Kodak

With the emergence of digital photography as a commonplace alternative to traditional photography in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, Kodak’s film sales had dropped 5% and their revenues 3% down to $12.8 billion, and they were planning to cut 2,200 jobs. Daniel A. Carp, as CEO, was tasked with the job of figuring out what to do to start turning the companies downward slope up again.

From 1983 to 1993 Fuji began to creep into US markets and take market share away from Kodak at an alarming 40% average annual growth. By 1993 it had a 21% market share, though Kodak still dominated the worldwide market. In 1983 Kodak began to delve into the world of digital photography, seeing that there could be a market for them in the future. They began to buy up companies that related to chemical, technological, and information that would help them build market share, or fit into their strategic plan. Because of these moved made by Kodak, they were able to launch the world’s first 1.4mega pixel camera in 1986, and began to introduce the Photo CD to create a new market of �film-based digital imaging’. Though these were expensive and this deterred some consumers, it did maintain Kodak as the leader in the digital era and allowed them to set the standards. Also, the blend of digital and traditional photography allowed them to keep selling film and generating steady revenues. However, uncoordinated product development and marketing lead to the downfall of the Photo CD.

With the downfall of the Photo CD, a new CEO emerged and began to sell off several businesses Kodak owned to pay off debt and increase focus on digital photography and imaging. He also began to move into China’s untapped four billion person market, and worked with the Chinese government to create two joint ventures that lead to a 63% market share in the retail film market and over 7,000 Kodak express stores that sold things like single use cameras. They also began to widen their products to include digital print stations for retailers, new digital camera models, thermal printers and paper, and other complimentary products that would help to sell the digital technology. He also met with computer industry leaders like Bill Gates, convinced that it was necessary for digital photography to have a significant computer knowledge background to really succeed with low cost and high quality, trying to turn Kodak into a high-technology

...