Kodak and Fujifilm

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George Eastman, who was the founder of Kodak, started his business career as a 14-year old boy when he had to quit school and work to support his mother and two sisters. Mr. Eastman had a gift for organization and management while his lively and inventive mind made him a successful entrepreneur by his mid-twenties. Eastman Kodak (Kodak) was the largest photographic filmmaker established in 1880 in the world and one of the representative firms which ranked 43th in the Fortune 500 in 1955. However, Kodak retreated to 327th in 2011 and filed protection for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on 19 January 2012. There are various comments on the Kodak’s business failure that Kodak was late to adapt to the wave of digitalization. Kodak noticed its failure to adapt to the wave of digitalization. But Kodak noticed the coming of the digital age in 1970s and invented a digital camera, the first in the world in 1975. Kodak aggressively entered into new business, and promoted M&A, but they could not make use of these strategies for the profit center. Why couldn’t Kodak transform itself at the time of digital revolution? When we analyze the failure of Kodak, it might be useful to compare with Fujifilm, Japanese filmmaker. Fujifilm stayed in the Fortune Global 500 in 2010, though it is now struggling to keep its situation by branching into new businesses. Fujifilm was established in 1934 in Japan. Fujifilm has established itself as a leader in in the motion picture photography, videotape, audio tape and floppy disc industries. The company is also involved in still cameras, camcorders, photofinishing equipment, paper and chemicals, imaging and information products for office and medical use markets. The company first started out producing motion picture film, dry plates and photographic paper. Since the company was focused on the quality of the products, it developed its first

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