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Kodak: Fading Away

a_unique_person said:
It's not really still alive. Like a lot of zombie brands, a Chinese company has bought the rights to use the brand name. Camera companies are in trouble, though, because cameras are in decline and the tariff makes them less attractive.
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They sold off the paper and chemical business to a Chinese company, but they are still listed on the NYSE. I agree that the prospects for the company look pretty grim.
 
Years ago I read an article that claimed they originally had a bunch of patents for digital photography but thought it would never amount to anything and sold them all off on the cheap.

Reminds of Sears, first a mail order company, then brick and mortar then managed the transitions to malls but couldn't manage to switch to internet commerce, which would really have been a return to the original model of catalog sales.
 
ahhell said:
Years ago I read an article that claimed they originally had a bunch of patents for digital photography but thought it would never amount to anything and sold them all off on the cheap.

Reminds of Sears, first a mail order company, then brick and mortar then managed the transitions to malls but couldn't manage to switch to internet commerce, which would really have been a return to the original model of catalog sales.
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I remember working for a book distributor and packing their books in the warehouse. Presumably all the brick and mortar bookshops had access to an order system that was effectively the same as Amazon, but because the distributor never advertised it to the public they never made the next step.
 
Coincidentally enough, a crossword puzzle in a magazine I was working on today had this clue: George, creator of Kodak. (Answer: Eastman).
Also in the last couple days I came across the end paper of a roll of film box (ISF 400), and had used a film container to store my broken crown for transport to the dentist. Those and CD stack cases are two items we will probably never see again. I have a box full, and will have to decide if each one I put to use is "sponge-worthy". (That's an old Seinfeld reference.)
 
Coincidentally enough, ;) I answered an online survey today about eye glasses and one of the manufacturers listed was KODAK. Who knew?
 
My first digital camera was a 3MP, 3x zoom Kodak. Which is a little ironic since, as I understand it, their delay in getting into the digital market is what started their downfall.
 
My first ever camera was a Kodak Instamatic, when I was 10. Used it for many years. Fond memories of Kodak for that reason.
 
Orphia Nay said:
My first ever camera was a Kodak Instamatic, when I was 10. Used it for many years. Fond memories of Kodak for that reason.
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I was given an old Brownie when I was a little kid; you had to hold the camera about waist-high, look down and aim. Don't even remember if I took a pic with it; if I did it didn't last. I did get an Instamatic as a Christmas present one year, but I probably only used it for the initial roll of film (the pics of those I still have). The problem with photography back then was that it wasn't free and as a kid I'd probably have to spend my allowance for two months to shoot a roll. When I got my first digital camera (a Canon Powershot), I initially went wild, but nowadays? Took some pics of the Grand Canyon when I was up there with my brother but that's probably the only time I even bothered to use the phone's photo app in the last year.
 
angrysoba said:
I remember working for a book distributor and packing their books in the warehouse. Presumably all the brick and mortar bookshops had access to an order system that was effectively the same as Amazon, but because the distributor never advertised it to the public they never made the next step.
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Similarly, about 20 years back the computer shop I was working in then utilised the online ordering system from one of our distributors, so that our customers could order any of the tens of thousands of items available. It looked as though we had a massive amount of available stock to supply, but it wasn't a fully integrated affair in that all that was required was for the to customer place an order. We still had to phone the order through to the distributor. Not exactly one-click (or even two or three).

It wasn't a success.
 
Kind of thread drift, but I was always mystified by the death of Sears, which, if you think about it, was the Amazon of the 19th century. They basically had the whole idea in their hands already: a company with a single big central warehouse and huge buying power and shipping ability, able to service the "long tail" of the market in ways local suppliers could not. Once upon a time you could buy anything from a house to a hammer handle. With well known brand names, a reputation for decent quality and customer loyalty. Not the only company of its type to blow it completely, but they kind of stand out. They more than just missed the boat, they didn't even notice it.
 
bruto said:
Kind of thread drift, but I was always mystified by the death of Sears, which, if you think about it, was the Amazon of the 19th century. They basically had the whole idea in their hands already: a company with a single big central warehouse and huge buying power and shipping ability, able to service the "long tail" of the market in ways local suppliers could not. Once upon a time you could buy anything from a house to a hammer handle. With well known brand names, a reputation for decent quality and customer loyalty. Not the only company of its type to blow it completely, but they kind of stand out. They more than just missed the boat, they didn't even notice it.
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Yep, add to that that they weathered 100 years of changes in their business model to miss out on the return to their original mail order business. They were the Amazon of both the 19th and 20th centuries but couldn't be the Amazon of the 21st. That is to some extent the same for Kodak. They were the leaders in film and cameras for 80 to 90 years, even developed the first digital cameras but couldn't figure out how to make the digital age work for them.
 
bruto said:
Kind of thread drift, but I was always mystified by the death of Sears, which, if you think about it, was the Amazon of the 19th century. They basically had the whole idea in their hands already: a company with a single big central warehouse and huge buying power and shipping ability, able to service the "long tail" of the market in ways local suppliers could not. Once upon a time you could buy anything from a house to a hammer handle. With well known brand names, a reputation for decent quality and customer loyalty. Not the only company of its type to blow it completely, but they kind of stand out. They more than just missed the boat, they didn't even notice it.
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I'm sure they noticed it. The problem is that once you have all those brick and mortar locations you have to build those costs into your prices. Amazon succeeded by offering prices that Sears couldn't match without undercutting their stores.
 
The one thing that remains from my recently (regrettably) sold Minolta camera kit. Several hundred dollars of original equipment, sold for one bid at $50. This was a paper you would peel off the end of a film box and put in the slot on the back of the camera body so you knew what type of film you had in there.
20250814_180410.jpg
 
Never used Kodak cameras, thought I recently debated buying one of their recently released half-frame cameras. I still use Kodak cine-film reloads in my half-frame Olympus Pen
 
I had a Nikon camera. I loved to take a photograph. But Mama took my Kodachrome away.
 
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