For the photographers around: Kodak's demise?

[masterserg]

Check out Ken Rockwell for one of his (good) rants about Kodak.

The gist of it: Chapter 11 is just a scam to escape financial obligations. The company will be fine. I guess that's true.

[GradyPhilpott]

I haven't read Rockwell's article yet, but it is almost certain that Kodak will renege on their commitment to healthcare coverage for retirees, which may or may not be underhanded. It is however legal.

Also, the whole purpose of Chapter 11 bankruptcy is to protect oneself from creditors, so that kind of goes without saying, however, according to what I've read, Kodak has secured a loan of close to one billion dollars to help pay off their creditors.

And yes, Kodak will survive.

Let's just hope that this time they really get on the stick and start being competitive with their products.

[masterserg]

Originally Posted by GradyPhilpott

And yes, Kodak will survive.

Not sure about this one anymore ... they just announced they are out of the camera business ... What are they left with? Printers and commercial printing??

Sad.

[MoBe]

I would be surprised if Kodak managed to survive.

[GradyPhilpott]

I would have rather seen Kodak start building high-quality cameras, instead of relying on their reputation to compensate for mediocrity, but this is the choice they chosen and it may well work out for them.

Of course, once they've restructured and rehabilitated their image, there won't be any limits on where they might go as a company.

I wouldn't count Kodak out just yet.

[davestan]

A company that made very bad business and marketing decisions backed up with a poor research model! Unbelievable that a company that was at the forefront of digital technology did not embrace it in a visionary way. They had an iconic name brand also. The "clunky" products and stodgy technology they were releasing while other companies were racing ahead!

[MoBe]

Originally Posted by GradyPhilpott

I would have rather seen Kodak start building high-quality cameras, instead of relying on their reputation to compensate for mediocrity, but this is the choice they chosen and it may well work out for them.

Of course, once they've restructured and rehabilitated their image, there won't be any limits on where they might go as a company.

I wouldn't count Kodak out just yet.

I would like to see your faith justified but I can`t see how the company can continue,I think it`s gonna have to be some kind of miracle.

[TheDude]

Originally Posted by davestan

A company that made very bad business and marketing decisions backed up with a poor research model! Unbelievable that a company that was at the forefront of digital technology did not embrace it in a visionary way. They had an iconic name brand also. The "clunky" products and stodgy technology they were releasing while other companies were racing ahead!

That's not really fair. There are market dynamics that are well understood today that simply hadn't even been theorized yet when they began those first fatal steps.

Clayton M. Christensen wrote the definitive book on the subject, "The Innovator's Dilemma". His concepts of disruptive innovation/technologies are something good business managers understand now, but they didn't exist when Kodak could still control its future.

Kodak didn't see the writing on wall because it literally hadn't been written yet.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

[bayerische]

I think they cash in pretty good on their patents alone.

[Thurnau]

Originally Posted by GradyPhilpott

I would have rather seen Kodak start building high-quality cameras, instead of relying on their reputation to compensate for mediocrity, but this is the choice they chosen and it may well work out for them.

Of course, once they've restructured and rehabilitated their image, there won't be any limits on where they might go as a company.

I wouldn't count Kodak out just yet.

I think they already sold off their high quality image sensor business. I think they made the high quality sensors that went into medium format cameras like hasselblad.

[oneillba]

Remember those old Poloroids? I loved the smell of the "fixer" stick that you used to rub over the photo so it wouldn't smudge.