One of the leading brands in camera and film is Kodak. Kodak was the king of films and cameras at a certain point in time. According to The Economist, Kodak occupied most of the United States photography market in 1976.
This factor made Kodak get a near-monopoly in the 70s. It accounted for 90% of film sales and a corresponding 85% for transactions in the camera.
However, the rise of the digital market continues up to these days. More consumers prefer digital cameras and video devices that come with more straightforward editing tools than raw films.
In the present time, there are more technological advancements in the field of photography. There are many available options that consumers can choose from compared to the previous years, where only film cameras were the leading photography devices in the market.
With this transition to digital photography, which began in the early 2000s, Kodak is now facing difficulties. Digital development hit the company hard.
The ironic part of this is that Kodak was the inventor of the first digital camera way back in 1975. The film was the company’s most prized possession and hesitated to transition to fully digital photography. The executives of the company did not want to change their traditional product.
In 2012, Kodak officially filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company reported recovery from the loss in the following year of 2013.
In the new face of Kodak, they presented a leaner company, solely focusing on high-speed digital printing technology and flexible packaging for consumer goods.
Kodak considered producing phones and tablets around 2018, which was the same year they announced their foray into cryptocurrency. Still, none of these explorations to other types of products seemed to click.
With the rise of the global pandemic due to coronavirus’s presence, Kodak sees an opportunity to revive its business. There is a unique need for pharmaceutical ingredients.
The company is considering a $765 million government loan to produce generic pharmaceutical ingredients. However, the loan is still in writing and put on hold as the S.E.C. conducts investigations on the circumstances regarding the disclosures of Kodak.
This opportunity might be what Kodak needs. Pivoting to pharmaceuticals, which the world most needs at the time of the pandemic, might help Kodak return to business.
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