kodak’s markets. It had taken its market share now, and was edging out Kodak on lower price and even lowers profits just to get ahead. Fuji’s most advertised success in Kodak’s market happened in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and every year since. Kodak tried to come back by getting the TV contract, but Fujifilm had surpassed Kodak.

Company Eastman Kodak is currently the market leader in the photo film market. The company has continued its domination of the photo film market, but in the past 5 years its market share has eased from 76% to 70%. Reason mainly being the competitors like Fuji Photo Film Co. and Konica Corp. lured consumers with their lower-priced versions. In 1993, Kodak spent an estimated $50 million on camera and film supply advertising in the United States; this was about 4 times

Kodak’s ingenious culture led to the invention of the first digital camera back in 1975 (Hamanaka, 2012). It hardly resembled the digital cameras of today and created an extremely low resolution black and white image. Kodak saw this virgining technology as a threat to their highly profitable film business. The camera industry began to grow into a highly competitive market with a number of

Kodak is American Technology Company that was found in 1890s. Kodak main focus is photography and imaging product. Recently, Kodak decided to enter the printers industry by designing a new line of printers that produce high quality photos. Kodak also will introduce a new line of printer ink, and photo paper. Kodak main challenge is competing against the market leader in the printing industry Hewlett Packard (HP) which has the largest market share in the printing industry. Also, Kodak is entering the market twenty years late than its competitor in the market who are more experience in term of the wants and needs of the consumers. In addition, increase in the industry rivalry with HP and risk in new product and offering would be a challenge that Kodak management has to overcome in order to stay successful in business.

While Kodak has historically been a well-established brand name in the marketplace, it struggled to find a niche when the industry morphed from a film-based market to a digital-based market. Kodak has struggled to successfully evolve its film-based business structure to the new structure of digital-based technology, which has allowed for competitors to enter the market, decreasing Kodak’s market share. Competitors (such as Canon Inc., Fuji Photo Film Co., Hewlett Packard Co., Nikon, and Sony Corp.) have posed major threats to Kodak’s livelihood. Kodak faces a 5% drop in film sales (2001-2003) and a 3% reduction in overall revenues over the same time period. In addition, revenues and net income are expected to be fairly flat (or decrease) in future estimates. Kodak faces much pressure to revitalize their business through digital imaging, a radical innovation, or risk being eaten alive in an industry they thought they controlled.

The last question to asses would be: Is there conditions for the sustainability of the joint venture? We can see by the increase of sales and processes improvement that this partnership could promote stability in the long term, but we should focus in organize the internal problems the most important issue is to align interest of the companies. Therefore we should align which markets should Fuji Xerox can serve and agree on who will do what, after this agreements are clear there will be no more friction between the companies and they can be focus on working against the competition.

Today Nikon and Canon constantly battle for the top position in the digital SLR cameras market. These two companies were the first to make the leap from film to digital, and their initial impressions in the market make them the dominant players. Nowadays, a growing number of individuals want to have their own digital SLR cameras, and it is no longer a luxury to the public. People always wonder which camera is right for them, and it is a common question when consumers

Eastman Kodak Company, commonly known as Kodak is an American multinational imaging and photographic equipment, materials and services company headquartered in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded by George Eastman in 1889. Kodak is best known for photographic film products. During most of the 20th century Kodak held a dominant position in this sector. In fact, Eastman Kodak Co. is one of the dominant market share holders within the camera and other photography-related industries. Kodak pioneered amateur photography and is often credited for the invention of roll film and the first camera. The markets for color film and color photofinishing in 1954 were controlled by Kodak. It had over 90% of the amateur color