Movie: "Fujifilm: How did they Survive while Kodak went BANKRUPT?"

[Bob Michaels]

A well made 47 minute film, available on YouTube. All about the culture and management style of Fuji that enabled them to transition to a huge profitable technology company with less than 1% of its revenues from photo film. There is a corporate commitment to film photography at the closing.

Well worth watching for those with interest in management style and decision making. Less so for those with interest in photo technology.

 

[Ororaro]

Kodak at some point decided that the future was in home printers.

How could they come up with this genius idea? Each and every printer I have ever owned I dreamed of not only throwing in the garbage violently, but also throw it from the top of the tallest building in the city.

Geniuses… went from bigger than NASA down to shiat in no time.

 

[boojum]

When both were on the market I preferred Kodak to Fuji even though Fuji had a dreamy color scheme. It did not seem to have as wide a color palette. I even preferred the ends of film stocks that could be bought out of LA. A cassette of film that gave you slides and prints. They were supposedly the un-shot ends of studio film stock, Kodak. 5622? Something like that. In the 90's.

 

[Harry the K]

Not a single word about the X and GFX camera lines.... only that photo/film is down at 1% of the companies volume.... amazing!!!

 

[Muggins]

Fujifilm certainly have their fingers in some widely spread pies. I spent two years in a job where I was culturing mammalian cells in medium made by them.

BalanCD HEK293 - Liquid

Optimized for transient gene expression, and production of viral vectors and recombinant proteins.

www.irvinesci.com

 

[raydm6]

I did not know they were into industrial materials:

Industrial Materials | Fujifilm [United States]

Information on Industrial Materials products and services.

www.fujifilm.com

 

[JohnGellings]

Fujifilm certainly have their fingers in some widely spread pies. I spent two years in a job where I was culturing mammalian cells in medium made by them.

BalanCD HEK293 - Liquid

Optimized for transient gene expression, and production of viral vectors and recombinant proteins.

www.irvinesci.com

Thankfully, or we might not have some of the coolest cameras of the last 10+ years.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

No brainer, sorry. Instax and X series cameras. Demand=money. And if I'm not mistaken Fujinon is part of FujiFilm. Simple reasons why they are afloat. Kodak has none of it. Just some crappy, cheap cameras, scanners rebranded.

 

[Ororaro]

Fuji is super smart. They’re even in the lipstick business. Everything chemical.

 

[Ororaro]

Imagine if Fuji decided to ditch all their multi-Billion businesses and decided to concentre on small home printers 🤡

 

[Retro-Grouch]

There is a corporate commitment to film photography at the closing.

Really?! We've heard that from them before! Their commitment to film means Instax film. The other stuff? Not so much. I'll watch this after I've taken my blood pressure medication.

 

[WoodallP]

Really?! We've heard that from them before! Their commitment to film means Instax film. The other stuff? Not so much. I'll watch this after I've taken my blood pressure medication.

Hey, maybe that’s a good thread. There are probably lot’s of overweight, underexercised middle-aged people on this forum. I’m sure there is scope for a blood pressure meds discussion. Which ones are good for hand holding at slow speeds etc. 😂

 

[Retro-Grouch]

Hey, maybe that’s a good thread. There are probably lot’s of overweight, underexercised middle-aged people on this forum. I’m sure there is scope for a blood pressure meds discussion. Which ones are good for hand holding at slow speeds etc. 😂

To quote one of my favorite lines from Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, "Did someone mention my figure?"
BTW, "Pussycat" (for those who don't know it) is the 1965 Russ Myers classic, and a must-see for those who enjoy lurid, senseless violence, sports cars, and, ahem, full-figured women. John Waters is a big fan. Two thumbs up.

 

[Alpsman]

. . . , and, ahem, full-figured women. . . . ..

In the german/austrian language we say: "Lots of wood in front of the hut."
😎

 

[boojum]

In the german/austrian language we say: "Lots of wood in front of the hut."
😎

In Yiddish, saftig, ein knadel madel. Juicy, a dumpling maiden/woman. Stop me before I strike again, please! Down South, "That's all meat and no potatoes."

 

[Bob Michaels]

Not a single word about the X and GFX camera lines.... only that photo/film is down at 1% of the companies volume.... amazing!!!

It is tough to realize the Fujifilm cameras that we relate to are almost an afterthought after their main business of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and commercial imaging but that is reality..

It seems that it was not that long ago when some of us though their discontinuance of 120 Neopan 400 was a big deal. Now we don't even know if they are still producing 35mm Neopan 400.

 

[Benjamin Marks]

Kodak was the Apple of its day. Rochester was where all the smart kids wanted to play. But after they invented digital photography, they failed to understand its implications, and they were in a world driven by quarterly expectations rather than a vision for the future. Polaroid's story has a similar feel to it. Plus ca change...

 

[santino]

I thought Polaroid was the Apple of its day?

 

[Benjamin Marks]

Many, many more innovations out of Kodak, I think. Although Edward Land was no slouch.

 

[Dante_Stella]

Cue the usual Kodak haters. They diversified hard and bet wrong. Fuji made better bets. But the main difference today is that Kodak is producing film... and Fujifilm lost most of its capability to do that. So much so that it was having Ilford and Kodak make it. So if the question is, "who is a successful film manufacturer," the answer is different from, "who makes more money."