Today's Kodak Moment: Bankruptcy


Kodak has been in trouble for a while. While the company employed almost 150,000 people worldwide in 1988, today it has just 18,800. As consumers began to move toward digital photography in the 1990s, Kodak feared it would cannibalize its film business by embracing digital, and held back.

The rest is history. Companies like Canon, Olympus and Nikon jumped into the digital fray early, leaving Kodak behind. It was ironic because Kodak had not only brought to market an early digital model, the DCS-100, but a Kodak engineer actually created the first digital camera in back in 1975.

By the time Kodak began marketing digital cameras aggressively in 2001, it was miles behind in the market. It had both established digital camera makers to contend with as well as several value-driven Asian brands that were driving prices down. Even Kodak's onetime archrival, Fujifim, got into the market with its FinePix line of point-and-shoots.

Founded by George Eastman in 1880, Kodak is still headquartered in Rochester, N.Y., where it began 132 years ago. Kodak is credited with bringing photography to the masses with its $1 Brownie camera in 1900 and had become synonymous with American photography by the time Eastman died in 1932.

Kodak's plan to emerge from bankruptcy involves selling off its $2 billion worth of patents and transforming itself into a mainly a printer company, with its primary products being printers and ink.

What do you think of Kodak's misfortunes? Fall of an American icon, or just another business that didn't understand the digital revolution when it mattered? Share your thoughts in the comments.

BONUS: A Brief History of Kodak