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• Kokak is on target strategically
  Dont count Kodak out just cause you see it as a new player. That would be stupid. Kodak is right about the consumer issues of ink costs and the fat margins are an easy target to attack. The inkjet market is the classic "razor-blade" model...they often literally give you the printer to get the captive ink sales at great gross margins 60-75%. Over the last 5-8 years these margins have gotten even better as the size of the cartridges has decreased without significant increases in volume yield. SO, HP, Epson etc are making even more money. This was done in response to a slowing market as most users had printers or AIOs...so now the units last fewer years, are more cheaply built (all overseas) and they are in a market share battle to get a larger piece of the installed base. The real gains in the market are due to some improved technology from Canon and Epson while HP has slid due to many reasons...Kodak can be a huge threat if it delivers a mchine with good prints, easy to use and install SW, cheaper ink costs/lower cost per page/print and good after sale support.They are keeping the offerings simple which will also help. The average consumer doesnt want to deal with the myriad offerings from HP and the other companies. Its too much work. Kodak still has a pretty good brand, is regarded by consumers as an expert in photos, has technical competence and offers a line of decent consumer friendly cameras which offers bundling oppties. It is a far better marketer than any of the other companies in the space. It understands how to deal with consumers and how to sell to them. HP, Canon and Epson rely too much on their dealers and distribution channels. Their websites and consumer support are a joke.
  
  BTW, I have just gone thru buying a printer and AIO and thats where those comments come from. As a management consultant I tend to research products extensively before buying....trying to get thru the websites for these companies, trying to get info about their products at the Best Buys etc....horrible. In most cases, I new more about the individual machines I targeted than any sales person I encountered. The online info, if you could find it was difficult to unscramble to get to key details. My emails to the 3 top companies regarding specific models were generally answered only by form emails which didnt answer the questions. When I got a "human" response it was generally not a direct answer to my question.

  February 6, 2007

  0 replies

• Kokak is on target strategically
  Dont count Kodak out just cause you see it as a new player. That would be stupid. Kodak is right about the consumer issues of ink costs and the fat margins are an easy target to attack. The inkjet market is the classic "razor-blade" model...they often literally give you the printer to get the captive ink sales at great gross margins 60-75%. Over the last 5-8 years these margins have gotten even better as the size of the cartridges has decreased without significant increases in volume yield. SO, HP, Epson etc are making even more money. This was done in response to a slowing market as most users had printers or AIOs...so now the units last fewer years, are more cheaply built (all overseas) and they are in a market share battle to get a larger piece of the installed base. The real gains in the market are due to some improved technology from Canon and Epson while HP has slid due to many reasons...Kodak can be a huge threat if it delivers a mchine with good prints, easy to use and install SW, cheaper ink costs/lower cost per page/print and good after sale support.They are keeping the offerings simple which will also help. The average consumer doesnt want to deal with the myriad offerings from HP and the other companies. Its too much work. Kodak still has a pretty good brand, is regarded by consumers as an expert in photos, has technical competence and offers a line of decent consumer friendly cameras which offers bundling oppties. It is a far better marketer than any of the other companies in the space. It understands how to deal with consumers and how to sell to them. HP, Canon and Epson rely too much on their dealers and distribution channels. Their websites and consumer support are a joke.
  
  BTW, I have just gone thru buying a printer and AIO and thats where those comments come from. As a management consultant I tend to research products extensively before buying....trying to get thru the websites for these companies, trying to get info about their products at the Best Buys etc....horrible. In most cases, I new more about the individual machines I targeted than any sales person I encountered. The online info, if you could find it was difficult to unscramble to get to key details. My emails to the 3 top companies regarding specific models were generally answered only by form emails which didnt answer the questions. When I got a "human" response it was generally not a direct answer to my question.

  February 6, 2007

  0 replies