Calandra J. Davis
Professor Michael Curran
BUS 302: Management Concepts
February 2, 2013
History and Core Business of Kodak and Fujifilm
Eastman Kodak which, is headquartered in Rochester, NY was founded in by George Eastman, who patented photographic film which were stored into a roll in 1884. The first roll film cameras that this company produced were called Kodak. The cameras became so successful the “Kodak” word was incorporated into the name in 1892. By 1900 he had perfected the first camera which was called the “Brownie” to take advantage of his invention. George Eastman, coined the famous slogan “You press the button, we do the rest.” In most of the 20th Century this slogan came to define Kodak. By 1902, Kodak established a British Head Office in London. Eastman built a foundation of his business on four basic principles; mass production, international distribution, extensive advertising, and focus. Eastman believed that all four of these principles being closely related. Mass production could not be justified without wide distribution. Distribution needed the support of strong advertising from beginning he imbued the company with the conviction that fulfilling customer needs and desires is the only road to success. Eastman added three policies with his four basic principles: * Foster growth and development through continuing research * Treat employees in fair, self-respecting way * Reinvest profits to build and extend the business
In 1930, Eastman Kodak Company launched on Dow Jones Industrial Average Index where it would remain for 74 years. Throughout the years, Eastman Kodak film were used to capture some very historic moments; in 1969 film used on the Apollo 11 missions were manufactured by Kodak. By 1975, Kodak was the first company to build an actual working digital camera which launched off throughout the years causing Kodak in 2004, to stop selling film cameras in face of increasing popular digital