Kodak Competitor - Fujifilm

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How Fujifilm survived - Sharper focus

I believe Fujifilm is the biggest competitor of Kodak, because the two companies’ core business areas and history are very similar, but they end up with entirely different ending. According to the article, when the digital times coming, "Kodak acted like a stereotypical change-resistant Japanese firm, while Fujifilm acted like a flexible American one."(K.N.C). Fujifilm keep reducing its film business since 80th, within a decade, film went from 60% of Fujifilm's profits to basically nothing. This was really hurt Fuji’s profit at that time, but Fuji’s manager believe they are made the right choice. Fujifilm realized it needed to develop in the new businesses. In contrast, Kodak believes that its core strength lay in brand and marketing, and that it could simply buy its way into new industries. In result, when film began its swift decline, Fuji has not been affected, but Kodak didn’t went through it.

After bankruptcy, Kodak sold many of its low profitable business, which allows the company reduce its costs and improve their financial situation. Now Kodak’s interests and focus currently reside more with business customers in the fields of digital printer and digital imaging. With these changes, Kodak’s adaptation of innovation changed from expanding to downsizing. I believe this is good for Kodak, the smaller size and strong financial allow Kodak to put a stronger focus and expertise in a more defined field and make it an easier process to keep up with changing technological advances.

Schumpeter. (2012). Sharper focus. The Economist. Retrieved 23 March 2016, from http://www.economist.com/blogs/schumpeter/2012/01/how-fujifilm-survived

Lapowsky, I. (2016). Why GoPro’s Success Isn’t Really About the Cameras. WIRED. Retrieved 23 March 2016, from http://www.wired.com/2014/06/gopro/

Mitchell, R. (2016). Ink wars: Kodak vs. HP in the ink-jet consumables battle. Computerworld. Retrieved 23 March 2016, from http://www.computerworld.com/article/2542249/computer-hardware/ink-wars--kodak-vs--hp-in-the-ink-jet-consumables-battle.html