Disruptive Innovation and AgfaPhoto

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  • + Christiansandstrom Chris Sandström 9 months ago
    Hi Erik,
    Yes, I agree with you that it is sad to see Agfa going down. But as you see from my other presentations they are far from being alone.
    The Japanese companies have, with some exceptions (Pentax, Contax and Mamiya) come out of this shift stronger than ever. I am currently working on a slideshow about why this happened.

    Best, Christian
  • + guestcc179e guestcc179e 9 months ago
    Sorry to see the demise of Agfa! I was an American Gi serving in Germany during the years 1963-1966. My photographic interests just started and so I tried several films. Agfa films were the best! The clarity was outstanding whem compared to Kodakchrome, Ektachrome, etc. I have very recently changed to the digital mode and so I can very well see why the company (Agfa-Gevaert) went out of business if it couldn’t keep up with this new medium. Yes, the Japanese have come a long way in photography, haven’t they?

    -Erik Moraga
    Ashburn, Virginia/USA
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Disruptive Innovation and AgfaPhoto - Presentation Transcript

  1. Camera Demolition D liti
  2. In M 2005 the German- I May 2005, th G Belgian camera and film manufacturer AgfaPhoto went bankrupt.
  3. Later, the AGFA building in Munich as demolished. M nich was demolished
  4. An old business which had been profitable for many decades was now literally blown into pieces within a few years.
  5. A lot of people came to watch this thi spectacular event. t l t
  6. The company said: "AgfaPhoto has been g suffering from intense competition i the market lot titi in th k tl t t ad t o a p otog ap c traditional photographic equipment and products, and the shift among d th hift consumers towards digital products."
  7. In I a statement, workers' t t t k ' representatives described it as "a development that is both b th surprising and painful." i i d i f l"
  8. 125 kilos of explosives later the building hit the g ground.
  9. AGFA used to make consumer cameras…
  10. … And film. film
  11. The shift to digital imaging put this former industrial giant out of business. business
  12. AGFA had been in the camera and film industry for about a century. century
  13. Compact, Compact user- friendly amateur t cameras had been sold for ld f decades.
  14. Within a few years, people stopped buying film. t db i fil
  15. And in the camera business, AGFA simply couldn t keep up couldn’t with the Japanese dragons.
  16. No film sold, no sold cameras sold.
  17. Once a great competitor to Kodak, Kodak keeping them from complete hegemony…
  18. … is now out of business. business
  19. In 2001 the company announced that about 4000 employees will be laid off over the coming three years.
  20. In 2004, the 2004 p photography g p y section of AGFA was divested through a management t buyout.
  21. Prior t th b P i to the buyout, AGFA t had tried to sell the company through press statements… t t t
  22. Sounds pretty desperate… desperate
  23. But once the buyout had y taken place, the new CEO spoke confidently… k fid tl
  24. On a press conference, Bing p , g Liem, CEO of AGFAPHOTO North A N th America, said: i id
  25. "We feel very strongly we’re positioned for success…” iti df ”
  26. One year later later, AGFAPHOTO went bankrupt.
  27. Words don’t change facts.
  28. Since the company had a competence base in precise mechanics and chemistry, y, attempts in digital imaging were outsourced. t d
  29. The German consumer electronics firm PLAWA manufactured cameras for AGFA AGFA.
  30. Comparing these products to what the large Japanese firms could make, they were make clearly inferior.
  31. A couple of reviews from consumers:
  32. “Never buy this camera. Never Slowest digital camera ive i ever seen. Sl Slowestt shutter lag and very slow at even viewing your images.”
  33. The camera doesn't make sharp pictures k h i t and the colours aren t aren't good. I have another digital camera, a Olympus C-830L, this C-830L camera makes much better quality pictures! My opinion: this camera isn't worth the money!!!!
  34. “i don´t lik everything” d t like thi ”
  35. “Nice toy, and only as a t ” “Ni t d l toy.”
  36. “This is a so-so camera but really ices so so camera, the cake is that when the thing broke (the LED screen began to leak) tech support was AWFUL. They sent me two pp y refurbished cameras, neither of which worked AT ALL. They refused to test the cameras before sending, or to get me a new one Unrelenting complaining one. FINALLY got me a refund.”
  37. “Plawa's first stab at an Agfa- cam i 't looking too incredibly isn't l ki t i dibl hot… The metal housing looks durable, but incredibly bulky, and there's no word on optical image th ' d ti l i stabilisation or any other fancy specs.”
  38. If the camera business went so-so…
  39. The film business was collapsing… p g
  40. No medicine can cure a business which there is no demand for at all.
  41. Virtually no one is consuming film, and those film who used to produce it had p two options: change their business or di b i die.
  42. Agfa ended up in the latter th l tt category.
  43. “A development that is both surprising and painful." i i d i f l"
  44. Another one bites the dust.
  45. Image attributions I tt ib ti
  46. Christian Sandström doktorerar på Chalmers. Han forskar och föreläser om teknikskiften och digitalisering. www.christiansandstrom.org christian.sandstrom at chalmers.se
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AgfaPhoto rests in peace now.

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