Kodak and Fujifilm

Kodak and Fujifilm The film industry has undergone several changes over the years. Kodak was the pioneer in the industry dominating the United States market as well as many other parts of the world. Kodak specialized in the photographic film and camera market which enabled it to rapidly expand its operations. However, technological changes in the industry saw a shift from the film to digital photography. Kodak was slow in responding to the market which led to its loss of market share to Fujifilm, a Japanese company. This essay seeks to analyze the two companies and compare their respective management approaches. In 1889 George Eastman established Kodak. Eastman Kodak is an American multinational company that deals with photographic and imaging equipment, services, and materials. It was incorporated in New Jersey but the current headquarters are at Rochester in New York. Kodak is famous for photographic film products. Since its inception, Kodak applied the razor and blades strategy in the selling of cheap cameras as well as selling consumables such as film, paper, and chemicals (Hammer, 1940). The company offers a wide range of products and services to its customers. These includes inkjet printers, ink cartridges, digital cameras, video cameras, digital picture frames, document imaging, flexo printing, image sensors, Kodak gallery, motion picture and TV production, photographic paper and film, photo kiosks as on-site services produced motion-pictures, x-ray films and photographic films for the next 10 years. The company entered into the optical glasses, equipment, and lenses market in the 1940s. Fuji photo diversified after World War II entering into the medical, electronic imaging, magnetic materials, and printing fields. Fuji Photo later entered into a joint venture with the UK-based Rank Xerox Ltd. to form Fuji Xerox Company Ltd. Fuji film also acquired Serico Ltd. which specializes in screen, digital print, and narrow web technologies. The core activities