Is acquisition the only way Kodak can survive?

Thinking more about Kodak. If they still want to remain a major player in the camera world, it would seem likely that acquisition is the only way to do so. Could Kodak acquire Olympus? Sigma? Or some of other smaller player? Of course, Kodak themselves could be bought out, but few probably want to buy a clearly failing company.

Does Kodak have a future (5-10 years from now)?
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http://fujifilmimages.aminus3.com/

Big Yellow made camera so they can sell more film , they are in the past a Photographic Film Mfr that simply had a side business of Camera ( mostly consumer models ). They had a fair stick at PRO market in the 80's to mid 90's but their down fall begin way before that.

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• Franka -

yes they should acquire poloraid and fuji
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peace

The way to survive for failing companies is always the same - get rid of the inept management with no vision. The problem is, the inept management is usually there because the board of directors is inept and with no vision as well. Short of shareholders' revolt (those almost never happen, they just sound fun), Kodak will limp along until it finally falls.

Kodak will be acquired before it fails. They are a huge company with tentacles in many different industries, so while they are losing marketshare in the photography industry they are strong in others.

In terms of photography and film, they messed up by underestimating their competition and the impact of digital cameras on their film business.

You underestimate the attractivness of Kodak. You are correct in the poor management analogy though, when they first entered the digital pro ranks, they dominated with the old Nikon and Canon bodies but were left in the dust by N & C once they sarted producing their own pro level cameras. Kodak also totally dominated the MF sensor market but management can't see the forrest from all the trees.
They need an Lee Iacoco to turn them around, still time if they do it.
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' You don't have to have the best of everything to get the best out of what you do have'.

Not necessarily true, my 1932 Kodak Recomar was the premier camera of it's day. Kodak was never a company to keep up or stay ahead of the competition but early on their cameras were the best you could buy.
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' You don't have to have the best of everything to get the best out of what you do have'.

I don't want them to touch any company making its own way. I can't imagine any photo company wanting to acquire them. 15-20 years ago there was some talk about a Kodak-Xerox merger. That would have been a Hindenburg.

My prediction is: With their current management and future management which will be chosen by this current management, as their patents expire and they have less and less and then nothing new and active in their patent portfolio, they will millk any products they have that are still profitable but turn more and more into a name licensing company.

They been doing this for some time, here's Kodak Crayons by RoseArt from 5-10 years ago, not currently sold as far as I know:

http://ephemera.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/kodakcrayons2.jpg

And I just found this the other day, Kodak-branded print scanners by Pandigital, currently designed and sold and distributed by Pandigital:

http://www.pandigital.net/search.asp?Mode=Type&TypeID=47

(Strangely enough Kodak had a similar little print scanner of their own design and manufacture (even if contracted) 10-15 years ago, ahead of its time and price. I have one somewhere. Pre-USB, it was parallel port, I think, maybe serial!)

There are 100s more. I've seen Kodak beach towels, batteries, and other stuff I don't remember. In digital cameras, I believe they will license the Kodak brand to a company but will be out of design and marketing - something like the "GE" digital cameras currently available.

I bet they will sell off the old "Chinon" camera design and manufacturing arm, and their other manufacturing arms (or blow them up), and turn into a name licensing company, but still actually be the real "Kodak" - not a brand lost in bankruptcy and resurrected by wholly different companies using licensing like "Polaroid"

The turn will fully come when they start licensing the Kodak brand to disposable film cameras made by Fuji or some Chinese factory. I am sure they are evaluating the possibility and sourcing and licensing possibilities right now.

Or, being Kodak, maybe they aren't yet.

Aside, a few of their current digital cameras and camcorders are quite good.

Bill Force said:

Not necessarily true, my 1932 Kodak Recomar was the premier camera of it's day. Kodak was never a company to keep up or stay ahead of the competition but early on their cameras were the best you could buy.
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Click to expand...

And the competition was Ansco, Argus and Bosley. And where and they now?

--mamallama

Since Kodak has been the death of almost everything it's touched lately, the only possible way an "acquisition" would help is if it was one of those reverse acquisitions that looks like an acquisition on the outside.

For example, how Apple "acquired" Steve Jobs' company NeXT but the reality was Steve Jobs ended up with himself and his right-hand man at the top of Apple.

Or how Boeing "acquired" McDonnell Douglas yet MDD management actually took over Boeing. Actually, that's a bad example, Boeing's been worse off because of it...

Anyway, what Kodak needs to do is find their NeXT: A company Kodak thinks they're acquiring but who has the ambition, innovation, and business sense to completely remake Kodak into what they need to be today, and actually succeed.

As far as Kodak acquiring Polaroid...does anyone realize what Polaroid is today? Nothing but a holding company and a nameplate that gets slapped onto any cheap electronics that come through from China. That's why you can get Polaroid LCD TVs that are completely unremarkable. They have nothing to offer to any company now.

(Wikipedia)

Member said:

The original Polaroid Corporation filed for federal bankruptcy protection on October 11, 2001. The outcome was that within ten months, most of the business (including the "Polaroid" name itself[9] and non-bankrupt foreign subsidiaries) had been sold to Bank One's One Equity Partners (OEP). OEP Imaging Corporation then changed its name to Polaroid Holding Company (PHC).[10][11] However, this new company operates using the name of its bankrupt predecessor, Polaroid Corporation... Having sold its assets, it was now effectively nothing more than an administrative shell.

...After the bankruptcy, the Polaroid brand was licensed for use on other products... digital cameras under the Polaroid brand for distribution internationally.[13] Polaroid branded LCDs and plasma televisions and portable DVD players had also appeared on the market...

...On January 5, 2010, Polaroid partnered with Lady Gaga, appointing her as Creative Director for the company. A press release stated that she would be the "new face" of Polaroid.[8]

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Naturally many think of Kodak as only a company that makes film. Though selling those little yellow boxes with the big red K on them made most of the money they are in a lot of other areas. Those in Eastman Tennessee where Kodel Fiber, carpet dye, resin for plastic soda bottles and cigarette filters thought they were the company headquarters I think. Health and Imaging provides output for MRI's, Cat-scans and such. They are back into the plan paper printer business after acquiring it back from Heidelburg a few years ago manufacturing high speed black and white and color digital printers. Xerox is the only other US company in this market. They also own a whole lot of patents covering imaging technology. I worked for them for 20 years in the Customer Equipment Service Division and so I have some good memories of these other areas as those are the things we serviced. I don't know if they are enough to keep them afloat as the film was the cash cow, my stock statement doesn't lend me a lot of hope. But I guess we shale see.

--
Doug

http://douginoviedo.smugmug.com/

rattymouse said:

Thinking more about Kodak. If they still want to remain a major player in the camera world, it would seem likely that acquisition is the only way to do so. Could Kodak acquire Olympus? Sigma? Or some of other smaller player? Of course, Kodak themselves could be bought out, but few probably want to buy a clearly failing company.

Does Kodak have a future (5-10 years from now)?
--

http://fujifilmimages.aminus3.com/

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I'm afraid they don't have money left, they should have stick to their great products, there are still a lot of people would shoot dozen koachrome everyday, and many wedding pro would swear by their DSLR, and many design house will use their plotter, but kodak says the future is cheap digital camera, so they get rid everything and only focus on cheap snap shot camera, they should have learn from fujifilm.