How Fujifilm Survived: Sharp Focus →

By K.N.C.

In a nutshell: Fujifilm did much better than its previous (and now bankrupt) competitor Kodak.  The actions this Japanese company took proved successful to its development and growth, which is what Kodak lacked in the long run. 

In Depth: When Shigetaka Komori first went into Fujifilm’s business in 1963, Kodak (American) was above the Japanese company in about every aspect.  However, as the years went by, while Fujifilm was working on ways to better its products and diversifying its markets, Kodak relied heavily on its marketing and brand to dish out its product and gain revenue.  As the digital photography industry began to overwhelm film, Fujifilm expanded and spread its development out to areas such as FujiXerox (a mutual partnership between Xerox and Fujifilm) and the digital business itself.  Kodak, however, tried to expand into different markets instead of improving its product.  Eventually, Fujifilm was able to get out of the hole that the digital market had set in both companies, while Kodak declined into bankruptcy.

What does this teach us about development?  The easy way out, of course, is expanding your product into different markets to get different buyers.  However, if there is a lack of improvements and development in your technology, your product will eventually become obsolete.  Yes, Kodak tried a number of ways to generate different sources of revenue, such as partnering up with digital photo kiosks in the mall; however, they had to partner up and split revenue, cutting it short.  Fujifilm did a similar thing, but had its own system to minimize sharing and maximizing revenues.

What is the hard way?  Developing your product, which can prove difficult if the right people aren’t there working on new ideas every day.  That’s why research and development becomes needed, especially if your product is in a market that involves a quickly developing good (especially photography).

Let this be a lesson to be learned from Kodak and Fujifilm: diligence is a form of long-term thinking that will outweigh the easy way out, a for of short-term thinking.

4 weeks ago  /  5 notes