Active Stocks
Thu Mar 28 2024 15:59:33
  1. Tata Steel share price
  2. 155.90 2.00%
  1. ICICI Bank share price
  2. 1,095.75 1.08%
  1. HDFC Bank share price
  2. 1,448.20 0.52%
  1. ITC share price
  2. 428.55 0.13%
  1. Power Grid Corporation Of India share price
  2. 277.05 2.21%
Business News/ Opinion / Online-views/  Ourviews | The Kodak moment passes
BackBack

Ourviews | The Kodak moment passes

Ourviews | The Kodak moment passes

Premium


Reports indicate that the Eastman Kodak Company may file for bankruptcy soon. The company, once a poster-child for post-war American industrial innovation and muscle, has struggled in one way or the other for the last decade. However, the slow decline can be traced back to the 1980s when the company’s stranglehold on the US photographic film market came under attack from “upstarts" like Fujifilm.

It did not. Ever since then Kodak has been playing catch-up with technology and competition. The Wall Street Journal reports that in the last six years, Kodak has turned in a profit just once. After briefly leading the US digital camera market half a decade ago, a recent report by Reuters said that in 2010 Kodak had a 7% market share.

What did Kodak do wrong? Essentially, not a lot. This cliche will become more popular in the days to come, but Kodak truly was the Apple-like technology disruptor of its day. The company owns hundreds of technology patents and, ironically, even invented the digital camera in 1975. It was also a famously generous employer, paying employees well and rewarding with generous pensions.

But while being good to people and fantastic with patents and technology, it made one grave error: Kodak assumed that it was strong enough to cope, if not determine, the speed at which the mass market adopted disruptions.

Companies that find themselves on pedestals today will do well to pay heed. It isn’t simply enough to invent, innovate or generate thousands of patents. The ability to invent must go hand in hand with an eye on the market. Or decline will be swift, and it is getting swifter. Kodak took 175 years to rise, peak and decline. MySpace took five.

Are disruptive technologies the force behind “creative destruction" of companies? Tell us at views@livemint.com

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!

Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More Less
Published: 10 Jan 2012, 09:05 PM IST
Next Story footLogo
Recommended For You
Switch to the Mint app for fast and personalized news - Get App