I hope my original post isn't taken to mean that I disagree with Kodak's decision or results in another digital vs film debate (which has been beaten to death here). As a user of film, I'm personally disapointed, but as a businessman I also understand this move and would likely do the same if I ran Kodak. They can no longer rely on film alone to satisfy shareholders and it makes no sense to invest in shrinking niche markets when the rest of the universe is moving to digital.
I've made this anology on the forum before, but people are still buying sail boats and the combustion engine has been with us for over a century. We all know that practical concerns are not driving this demand and the same is already largely true with film. Niche players will pick up this slack, just as they have in other industries. This is the discussion I was hoping to have here.
Perhaps the ideal situation would be for Kodak to license some of these classic products and sinply collect royalties. There are other industries doing this - why can't this one? I would imagine that one of the smaller players without the pressures of being a publically traded company could step up and capitalize on Kodak's (and to a lesser extent, Agfa & Ilford's) eventual disinterest in the product. In the meantime, they will continue to make these products as long as they generate strong cash flow, but we know the niche stuff is going to get whacked first, followed eventually by the consumer products. I'm just wondering if any of the niche players have approached Kodak with a succession plan of this sort?
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