New from NPR 柯達王國半世紀興衰
Picture from David Duprey /AP
圖片中的Steven J. Sasson是數位相機之父，照片左手邊展示的正是世界上第一個數位相機。這是Sasson在1975年所研發的得意之作。旁邊的小台數位相機，則是柯達的EasyShare One (2005年問世)。
柯達公司從之前道瓊工業平均指數的前三十大企業，到三年多前面臨破產壓力，不得不被迫出售旗下各項專利，好籌錢繼續營運的命運，一直到後來脫離破產，改名稱繼續營運，這半世紀的興衰起落，豈是一篇文章就能說盡?三年前柯達搏命求生，投資人一開始卻不買單，讓柯達的股票一度面臨下市命運。這篇文章是三年前的NPR廣播，現在柯達已經走出危機，公司重整再度出發，但透過歷史可窺見命運造化作弄人的無奈，因為這個當初發明數位相機科技、並擁有上千項相關專利的業界龍頭，當年一定難料公司危機竟然是被自己的發明給打敗。好在柯達已經度過難關，現在再聽這篇報導，感觸更深啊。
上過教練托福閱讀課程的同學，一定在上Early Photography這篇文章的時候，看過教練分享的有趣影片，這些資料就是來自於柯達公司的檔案庫，珍貴的史料真是讓人眼界大開。
柯達十年回顧(資料來源 Wikipedia)
2005年4月22日，柯達虧損1.42億美元，標準普爾將柯達信用評等一舉降至垃圾級，因為轉型數位市場太晚，已經很難賺到錢，且傳統底片市場雖然快速萎縮中但依然是柯達獲利金盆，一旦放棄就出現舊有領域棄守和新領域落後的青黃不接。
2009年，柯達歷史最久的柯達克羅姆膠捲幻燈片停產。2010年12月30日，全球最後一家可沖印柯達克羅姆幻燈片的美國堪薩斯州Dwayne's Photo停止該幻燈片的沖印服務。
2010年12月11日，美國標準普爾500指數成份股汰舊換新，以反應科技進步造成的興衰，在標準普爾已有74年歷史的伊士曼柯達也鞠躬下台。
2011年9月30日，有消息稱柯達準備申請破產保護，致使其股票價格暴跌近54%，收於每股78美分，處於38年來最低點。
2012年1月19日，柯達及其美國子公司在紐約提交了破產保護申請，海外子公司不受破產保護條款約束。
2012年12月19日，柯達同意以5.25億美元（約40.95億港元），向以專利公司Intellectual
Ventures（代表Apple和部分其它企業）及RPX Corporation（代表Google）為首的財團出售數碼影像專利。有關專利原本估值高達26億美元。
2013年1月24日，柯達（Kodak）宣布，已獲美國破產法院批准，向Centerbridge Partners LP融資8.44億美元完成重組，預期2013年年中將可脫離破產期。
美國當地時間2013年9月4日，柯達公司宣布完成破產重組，正式退出破產保護。
2013年9月，老柯達將旗下的個性化影像和文檔影像業務出售，英國柯達退休金計劃（KPP）完成對伊士曼柯達公司旗下文檔影像和個性化影像業務的收購，創立了新公司Kodak Alaris（柯達樂芮），並被授權沿用柯達的商標。
A Digital Death? Why Kodak stopped clicking?
* stop clicking的意思是停止轉動，言下之意就是公司可能要停止營運了
Heard on All Things Considered
One of the most famous companies in the world could be headed into bankruptcy soon即將破產. Kodak, based in Rochester, New York, is the famous maker of film and it's seen its profits plunged獲利下跌, largely because of the popularity of digital cameras數位相機. Kodak is trying to move into new product lines開發新的產品線.
In the meantime, it's trying to raise cash募集現金 by selling off a wealth of許多 patents專利, as NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.
JIM ZARROLI, BYLINE: During its heyday在黃金時期, Kodak had one of the most innovative research departments in the world. And in 1975, it developed the digital camera, a product that would eventually be its undoing種下禍根.
Willy Shih is a former Kodak executive who now teaches at Harvard Business School.
WILLY SHIH: That first digital camera was actually 13 pounds and recorded images on a tape drive磁帶機. So, it wasn't exactly very portable可攜式的.
ZARROLI: Over the years, Kodak has tried to jump on the digital bandwagon跟進(通常是追求潮流或是複製成功方程式), making and selling digital cameras and other products of its own.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Introducing the new Kodak EasyShare digital camera and printer dock照片印表機, just press a button to get real Kodak photos at home without a PC個人電腦.
ZARROLI: But Kodak was never really able to capitalize on從…獲利 the product it had invented, and its digital strategy was something of a bust無法獲利的爛點子, says Rob Sethre of the consulting firm Photizo.
ROB SETHRE: A lot of it is depending on execution執行, and it just was not that well-executed. And the results are that they're very close to bankruptcy now.
ZARROLI: In the meantime, the profits it earned from selling film have dried up枯竭. Over the past decade, Kodak has lost money almost every year and the 123-year-old company has had to lay off most of its workforce關掉大部分的生產線. But Kodak does have one big thing going for it: It still owns about a thousand patents for the technology behind digital photography.
Again, Willy Shih.
SHIH: If you're the first in a field, that is one of those wonderful times, from a patent standpoint觀點, when you get what is known as a frontier portfolio具有先行優勢(pioneer brand先行者 second mover後發者). In other words, a lot of the fundamental innovations happen early on and Kodak was in that position. So, it filed a lot of fundamental patents.
ZARROLI: Over the years, as digital photography has taken off, the innovations developed by Kodak have been widely used in smartphones智慧手機, notebooks筆電 and tablets平板電腦. And Kodak was able to earn a nice profit by licensing its patents申請專利執照 to the companies that made them.
Now with its cash stream from film sales pretty much evaporated蒸發掉了 /消失了, Kodak has gone even further. It's tried to sell some of the patents outright. Rob Sethre says the company probably doesn't have much choice.
SETHRE: It's a little bit desperate有點急了(幾乎要不擇手段). Although if you have only limited possibilities, it's actually, you know, a good and legitimate way合法管道 to use your corporate assets企業資產.
ZARROLI: So far, Kodak hasn't found a buyer at a price it will accept. Kodak declines to talk about the bankruptcy rumors. The company has been trying to move into new product lines like inkjet printers噴墨印表機, but it remains a small presence市占率很低 in a competitive field競爭激烈.
Mark Zupan, dean of the business school at the University of Rochester, says selling patents is an effort to raise the cash it needs to keep going. But Zupan says the company doesn't have a lot of time left.
MARK ZUPAN: It'll give them a year or two. The fundamental thing though is creating product lines that generate sustainable economic growth有穩健持續的獲利成長空間. And so far, they haven't been able to do that at a rate that compensates補償 for how quickly the traditional film business has been declining獲利遠不及賠掉的錢.
ZARROLI: If Kodak does go bankrupt如果柯達宣布破產, its portfolio of patents專利項目的有價證券 could be auctioned off可能會被拍賣掉 to pay its bills用來償還積欠的債務. And for now, investors投資人 are pretty skeptical懷疑 the company can survive柯達是否還能繼續營運下去.
Kodak was once so important it was among the 30 companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average道瓊工業平均指數的前三十大企業. This week, its stock price fell well below a dollar a share每股已經跌落一美元, and it could be delisted from the stock exchange altogether很有可能會下市.
Jim Zarroli, NPR News, New York.
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