Kodak files for bankruptcy

[just brew it!]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... 0376.story

Key quote: "Now we must complete the transformation by further addressing our cost structure and effectively monetizing non-core intellectual-property assets."

In other words, "we're about to become a patent troll because that's the only option we've got left". Oh, how the mighty have fallen...

[Krogoth]

Kodak didn't catch onto the digital photography bandwagon until it was too late.

I believe the other photo giants are having similar aches as well (Olympus).

[Anomymous Gerbil]

Kodak didn't catch onto the digital photography bandwagon until it was too late.

On the contrary, Kodak built some of the very first digital cameras.

I believe the other photo giants are having similar aches as well (Olympus).

That financial scandal is a completely different situation.

[liquidsquid]

Kodak didn't catch onto the digital photography bandwagon until it was too late.

No, Kodak was making so much money from film, that old dinosaur did NOT want to make the painful switch. BAD management. Result? CEO got fired with a monster golden parachute but left Kodak unable to play catchup. Chinon was purchased to try and catch up, but made lousy low-grade consumer cameras. Too late...

BTW Kodak had a line of dSLR cameras early on that could be programmatically controlled via USB. These things were really nice but never took off. Sensors at the time couldn't compete with film yet. Kodak had a habit of bringing products to market long before the market was ready.

I believe the other photo giants are having similar aches as well (Olympus).

Olympus is just a scandal-ridden business. Only Samsung's photo business is struggling since they cannot seem to penetrate the market well.

This whole thing is very disturbing since my parents are retirees from Kodak and depend on the health care benefits. My mom has ALS, my dad cancer. This sucks, and I put it all on poor management by investors and CEOs who got fat and lazy from easy film profits.

[vargis14]

I have had a kodak P850 for ages it seems.5.1mp (12x) Schneider KREUZNACH Variogon F2.8-3.7 zoom lens with IS.I picked it up in late 2005, i have been very happy with its performance.It takes great macro pics and action shots.....low light performance is sub par without the flash but you get what you pay for.

[axeman]

Wow, this seems incredible. I don't feel sentimental about it, but this is one heckuva icon to bite the dust, although I'm sure the brand name has some value, so I'm sure at the least someone else will buy the rights to the name. On the other hand, since they've resorted to patent trolling to try and remain profitable, IMO good riddance, although I do feel bad for the people losing their pension or benefits (I have an opinion on the real problem here, but that's R&P territory).

[just brew it!]

Wow, this seems incredible. I don't feel sentimental about it, but this is one heckuva icon to bite the dust, although I'm sure the brand name has some value, so I'm sure at the least someone else will buy the rights to the name.

I actually hope that *doesn't* happen. Look at what happened to Memorex -- they were once a household name too (though not as big as Kodak), and now they are pretty much synonymous with "cheap re-branded crap".

[Captain Ned]

I actually hope that *doesn't* happen. Look at what happened to Memorex -- they were once a household name too (though not as big as Kodak), and now they are pretty much synonymous with "cheap re-branded crap".

[Aranarth]

Shouldn't the title of this thread really be "Kodak 'finally' files for bankruptcy"?

The founding fathers of the company told them to reinvest their profits in new technology and never stop innovating.

Instead the current leaders of the company did the exact opposite.
If you don't follow sound advice given by the father of the company you deserve everything you get.

They did really well up to about 20 years ago and then they thought they were on a never ending gravy train.

These guys were awesome not just in camera tech, but in any tech. Bunch of really smart guys who were some of the best chemists and engineers available anywhere.

[just brew it!]

I actually hope that *doesn't* happen. Look at what happened to Memorex -- they were once a household name too (though not as big as Kodak), and now they are pretty much synonymous with "cheap re-branded crap".

Pretty sure that's actually from an old Maxell poster, not Memorex.

[kvndoom]

I actually hope that *doesn't* happen. Look at what happened to Memorex -- they were once a household name too (though not as big as Kodak), and now they are pretty much synonymous with "cheap re-branded crap".

...maybe Voxx can buy them and send their memories to hell like Acoustic Research and Advent.

[axeman]

Wow, this seems incredible. I don't feel sentimental about it, but this is one heckuva icon to bite the dust, although I'm sure the brand name has some value, so I'm sure at the least someone else will buy the rights to the name.

I actually hope that *doesn't* happen. Look at what happened to Memorex -- they were once a household name too (though not as big as Kodak), and now they are pretty much synonymous with "cheap re-branded crap".

I didn't say I am excited about the prospect, either. What I really meant is it's probably inevitable the brand will live on, in fact that really irritates me as well. Like Compaq living on on bargain basement HP laptops, ugh.

