According to reports, under the impact of the digital wave, Kodak has taken pride in the film and printing business is rapidly shrinking. This year, Kodak’s digital revenue exceeded that of traditional film business for the first time. In the past, more than 70% of its revenue came from traditional businesses. Not long ago, Kodak announced that the world's traditional film business will lay off 25,000 people. Kodak's film factory in Xiamen, China will also perform some layoffs. The Kodak Xiamen factory after layoffs will only supply film for the Asia Pacific region and the Japanese market. Films supplied to the rest of the world are produced in U.S. factories.
Kodak currently abandons the traditional film production business in many countries and has no exit plan in China. In this regard, Peng Andong said: 'Although the traditional business in some developed countries, market share decline, such as the United States, Western Europe and some other markets, but Kodak still has a very large market share, as many as hundreds of millions of volumes of sales. The market in developing countries is still growing. Markets such as China, India, and Brazil are showing an upward trend, indicating that the traditional video market is far from saturated. When asked about the development ideas of digital products in China, Peng Andong stated that how the two businesses of traditional products and digital products develop in China depends entirely on the needs of the market and customers. Regardless of whether it is a traditional product or a digital product, Kodak has a large number of advanced technologies. We will respect the choices of Chinese consumers. In areas where traditional businesses have potential, Kodak will continue to open film processing shops and open digital printing shops in economically developed big cities.
Kodak's production base for digital products is concentrated in Shanghai and Guangdong Province. In 2004, Kodak purchased more than US$800 million in Guangdong Province. In 2005, Kodak expects to purchase digital imaging products and components and optical components worth USD 840 million in Guangdong.
Kodak will not abandon the traditional film business — Visiting Peng An, CEO and President of Eastman Kodak Company
On November 15, at the '2005 Guangdong International Economic Development Consultation', the reporter interviewed Kodak's CEO and President Peng Andong on how Kodak would transform in the future. He said Kodak in the transition period hopes to achieve faster and better development through technological innovation. Currently Kodak is fully transforming from traditional film to digital. However, there is still no timetable for when to stop the production of traditional films in China. It depends on the needs of Chinese customers.