Kodak files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

[Robin Rowland]

Kodak has filed for Chapter 11

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/kodak-files-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy-2012-01-19

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Eastman Kodak Co. EK +6.36% announced early Thursday that it and its U.S. subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The firm said the move "is intended to bolster liquidity in the U.S. and abroad, monetize non-strategic intellectual property, fairly resolve legacy liabilities, and enable the company to focus on its most valuable business lines." It said it would still pay employee wages and benefits and continue customer programs.

[Fred Lum]

Not surprising and this was known to be in the cards for some time. Ch 11 is not *that* scary, it's Chapter 7 that I would be sweating over.

and for the record, nothing touches Kodak b/w films, I don't care what die hards for other manufacturers say and European films are fine but not the same class imo.

[Warren Toda]

In The Economist is an article comparing failing Kodak to successful Fuji.

Capitalists quite often invent the technology that destroys their own business.

Eastman Kodak is a picture-perfect example. It built one of the first digital cameras in 1975. That technology, followed by the development of smartphones that double as cameras, has battered Kodak’s old film- and camera-making business almost to death.

(...)

Kodak, along with many a great company before it, appears simply to have run its course. After 132 years it is poised, like an old photo, to fade away.

Film = 70% profit margins (What?! We got gouged on film prices?!)

Digital = a predicted 5% margin.

Kodak conclusion: Ignore digital and cling to film.

Pop quiz: What other type of business is like this?


Newspapers: 90% revenue from print, 10% from online. Conclusion?

[Ken Gigliotti]

TOO big to fail , not a great attitude in a boardroom.  Big Yellow Box has new meaning - it takes courage to really change in the face of all that is going on. Sorry  , that is too harsh , but a lesson in  business . Sharks circle .Every company  has  many divergent opinion points inside the walls.Not all get heard or even have a chance at  hearing.  . Companies with good systems , plug good people into those systems ,  those good people make the same systems better. Our business has old and outdated systems and yet they manage "new media" .  The surreal  image of our predicament is denial .While Rome is burning , reporters  are working from home  in bathrobes  till noon , writing. This is sad , great company with great products, the perfect product . THe idea of the perfect product goes back to the Black Model T - just google that , see if it reminds you of any other business model. I know i am rowing in the wrong direction , cooler heads take charge. 

[Warren Toda]

TOO big to fail ...  great company with great products, the perfect product .

Newspapers have the absolute perfect product for the Internet: information. So they can't fail, right?

[Warren Toda]

Kodak announced that it has discontinued production of its remaining transparency films. It also sold its online photo business.

[Warren Toda]

Kodak has announced it will be increasing the price of all its remaining negative films by about 15% to help compensate for the low production volume.

[Moe Doiron]

Kodak has announced it will be increasing the price of all its remaining negative films by about 15% to help compensate for the low production volume.

Gotta love that ...

To our loyal customers who supported us and our film products through tough times ... F-CK YOU! 

[Fred Lum]

or some are saying that Kodak is finally pricing their products accordingly as Ilford and Fuji (esp) have always been a bit more expensive than Big Yellow. Still bites nonetheless.

[Warren Toda]

As you've read by now, Facebook has agreed to buy Instagram for $1-billion (cash+stock).

This means that Instagram, a 13-person company, less than two years old, and which makes only one product that's given away for free, is worth more than Kodak.  Kodak used to employ well over 100,000 people worldwide and it used to earn several billion dollars per year. Now, Instagram is the dominant force in photography.

One wonders why Kodak, with all its expertise and resources, couldn't create a simple photo app. You press the button, we do the rest.

[Victor Biro]

Warren,

As you've read by now, Facebook has agreed to buy Instagram for $1-billion (cash+stock).

This means that Instagram, a 13-person company, less than two years old, and which makes only one product that's given away for free, is worth more than Kodak.  Kodak used to employ well over 100,000 people worldwide and it used to earn several billion dollars per year. Now, Instagram is the dominant force in photography.

I suspect that the fact that it is a 13-person company with zero liability and legacy is the reason it is valued the way it is. Kodak has a lot of garbage tagging along with any valuation.

One wonders why Kodak, with all its expertise and resources, couldn't create a simple photo app. You press the button, we do the rest.

I think you hit the nail on the head: where was Kodak's ability to innovate in even the most simple ways.

I would bet that there were many ideas as simple as Instagram that were passed over because of a lack of vision and understanding of the market direction.

Often large organisations don't see value in small, innovative, ideas. They don't think that the product is worthy of their attention. They see it as being too small for consideration.

Oh well.

Victor