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Archive 2012 · Kodak to continue making film!

  
 
cineski
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p.1 #1 · Kodak to continue making film!


Straight from the horses mouth:

http://www.kodak.com/ek/US/en/Kodak_Focuses_Consumer_Business_On_More_Profitable_Growth_Opportunities.htm

Text with part about film at bottom:

Kodak Focuses Consumer Business On More Profitable Growth Opportunities
Plans to phase out dedicated capture devices business

Christopher Veronda
Eastman Kodak Company
[email protected]
+1 585-724-2622
ROCHESTER, N.Y., February 09 --
Eastman Kodak Company (the “Company”) (OTB: EKDKQ.PK) announced today that, as a result of its ongoing strategic review process and commitment to drive sustainable profitability through its most valuable business lines, it plans to phase out its dedicated capture devices business – comprising digital cameras, pocket video cameras and digital picture frames – in the first half of 2012. Kodak will instead expand its current brand licensing program, and seek licensees in these categories. Following this decision, Kodak’s Consumer Business will include online and retail-based photo printing, as well as desktop inkjet printing.

Kodak has contacted its retail partners, and is working closely with them to ensure an orderly transition. Kodak will continue to honor all related product warranties, and provide technical support and service for its cameras, pocket video cameras and digital picture frames.

“For some time, Kodak’s strategy has been to improve margins in the capture device business by narrowing our participation in terms of product portfolio, geographies and retail outlets. Today’s announcement is the logical extension of that process, given our analysis of the industry trends,” said Pradeep Jotwani, President, Consumer Businesses, and Kodak Chief Marketing Officer.

Upon completion of the phase out, Kodak expects to achieve annual operating savings of more than $100 million. Kodak expects to incur a charge related to separation benefits of approximately $30 million resulting from the exit of the business.

In addition to its Consumer Businesses segment, Kodak has a Commercial Businesses segment that includes the Digital and Functional Printing, Enterprise Services and Solutions, and Graphics, Entertainment and Commercial Films units. Kodak’s digital businesses now comprise approximately three-fourths of total revenues.

Kodak continues to have a strong position in the personal imaging market. While photos are increasingly taken on multi-function mobile devices, Kodak technology makes it easy for consumers to produce a broad range of photo products, anywhere, anytime – from prints to photobooks, photo greeting cards and personalized calendars. These items can be made on Kodak products, with Kodak quality at retail, at home, and ordered for delivery to home.

Kodak’s continuing consumer products and services will include:

Retail-based photo kiosks and digital dry lab systems, a market in which Kodak is the clear worldwide leader. Kodak pioneered the retail-based kiosk market, and the company now has more than 100,000 kiosks and order stations for dry lab systems around the world, with some 30,000 of those units connected to the most popular photo-sharing sites.
Consumer inkjet printers, where Kodak has outpaced overall market growth for several years. Kodak consumer inkjet printers provide consumers with high-quality output and the lowest total ink replacement cost. Consumers can send documents and photos to Kodak printers from anywhere, using any web-connected device.
Kodak apps for Facebook, which make it easy for consumers to obtain photo products using photos from their Facebook albums.
Kodak Gallery (www.kodakgallery.com), a leading online digital photo products service. Kodak Gallery enables consumers to share their photos, and offers product and creation tools that enable people to do more with their photos.
The Kodak camera accessories and batteries businesses. These products are universally compatible with all camera brands, and extend into other consumer product segments such as charging units for smartphones.
The traditional film capture and photographic paper business, which continues to provide high-quality and innovative products and solutions to consumers, photographers, retailers, photofinishers and professional labs.



Feb 09, 2012 at 11:39 AM
HerbChong
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p.1 #2 · Kodak to continue making film!


about the only people who believe that they will say that again in another 6 months are people who don't have to make money at it. Kodak has huge costs to cut and they can't afford to keep businesses that aren't very profitable. film isn't anymore.

Herb...



Feb 09, 2012 at 11:53 AM
cineski
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p.1 #3 · Kodak to continue making film!


Actually, film is profitable otherwise they would have cut it. The big movies are still shot on film (with a lot of top tier directors refusing to originate on digital) and the hybrid workflow has gotten to the point that it's a great alternative to digital capture and there's a hella lot of wedding photographers switching back to film.


Feb 09, 2012 at 12:00 PM
carstenw
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p.1 #4 · Kodak to continue making film!


Actually, many of the things Kodak cut *were* profitable, and many of the things they kept were not. It isn't quite that simple. I think they are keeping film simply because it is what the whole world, probably including themselves, most associate them with (and the profitability doesn't hurt).

I am very happy to hear that Kodak will keep making film, even if they can only make incomplete sentences about it



Feb 09, 2012 at 12:17 PM
threemilesfina
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p.1 #5 · Kodak to continue making film!


This makes me happy too!

Was worried about having to stock up on 120 to last me the next couple years. lol



Feb 09, 2012 at 12:42 PM
McGrattan
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p.1 #6 · Kodak to continue making film!


From what I've read since their initial announcement, I don't think the film business was ever in danger.

Too bad the brand name is putting on a pair of fishnets and heading to the street corner (i.e coming to a Walmart product line near you).



Feb 09, 2012 at 12:55 PM
mightaswell
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p.1 #7 · Kodak to continue making film!


Film was never in danger of being axed entirely. Film is shrinking but still profitable. The question was always who or what would end up owning it.


