It was with mixed reactions last week as the world welcomed the death of Kodak film in the scheme of anything digital camera, photographic films as it transitioned into a pharmaceutical company. I am sure for the younger generation who grew up with the embrace of technology will not have any inclination on what this brand is all about. I am equally sure if they are told that there was a time we would put money together just to buy a film for our digital cameras and then walk down to the printing shop with the negatives just to have a look at our pictures.
To most of us born in the 70s, 80s & 90s, the brand Kodak wasn’t just about films but it was woven into our childhood experience. In fact, precious memories were held close to our hearts with just a click from the lens of a digital camera powered by a film from Kodak. To explore the power of this brand, one will need to trace it beginnings and eventual demise.
According to Wikipedia, the company was founded by George Eastman in 1888. Kodak’s business model was hinged on selling inexpensive cameras and making large margins from consumables – film, chemicals, and paper. As late as 1976, Kodak commanded 90% of film sales and 85% of camera sales in the U.S. In 1975, Kodak developed and patented the first handheld digital camera. In the early 80s, Kodak face a fierce rival in Fujifilms, a Japanese brand that stole 17% of the brand’s share in the US market. A major factor that eventually became the down fall of Kodak was that it got complacent and wasn’t quick to adapt to change or the changing times!
As the brand on one hand fights of competition in the market, on the other, it had changing consumption habits and technology to deal with. In fact by early 2000, the brand was struggling to catch up with the incursion of mobile phones and the impact of the internet of things. As technology advanced, the more the brand fell behind in catching up with the changing times. People began to lean towards mobile phones, the internet and gradually abandoned the use of digital cameras. I believe we can all attest to the fact that the advent of technology and the internet has really disrupted everything we all grew up with. I remember, in the late 90s and early 2000, there was a huge population of business centers, computer schools, even things like wall clocks, wristwatches were an item in those days. However, today, technology has disrupted and killed these businesses and brands with just a simple click on a mobile phone.
So, with the advance of technology, the fate of Kodak films was decided. As time went by, the brand tried everything possible to stay afloat against the onslaught of technology by shifting its business strategy away from the production of films to inks for printers. However, despite the efforts to turn around the fortunes of the brand, by 2012 Kodak filled for bankruptcy and by 2015 the business was broken into five different divisions: Print Systems, Enterprise Inkjet Systems, Micro 3D Printing and Packing, Software and Solutions, and Consumer & Film.
Well fast forward to 2020, along came covid-19 with its death blow on everything life and business. Today as we speak, the world is frantically looking for a lasting solution or cure to the growing impact of Covid-19. Nations are practically outdoing doing themselves to be the first to discover the vaccine for this dreaded disease. In fact, pharmaceutical companies and universities all over the world are in search of the solution to Covid-19. Just as I predicted last, pharmaceuticals will be with us for a very long time. Little wonder, President Donald Trump last week decided to resurrect Kodak with the sum of $765 Million to transition the brand away from its former ways of camera film production to a pharmaceutical company.
As I said, last week, while some people wail and cry under the growing impact of Covid-19, others are seeing opportunities in the midst of it all; while others like Kodak are using this dark times to metamorphose into a brand that will be on demand as long as time lasts. So Covid-19’s impact whether good or bad, depends on the side of the fence you are sitting. And to Kodak I say, our memories are now save with technology but we owe our lives to you now as we anticipate a lasting solution to Covid-19 from you and to whatever form of disease the future hold in store!

Source @https://africanbard.com/2020/08/03/kodak-death-by-technology-resurrected-by-covid-19-by-bidemi-alfred/