Eastman Kodak Company is a world famous American company that until recently was engaged in the production of photographic equipment and appeared in the 19th century. Two years ago, she was forced to leave the digital camera market. However, there is no need to talk about the death of the giant.
The creators of the digital camera underestimated their creation
In the fall of 2012, one of the largest manufacturers of photographic equipment, a legend of the 20th century, Eastman Kodak made a loud announcement about its retirement from the digital camera market. It also discontinued camcorders and digital displays. The reason turned out to be very prosaic - bankruptcy. The last profitable year of the company was 2007, after which it began a rapid decline. During 2011, the company lost 88 percent of its capitalization, which led to massive layoffs - 3.5 thousand employees were laid off, that is, 23 percent of the staff. Company managers rushed to draw up plans for business restructuring.
To reorganize the business, Kodak received a loan from Citigroup in the amount of $ 950 million.
As a result, Kodak decided to leave technology and focus on photo printing and inkjet printing. According to management, such a difficult decision should help to save about $ 100 million per year. Company President Pradil Jotwani claims it was based on in-depth analysis of industry trends.
The tragedy of the situation is that Kodak, founded back in 1880, has grown into a giant in the photography industry over the course of a century. In the late 1970s, it had 90 percent of the film market and 85 percent of the US camera market. Moreover, it was in her laboratories that the first digital camera was born. However, the short-sighted management of the company did not see any prospect in "digital" and continued to deal with aging analog technologies. It wasn't until the late 90s that Kodak took over the digital segment, but it was too late.
Brand renaissance
In September 2013, the company announced its return to the New York Stock Exchange, with the new owners of Kodak now focusing on retail customers and targeting the business segment of the imaging printing market. Trading resumed on November 1 of the same year under the ticker KODK.
Despite the fact that it was Kodak who created digital photography, it was about five years late with its commercialization and could not stand the competition.
The company now develops and manufactures packaging, sophisticated printing machines, and printing of electronic components. All these areas are actively developing, and Kodak expects to have time to occupy its own niche this time. The financial position of the company is stable, and the volume of debt is only $ 695 million - not much by today's standards.