Feb 09, 2012 at 02:30 PM
HerbChong
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p.1 #8 · Kodak to continue making film!


that is a contradictory statement. film production's fixed costs are there will continue no matter how much or how little they produce. they are down to very few factories now and they have fixed costs to run and produce any amount of film. if any of what you say was true, Kodak wouldn't be in trouble in the first place.

Herb....

mightaswell wrote:
Film is shrinking but still profitable.




Feb 09, 2012 at 03:56 PM
HerbChong
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p.1 #9 · Kodak to continue making film!


none of which add up to enough to matter unless they raise the price of film to about 5 times what it is today. it's the 80 million rolls of consumer film a year that Kodak used to sell that subsidized all that and it's for all intents and purposes gone.

Herb...

cineski wrote:
Actually, film is profitable otherwise they would have cut it. The big movies are still shot on film (with a lot of top tier directors refusing to originate on digital) and the hybrid workflow has gotten to the point that it's a great alternative to digital capture and there's a hella lot of wedding photographers switching back to film.




Feb 09, 2012 at 04:04 PM
cineski
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p.1 #10 · Kodak to continue making film!


Yet, they're still going to make film! So who cares?!


Feb 09, 2012 at 04:31 PM
peter_n
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p.1 #11 · Kodak to continue making film!


Lots of us who use film care. Big time!




Feb 09, 2012 at 04:46 PM
Micky Bill
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p.1 #12 · Kodak to continue making film!


The money is made in the consumer film market, not in movies where it's a dwindling option, so much so that many rental houses phased out their film cameras in favor of digital, or in the tiny tiny % of wedding photographers who are going back to film....
I think they were hoping on developing (ha ha)new markets in places like India but that is smaller than they hoped due to camera phones.

Seriously, what person under 35 who isn't a 'hobbiest' even owns a film camera.

Maybe IBM can fire up the Selectric assembly line again



Feb 09, 2012 at 04:58 PM
cineski
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p.1 #13 · Kodak to continue making film!


Exactly

peter_n wrote:
Lots of us who use film care. Big time!





Feb 09, 2012 at 05:17 PM
cineski
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p.1 #14 · Kodak to continue making film!


Apparently a lot! I'm under 35 and own 6 film cameras of different sorts. And those are just the cameras that work ;-). Just go on facebook and see all the younger people picking up film cameras in favor of all the people shooting digitally and making it look like film. That's the funny part, most of the film shots I see now look modern while so many shooting digital in the market are trying to make it look like old film. Digital is definitely thundering away and the driving force of all things photographic but despite that fact, film is still being used enough to profit off. I just never understood why anyone would want to see any medium fail. Even rooting failure on just doesn't make sense to me as an artist or business person. That's like going to an art store and having the option of watercolor only. I'd rather go there and see watercolor, acrylic, oil, gouache, pastels, pencil, etc. Sure there's photoshop, but a watercolor that's just been globbed on the paper thicker is still a watercolor ;-)

Micky Bill wrote:
Seriously, what person under 35 who isn't a 'hobbiest' even owns a film camera.




Edited on Feb 09, 2012 at 05:55 PM · View previous versions



Feb 09, 2012 at 05:24 PM
mightaswell
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p.1 #15 · Kodak to continue making film!


Micky Bill wrote:
Seriously, what person under 35 who isn't a 'hobbiest' even owns a film camera.



The photographic industry lives and dies by the hobbyist market.



Feb 09, 2012 at 05:50 PM
rattymouse
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p.1 #16 · Kodak to continue making film!


cineski wrote:
Actually, film is profitable otherwise they would have cut it. The big movies are still shot on film (with a lot of top tier directors refusing to originate on digital) and the hybrid workflow has gotten to the point that it's a great alternative to digital capture and there's a hella lot of wedding photographers switching back to film.



Film use in movies is just about to go into free fall. Digital movies have arrived now and studios are moving over to that far faster than predicted. Just like how the consumer market reacted. Very, VERY few movies will be shot on film in a few years.

Sad, but true.



Feb 09, 2012 at 05:59 PM
Micky Bill
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p.1 #17 · Kodak to continue making film!


cineski wrote:
Apparently a lot! I'm under 35 and own 6 film cameras of different sorts. And those are just the cameras that work ;-). Just go on facebook and see all the younger people picking up film cameras in favor of all the people shooting digitally and making it look like film. That's the funny part, most of the film shots I see now look modern while so many shooting digital in the market are trying to make it look like old film. Digital is definitely thundering away and the driving force of all things photographic but despite that fact, film
...Show more



Feb 09, 2012 at 06:34 PM
Zaitz
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p.1 #18 · Kodak to continue making film!


Yes Ilford is still around. As are a few other companies who bought out old equipment to manufacture b&w film.

Crappy products? I am not emotionally attached to Kodak as I did not grow up using their products. But the new Portras, especially Portra 400, are incredible. They kind of gave up the e6 market, but not entirely. Though maybe overseas they did.



Feb 09, 2012 at 06:49 PM
LightShow
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p.1 #19 · Kodak to continue making film!


Eastman Kodak Company ~snip~plans to phase out ~snip~ digital picture frames~snip~
I bought their wi-fi picture frames for the ability to add pictures via email for my family, and their IQ is good, now I wonder if that service will be continued.



Feb 09, 2012 at 07:15 PM
contas
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p.1 #20 · Kodak to continue making film!


As it's relevant to my profession, I know Eastman Kodak still makes profits in Medical X-ray films in both categories: Classical or wet film and Digital or dry film and ofcourse with them Kodak still sells automatic processor and laser printer - and there is no clear substitute for X-ray film in the future, so we can still believe Kodak can survive .


Feb 09, 2012 at 08:49 PM
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