Kodak - From Starting As An Industry Disruptor With A Consumer Camera To Being Disrupted By The Shift To Digital Imaging
Kodak had been doing great especially in the 1970s when it became a household name in the photography industry. Founded in later part of the 1880s, Kodak dominated the industry for many years through intelligent ideas and innovations. However, this company that overtook the photography industry has gone bankrupt, what happened?
In the beginning, Kodak focused on making photography available for all, and this was championed through revolutionising the way photographs were taken. The company kept their focus on what the founder George Eastman wanted, and this was made possible by series of innovations and inventions through the years.
Everyone was able to take photos with the Kodak camera but before they could get the photos they had to send the camera to the Kodak factory to develop the film. Well, at that time there wasn’t a better alternative and it seemed cool because Kodak made it possible for customers to take photos they wanted. In doing this, the company shifted its focus from the camera to the film and printing of photos.
However, they began transforming digitally when the industry started drifting digitally by inventing the digital camera. With this revolutionary invention, it would seem logical to fully transform digitally. This transformation came late though, and they kept on selling analogue cameras and film, and focused more on printers. With this direction, the company felt that there won’t be any competition that would be a threat to film production.
They never predicted the future correctly, because apart from digital cameras, people found another way of taking photos through smartphones. This was a big blow, and there was a drastic decline in the sale of digital cameras. With smartphones, people no longer have to take their photos to any factory and wait for it to be printed, and they were cool with sharing them on social media and also storing them on their smartphones and other devices.
In response, Kodak tried modifying their business digitally, but perhaps used a wrong approach. Long before Facebook, Kodak tried regaining its dominance and in 2001 they bought Ofoto, a photo sharing site. However, the mistake they made was trying to make people print their digital images instead of turning it to a social photo sharing platform like Instagram. This was a huge mistake, and it cost the company a lot.
What caused the fall of Kodak
To be fair, Kodak actually tried, because they were innovative enough and embraced digital transformation. However, they went about it the wrong way. Since they have invested a lot in digital photography and got their hands on sharing photos digitally, they should have invested more on sharing photos socially without forcing users to print photos, and this would have kept them much relevant today.
Additionally, the company was so reluctant because they felt that as giant in the photography world, no competitor can bring them down. This was a big blooper from the photography giant because they saw change coming but didn’t treat the issue with urgency even with the advantage they had as a giant in the industry.
Conclusion
Kodak had the idea but were not strategic enough with their creativity. In order to stay ahead of the competition, you shouldn’t just embrace digital transformation, but you should transform your business models, strategy and innovation management in a bigger and better way.
Even if you are currently dominating your industry, prepare for the future by making sweeping and groundbreaking changes. Additionally, give a listening ear to what customers want and also take into consideration the ideas of employees.