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The Economist recently contrasted the financial woes of Kodak with the better performance of its traditional rival, Fujifilm. Kodak's yellow-and-red boxes were, at one time, stacked up in every photo shop and tourist kiosk throughout the US, Canada, and many European countries. Despite Kodak's strength, Fujifilm's green boxes--always a fixture in Asian stores--were slowly but steadily gaining ground worldwide, in part because the film was less expensive than Kodak's film.
Then digital imaging changed everything. Although Kodak developed some of the earliest digital cameras, it stuck to its highly profitable film business too long. It also moved too slowly to eliminate its profit dependence on traditional film products through diversification.
Now, even as its financial difficulties put it on the brink of bankruptcy, Kodak has sued Fujifilm for patent infringement (Fujifilm had sued Kodak a few months earlier). Kodak is also suing Apple and HTC for patent infringement.
Fujifilm, meanwhile, moved more quickly to address the inevitable ascent of digital photography. Not only is it introducing more sophisticated digital cameras for the replacement market, it has added many low-end models for first-time camera buyers. In India and other nations with growing economies, Fujifilm has increased its marketing budget and set aggressive goals for increasing market share.
Will Kodak survive? The picture is far from clear.
