Posts Tagged ‘competition’

Aging Giant Kodak Turns To Lawsuits For Revenue

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

kodak-instamatic.jpg
photo credit: joost j. bakker

Kodak used to be King of Cameraland, but then the digital boom destroyed the darkroom. What happens to a successful company when its industry all but disappears?

  • As the end of the film camera approached, Kodak changed its focus to digital technology and printers. But it’s been a long, hard road.
  • Kodak products aren’t flying off the shelves these days, but the company does have one huge thing going for it: It owns more than 1,000 patents on digital imaging technology.
  • Kodak technology is behind almost all digital cameras produced today – including iPhones and Blackberries.
  • That’s no small thing, so Kodak has been fighting hard for its share of digital imaging profits. It’s currently suing Apple and Research in Motion (which makes the Blackberry) over alleged patent infringement.
  • The U.S. International Trade Commission just ruled that Apple and Research in Motion did not violate any patents, but Kodak is going to keep fighting. What else can it do?

Facts & Figures

  • The Eastman Kodak Co. is 130 years old
  • Kodak has successfully negotiated $550 million in royalties from Samsung and $414 million from LG Electronics

Best Quote

“We fully expect the ITC commission will ultimately rule that the patent claim at issue is valid and infringed by Apple and RIM.” – Laura Quatela, Kodak’s chief intellectual property officer

What do you think?

Can you think of any old giants like Kodak that have reinvented themselves to be successful today?

Bet You Didn’t Know: The U.S. Still Manufactures 40% More Stuff Than China

Friday, February 11th, 2011

“WASHINGTON — U.S. factories are closing. American manufacturing jobs are reappearing overseas. China’s industrial might is growing each year.

Yet America remains by far the No. 1 manufacturing country. It out-produces No. 2 China by more than 40 percent. U.S. manufacturers cranked out nearly $1.7 trillion in goods in 2009, according to the United Nations.

The story of American factories essentially boils down to this: They’ve managed to make more goods with fewer workers.”

What do you think?

What if higher production adds up to fewer jobs? Is efficiency always a good thing?

How often do you see “Made in U.S.A.” on the products you buy? How about “China?”

What Happens When You Tell Google To Take A Hike?

Thursday, December 23rd, 2010

Apparently they fund one of your competitors and DESTROY YOU.

(Back story: Google offered to buy wildly successful Internet coupon company Groupon for $6 billion. Groupon said, “meh.”)

Read the original:
BBC News, 12/21/20: Google eyes smaller players after Groupon: report

Tom Tom Navigation Not Going Anywhere But Up (Apparently)

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Or so says the CEO of the company… but do you agree?

  • Despite the fact that both Google and Nokia have recently announced free turn-by-turn navigation on mobile phones, TomTom’s CEO, Harold Goddijn, is firm in his belief that these threats will not affect his company’s well-being or profitability.
  • Goddijn extolled his company’s proficiency in map-making, while downplaying the threat of competing companies offering free services that would replicate the functionality of his company’s GPS device on mobile phones, a service he says has existed for quite some time.
  • Tom Tom avoided experiencing a huge setback in the recession by cutting costs and focusing sales efforts on car manufacturers, fleet management services, map and traffic subscriptions and an iPhone app.

Facts and Figures

  • TomTom’s 2009 fourth quarter net profit came out to be 73 million euros ($99 million)
  • In the fourth quarter, sales rose 1% to 533 million euros, up from 528 million euros a year ago.
  • The company expects sales to be flat in 2010.

Best Quote

“We need to get away from the impression that the various navigation platforms are competing with each other.” – Harold Goddijn, Chief Executive Officer of TomTom NV

A Barrier to Entry is…

Friday, August 21st, 2009

A barrier to entry is any obstacle or difficulty that prevents new firms from competing with established firms. For example, if one company has exclusive access to an important natural resource or a patent for some machinery that makes a manufacturing process much faster and cheaper, that’s considered a barrier to entry.

Corporate Restructuring is…

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

Corporate restructuring is when a company reorganizes or redesigns key parts of itself to become more profitable, increase competitiveness, and/or to adapt to a changing economy. A company would restructure its organizational or capital structure when its old way of doing business isn’t working anymore – restructure or bust!