The History of Kodak [Part 2/3]: Kodak Cameras, 35 Film, Digital Photography, and Polaroid
The second part of the film about the Eastman Kodak business.
The main events that influenced the global business and the Kodak company itself after 1975: the invention of digital photography, the IPO, the lawsuit with Polaroid and much more.
A brief history of the Kodak company is here: • История компании Kodak [Часть 3/3]: фотока...
This film has 3 parts:
Part 1 - • Фотоаппарат Kodak [Часть 1/3] | История ко...
Part 2 (You are watching it) - • История компании Kodak [Часть 2/3]: фотоап...
Part 3 - • История компании Kodak [Часть 3/3]: фотока...
In this series, we analyze the history of the KODAK company. Key events, market share, marketing, inventions and strategy. The series covers events from the 1880s to 2012 (bankruptcy) and to 2019. The Eastman Kodak business empire was impressive in size and dictated technologies and prices to the whole world. The company was founded in 1880, achieved success already in 1900, popularizing photography. And almost the entire 20th century was a role model in technology and business. However, since 1975, things have gone badly. And the reasons lie in the unsuccessful strategic planning of the management.
Before World War II, Kodak became the world leader in the market that it created. However, since the 1920s, many participants entered the camera and photo camera market and they often occupied the market for more professional equipment. In the 1930s, the main film format of 35 mm was established. Kodak became the main film manufacturer. In the USA, Kodak was undoubtedly the leader in film and the leader in simple photo cameras.
By 1950, Kodak opened branches around the world. Photography became widespread. They produced: film, photo and movie cameras, many different devices for the photo and movie industry, hand grenades and missile sensors. By the mid-1950s, Kodak was one of the leading companies on the planet. They are leaders in technology, business scale and advertising. Kodak has its own research labs. They register hundreds of patents. By the 1970s, they dominated the world. Kodak of the 1900s-1960s is the Google of its time.
In 1975, the digital camera was invented in Kodak laboratories. This was a turning point, since 10-15 years later the Japanese released digital cameras (weak, but very progressive models) and the decline of analog photography began. In the 1970s, Kodak faced competitors from Germany (Agfa) and Japan (Fuji). Competitors were biting off pieces of the film market. Another group of competitors, primarily Canon and Nikon, mastered the production of advanced cameras and they created new market sectors with higher demands on cameras, such as cameras for photojournalists.
In 1977, Kodak stopped working with Polaroid, for which it had been producing spare parts for many years, and released its own instant camera. The trial began, and 10 years later Kodak lost and paid a huge fine.
In 2012, Kodak filed for bankruptcy. This is a disaster. Shares fell to ridiculous levels. Kodak is a symbol and once the leader of the photo market closes factories and fires employees. Kodak shares are withdrawn from trading. This is the end of the legend. Yes, a few years later, Kodak will return to the stock exchange. And even announce its own cryptocurrency in 2018. This is great PR, but sales decide everything. And Kodak has nothing to sell.
Today, you can only see Kodak batteries in Russia. And all over the world: printers, printing machines, equipment. There are no more Kodak cameras.