Finding the Kodak moment

The camera brand synonymous with old-world photography had started fading from our memories, just like pictures from its time. It has now found ways to reconnect with consumers in India, without paying profits much attention

Post bankruptcy protection in 2012, Eastman Kodak, globally and in India, was reduced to an enterprise solution business

Dealing largely with printing and packaging solutions, Kodak India lost touch with consumers

But now, Kodak is looking to win its consumers back with a new range of products from washing machines to smartphones

It could be Kodak’s new India story. Or the final chapter in its hundred-year-old legacy

Six years ago, in 2012, the world pronounced American photo products company Eastman Kodak dead. “Death of an American Icon”, “What Killed Kodak?”, “The last Kodak moment” the headlines read. The 130-year-old household name, Kodak, they said, was no more.

At a given point of time, “every person on this planet owned at least one Kodak product”, Jamil Abu-Wardeh insists. Abu-Wardeh is the vice-president of brand licensing partnerships and innovations at Eastman Kodak. “It wasn’t that long ago, and India was a significant part of the Kodak universe,” he adds.

Established in 1888, Kodak sold cameras, film rolls and then, colour films.

AUTHOR

Harveen Ahluwalia

In her last assignment, Harveen was at Mint, the business daily published by HT Media. At Mint, where she spent about two years, she wrote stories on retail, food and the media business. Harveen is a B.Com (H) graduate from Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi. She has a diploma in journalism from the Times School of Journalism. Like many folks at The Ken, Harveen talks and tweets a lot. When she isn’t writing or reading, she likes to sketch and doodle. She can be reached at harveen at the-ken dot com.

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