Factors led to the failure of Kodak Indications of the fall of Kodak • Competition from other brands In its history, Kodak has always got unique competency over other market players in the industry due to the distinctive business scope and operations: its photo-finishing process even has become the quality standard for the entire industry. However, favorably prosperous businesses that made Kodak into one of the most distinguishing trademarks were struggling for survival because of the entrance and intervention of other challengers in market. For instance, the Japanese company Fuji followed Kodak to penetrate the market with a relatively high market share not only in Japan, but also in the United States and other parts of the world as well. Fuji and other Japanese rivalries were very capable of designing and manufacturing the products at much cheaper expense than Kodak could afford, and hence triggering a huge trouble for Kodak. As a result, Kodak had to cut down their revenue and lower the prices of their products to maintain competitive. • Technological advancement in the industry In general, the photography industry was transforming from a traditional industry to a far more technically advanced one. The development in the area of technology for the photograph equipment industry has inspired other fields as well, including computer industry, software, printer manufacturing and etc., to step into the photograph equipment industry and broaden their product line and offers huge potential of market growth and penetration in the filed that belonged to Kodak and other photograph equipment industry companies. Although, Kodak tried very hard to catch up the latest trend and fight the new entrants, for instance, the digital cameras and... ... middle of paper ... ...icon, i.e. Kodak, would surely dampen investment attitude in certain stock exchange and certain industries. To Kodak itself A perception of value of Kodak was proved wrong. Furthermore, Kodak was placed into the same league of bankrupted giant companies. Conceivably, Kodak could emerge as solely an intellectual property vendor and get rid of all its consumer and professional products lines and that was exactly what they did. To the competitors Kodak's demise would be their gain. Today, Japanese rivals -- like Fuji in terms of film; Canon, Nikon and Olympus focused on cameras; and Panasonic and Sony concentrated on consumer electronics -- are processing in all kinds of imaging. They have the most advanced technologies, sales abilities and etc. Ironically, what they have learned from Kodak is exactly the distinctive competency they have got to stand out of the market.
It is considered that photography only became widely available to the public when the Kodak Eastman Company introduced the box shaped Brownie Camera in 1900. (Baker, n.p.) Its features became more refined since its original placing on the market; one of the reasons why it has become considered the birth of public photography is because of the processing. Using a similar image capture system, the brownie exposed the light to a 120mm roll of film, which could be wound round, meaning six photographs could be taken before the slides needed removing. The first Brownie used a six-exposure cartridge that Kodak processed for the photographer. (Kodak.com, n.d.) Realistically, the armature photographers did not need to understand darkroom processes, they could simply use capture the subjects, and send it to be developed. The cameras were relatively affordable, targeting many different markets, which is apparent from their advertisements. Figure 2 Is an advertisement from for the Eastman Kodak Company’s Brownie Camera; It states in bold lettering “Operated by any school boy or girl” which emphasis how it was targeted for amateur use.
George Eastman founded the Eastman Kodak Company in 1888, and pioneered the photography industry with new technology that would help bring photography to the mainstream. After its inception, Kodak created what many called a "monopoly" in the photography industry. Both in 1921 and in 1954 the company had to endure a consent decree imposed by the US Government in which it was concluded that Kodak monopolized the market in violation of the Sherman Act (the first and oldest of all US federal, antitrust laws). Kodak settled the 1921 decree and agreed to be bound by restrictions. The Company was barred from preventing dealers from freely selling goods produced by competitors. On the other hand, the 1954 decree prevented Kodak from selling a bundle that included the color film and the photofinishing, among other restrictions. This tying arrangement of products is an agreement by a party to sell one product on the condition that the buyer also purchases a different (or tied) product, or at least agrees that he will not purchase that product from any other supplier. In this case, Kodak was selling the photo film while conditioning the buyer to also buy the photofinishing product (because it was included in the price). Both decrees had supporting evidence of the high market power that Kodak had at the time, for which both cases were based.
On the other hand it has made it much more competitive for viewers attention. Creating a unique brand, utilizing all the tools available and being consistent can offer a good return.