[ludi]

Kodak had its fingerprints in the digital market well in time to transition, both consumer and professional, but couldn't figure it out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QuickTake
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_EOS_D2000

Apple moved on to other things, Canon was smart enough to stay with the technology, Kodak died.

[Krogoth]

Kodak did have early digtal cameras, the thing was that their business didn't take a serious attempt at going digital until it was too late. They hinged most of their business model on film. It wasn't just the cameras, but film development and processing.

The other competitors went with color printers to tie with the digital photography which is why they are still standing today.

Kodak fell from a combination of bad management and allowing the competition to seize the next big thing.

[liquidsquid]

Pensions are safe, it is the health care which is doomed.

Kodak was an amazing business, they knew how to treat employees very well and raised the bar very high in great places to work. My family was what was called enviously back then: "Kodak Family" meaning you didn't work crazy ours, you were rewarded for hard work, you got to take your vacations, you got to enjoy free concerts and events, you were not expected to work from home, and so on. That is the saddest legacy of Kodak to go away IMHO.

It has been a long slope of treating employees as assets instead to become treating them as a liability. Meanwhile top management over the past 20 years have not been held accountable for horrible decisions up to now.

[Voldenuit]

The article the OP posted forgot to mention that Kodak is suing Apple, Samsung and Fuji for "patent infringement" as a way to shore up its financials (and to make itself more attractive for investors to takeover).

DIAF, patent troll.

[Chrispy_]

Cash cows deserve to die.

I have zero sympathy for the greedy execs that ruined the company. Their golden handshake was probably more money than I'll earn in my lifetime.

[Glorious]

It has been a long slope of treating employees as assets instead to become treating them as a liability.

It's hard not to think that way when you still have to pay for them after they are no longer employees. Actually, it's illegal.

But that's R&P territory. (ducks)

[rogue426]

I grew up in Rochester, N.Y. where Kodak was located, when I moved away in 94, Kodak still had a huge footprint in the city as far as real estate.
Every 5 years or so when I'd go back for a visit, it seems they were occupying less real estate , as of last time I was in Rochester, 9 years ago, there was barely
a visible footprint of them. Kodak was truly an icon in Rochester and now yet another American giant bites the dust.

[sluggo]

In '94 the chemical side of the company spun off and became Eastman Chemical, which has done quite well. They have a large and growing IP portfolio and a large customer base for actual products, as well. They sold many chemical precursors to Kodak back when Kodak was still doing a good business making photographic film. Now, not so much.

[derFunkenstein]

I didn't say I am excited about the prospect, either. What I really meant is it's probably inevitable the brand will live on, in fact that really irritates me as well. Like Compaq living on on bargain basement HP laptops, ugh.

In Compaq's case, that's actually a huge step up in quality perceived value, at least for me.

[just brew it!]

The old Compaq laptops we have at the office are (or at least were 5 years ago...) pretty nice. The last HP we got was junk.

[Sunburn74]

For the average person, the camera capabilities of his iPhone or similar android smartphone give amazing pictures, the indications for having a physical printed picture are shrinking, and the justification for having to carry around a device that only takes pictures is being forced to take lots of pictures all the time. The nail in the coffin was the smart phone revolution.

[thegleek]

I guess you could say Lady Gaga got lucky in joining Polaroid over Kodak! lol

[just brew it!]

I guess you could say Lady Gaga got lucky in joining Polaroid over Kodak! lol

Not really. The original Polaroid filed for bankruptcy in 2001, and is effectively dead and gone. The company that currently has the rights to the name filed for bankruptcy in 2008 after investigations into potential criminal wrongdoing by their new ownership. Doesn't sound like much of a winner to me!

[riviera74]

I guess the moral of this story is Adapt or Perish.

Kodak's problems are two-fold: excessively greedy management and a near-paralyzing fear of cannibalizing its own cash cows. If neither happened, Kodak might still actually be viable now and have no need for bankruptcy. Then again, I wish the banks had actually been allowed to go bankrupt and then the USA would be in great shape now. Problem is is that they can buy their way out of creative destruction, unlike almost all other industries and companies.

Now if only MPAA and RIAA would stop treating customers as felons. . . . .

[Glorious]

R :cough: P

[thegleek]

R :cough: P

Send it!

[Glorious]

hey now, I'm no mod.

[Vrock]

I was never really impressed with Kodak's digital cameras. They were adequate, I guess, for point-and-shoot stuff, but it seemed to me there were better options available for the same amount of money.