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Posts Tagged ‘bankruptcy protection’

This is not a Kodak moment.

News that the 131-year-old company may seek bankruptcy protection in the next two weeks didn’t come as a surprise, but it was hard to tell whether consumers actually cared.

Many expressed their sadness on Twitter—”Sad to see Kodak go bankrupt. And we all thought Instagram was this harmless little app,” tweeted @levie—but not one of them mentioned plans to purchase a Playsport video camera or any of the other consumer products Kodak had rolled out to revive its flagging brand.

The saddest thing about Kodak is that the company killed itself, said Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys, a brand and customer research consultancy.

“Part of it is an issue of modernization, and what Kodak stood for is film, he said. “They didn’t stand for imaging—and though it’s stuff that they created, and you’ve got to give them credit—it’s the category that did them in. 

“Other manufacturers came in with products that had what consumers wanted with the kinds of features that meet consumer’s expectations regarding what they’re looking for,” he continued. “So it’s not an issue of no one knowing the brand, it’s just become an old brand where the products are just fine, but not at the top of anyone’s list.”

And now that Kodak’s might go bust, consumers will likely have even less to do with it. No matter how hard the media tries to push the novelty of Brownie cameras, the film era came and went, taking it with consumer’s desire to wind up a spool of film.

“Kodak novelties could become more common, but where would you get the film?” Passikoff said.

He does expect the one-time film giant’s digital cameras to come down in price as the company works to offload inventory. Already, we’re seeing huge markdowns on the Easyshare Max (down $70 from $$299) and Playsport Video cameras (now $149.95 from $$179.95).

And as with Polaroid, another camera giant that lost its crown, Passikoff expects a handful of companies to swoop in and try to wring a few dollars by rehashing Kodak’s old products. But don’t call it a comeback, said Passikoff: “[Kodak] is losing the battle for the film business in a digital era when other companies are out there supplying what people really want.”

If your Kodak Brownies are gathering dust in the attic, now’s a good time to trade them in. Check with your local camera resale shop to see if they buy back Kodak products, and if that doesn’t pan out, try Kodak’s Trade-In-Recycling Program. Despite the looming bankruptcy, the company isn’t closing anytime soon, said Richard Walker, a Kodak spokesperson.

To trade-in your cameras with the service, submit your items via the online form or by mail. Depending on what you submit, you’ll either receive cash back or a form telling you where to recycle your item. Shipping to the trade center is free, and for what it’s worth, you’ll get a 15 percent discount on Kodak products.

If you use Kodak’s photo share site, Kodakgallery.com, we recommend taking your data off there soon. A USB port should do the trick.

Did you receive a Kodak gift for the holidays? Tell us what you’re planning to do with it in the comments.

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This post originally appeared on CNBC.

Peter Cuneo, Marvel Entertainment (MVL: NYSE)

Tenure: July 1999 - December 2002

Peter Cuneo joined Marvel Entertainment just after it emerged from bankruptcy protection, with a heavy debt load, limited cash, and a depressed corporate culture. He focused on expanding the company’s international business and adopting a licensing model for movies, TV, and consumer products. Movies based on its characters became cash-cow blockbusters.

Cuneo also rejuvenated Marvel’s core comic book business, bringing in new talent for both writing and illustration. When he took the reins of Marvel, its stock was at 94 cents a share; 10 years later (with Cuneo as vice chairman) the company was sold to Walt Disney for more than $4 billion, or $54 a share. Prior to joining Marvel, Cuneo orchestrated successful turnarounds at Remington, divisions of Clairol, and Black & Decker. Sources: cnn.com, usatoday.com

Source: CNBC.com

Richard Clark, Merck & Co. (MRK: NYSE)

Tenure: May 2005 – December 2010

Gordon Bethune, Continental Airlines (UAL: NYSE)

Tenure: November 1994 – November 2004

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David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management, a hedge fund that specializes distressed debt, purchased an 8.64% stake in MF Global Holdings, Jacob Wolinsky at ValueWalk reports.

What’s interesting is Tepper increased his stake in MF Global two days after the beleaguered broker dealer filed for bankruptcy protection, according to the SEC filing.

From Jacob Wolinsky at ValueWalk:

Tepper prefers credit over equity.  What the 13-F did not disclose  was Tepper’s large purchase ( the source guessed that it was $20-$70million) of MF Global Bonds at 35 cents on the dollar.

Tepper’s 13F filing Monday showed the hedge fund titan dramatically pared back his stock portfolio. 

He completely axed his positions in Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Alpha Natural Resources, Brunswick Corp, DR Horton, Fifth Third, Frontier Oil Corp, Medtronic, Merck, MetLife, Pfizer, Walter Energy and Yahoo.

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Japan Airlines (JAL), which last month filed for bankruptcy protection, has today posted a net loss of 177.9 billion yen (£1.31 billion, $2 billion) for the nine months to December 2009.
The airline’s executive officer, Norikazu Saito, told reporters it suffered an operating loss of 120.8 billion yen on sales revenue of 1.14 trillion yen – [...]

As expected, Japan Airlines (JAL) has today filed for bankruptcy protection.
The airline, which is Asia’s biggest carrier, has been struggling amid the global economic downturn and has been grappling with a mountain of debts of around $16.5 billion (£10 billion).
The Japanese Government has said that flights will operate as normal and the airline will now [...]