Cameras go way back to the year 1879, and have advanced greatly throughout the years. They used to be huge and bulky with all kinds of attachments and stands. Now they are so small and thin that they are put in everyday items that we use, for instance, cell phones and laptops. Backs then cameras were less than $40 and they were made with glass that was 6.5 by 8.5 inches thick (Patti). Now in this time of age, cameras can go from a few hundred bucks to thousands of dollars depending on the camera, and they are much smaller with clearer pictures now. In 1912 Kodak came out with the Vest Pocket camera, which sold for only six dollars. It had a glass lens of 2 1/4 by 3 1/4 inches thick, which is much
N.V. Philips (Netherlands) and Matsushita Electric (Japan) are among the largest consumer electronics companies in the world. Their success was based on two contrasting strategies – diversification of worldwide portfolio and local responsiveness for Philips, and high centralization and mass production for Matsushita.
This trend also found roots in the emergence of photographic technology, originally developed in the early 1800’s and advanced continuously until the present. During this time, artists and photographers suddenly found that they could much more easily captur...
Philips versus Matsushita Case Synopsis Two major competitors in the global consumer electronics industry, Philips of the Netherlands and Matsushita of Japan, both have extensive histories that can be traced back more than a century. They have each followed different strategies and have had significant capabilities and downfalls along the way. In general, Philips built its tenured success on a portfolio of responsive national organizations. On the other hand, Matsushita based its global strategy on a centralized and efficient operation through Japan. As they developed and reorganized their international strategies, each company was forced to undertake its strategic posture and restructuring as its competition position fell.
Also, on the strategic side, there are issues of where stores are located. On the whole, Kmart stores did not seem to be sited as well as the stores of the competition. Then there was the issue of technology. While Wal-Mart was becoming the relentless efficiency engine that we know today by investing in technology and streamlining the supply chain, Kmart held back. As Wal-Mart developed an infrastructure that enabled it to lower prices, Kmart slipped into a price disadvantage.
Other competitive activities included sales promotion, advertising, and product differentiation. Larger companies have a much greater financial ability to be able to invest more into advertising than a new business starting out would be able to. Shelf space and competitive pricing were two major issues that affected sales. Because they are already recognizable brands, they can afford to purchase the best shelf space. Consumers will see their products before noticing other, not so well known products.
From 1980 to 1996, Apple’s competitive range in the PC industry was rocky. Although Apples products were unique and well built, they were overpriced compared to competing products from IBM and others. As competitor prices dropped, Apple prices stayed the same and the company saw a decline in sales as customers opted to purchase from its competitors. John Sculley, former CEO of Apple, took many steps to improve the company’s competitive advantage. One of those steps was to compete with price by producing a low-cost computers that appealed to a mass-market. The second step was to form an alliance with rivals IBM and Novel in order to create new operating systems and applications...
The corporate objective is to make Canon a truly excellent company that is admired and respected the world over, and to strive to join the ranks of the world's top 100 companies in terms of all major business field. In terms of the current digital camera market, Canon is still in fierce competition. We have several main competitors such as Nikon and Sony, and experience the competition based on the following attributes such as price, design, quality, and features.
Sony is in a different industry than Kodak. Sony belongs to the Audio/Video Equipment Industry where Eastman Kodak is in the Photography Industry. Sony, however does manufacture photographical tools. Based on the two companies’ history, Kodak will likely continue to have a larger selection of electronic photography products, but Sony will continue to develop similar products, often “improved” versions of Kodak’s original products.
...&D capability was not supported by their ability to efficiently produce and market the innovation. Since the R&D is separated from production and sales, it was not market-oriented enough. The limitation of sharing local market knowledge also leads Philips to its inability sell the excellent innovation that R&D has developed. Seeing this as opportunity, Japanese companies able to combine Philips invention with their mass-market production ability and successfully became the leader in the market.
+pointing out some shortages of digital cameras when compare with traditional ones and gives some advices.
Photojournalism plays a critical role in the way we capture and understand the reality of a particular moment in time. As a way of documenting history, the ability to create meaning through images contributes to a transparent media through exacting the truth of a moment. By capturing the surreal world and presenting it in a narrative that is relatable to its audience, allows the image to create a fair and accurate representation of reality.