apple
Apple ad shows why Kodak never had a chance
May 3, 2013: 11:41 AM ET
Kodak was killed by phones, not film.
By Andrew Parker, contributor
FORTUNE -- Apple (AAPL) is running a new ad in which there is one simple line of dialog: "
Every day, more photos are taken with the iPhone than any other camera."
Simple, tight, concise message. And the ad is beautiful.
When I saw this ad, my first reaction was a simple, emotional response to the raw, human editing style.
But then on further reflection, I thought of Kodak. For years, Kodak was a dominant brand in photography. As photography started to move from analog film to digital, Kodak made small attempts to participate in the shift, but were largely left behind. In Kodak's prime, photography was a "razor / razorblade" model and Kodak was minting money selling film. When film went from "essential" to "nostalgic" the company never recovered.
After reading the Innovator's Dilemma or a few VC blog posts, one could expound academically that Kodak should have tried to launch a sub-brand to make the transition through technology disruption. Textbook encumbant behavior… in order to live to fight another day in the digital photography transition.
But, even that academic approach would have ultimately failed in this case. A phone! That's the dominant camera choice today. Kodak needed to make critical, company-saving decisions by seeing that one of these was going to be everyone's camera in the future:
How could Kodak possibly have the foresight to battle a phone? They never stood a chance.
Andrew Parker (@andrewparker) is a principal with VC firm Spark Capital, where he focuses on the applications layer of the technology stack in consumer services. This post originally appeared on his blog.
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Apple proves that a lower corporate tax rate won't matter
A lower corporate tax rate won't deter companies from playing tax and accounting games. Just look at Apple's math.
FORTUNE -- There's a widely shared idea that if the U.S. reduced its corporate income tax rate to 25% from the current 35%, big corporations would stop playing tax games. They would then pour all their attention into profit-making rather than allocating a ton of talent to tax avoidance, and we would MORE
Allan Sloan, senior editor-at-large - Apr 26, 2013 5:00 AM ET -
Will Ron Johnson return to Apple?
Could the second time also be a charm for Apple and Ron Johnson?
FORTUNE -- Ron Johnson is now unemployed, given the boot as CEO of JC Penney (JCP) after just one year of a failed turnaround strategy. Not surprisingly, Twitter quickly filled with speculation that Johnson could return to his former job as head of Apple (AAPL) retail -- a position that just happens to be vacant.
So I rang up our MORE
Dan Primack - Apr 8, 2013 7:36 PM ET -
Should Apple buy Hungary?
Apple probably won't buy anything big, but if it's looking for ideas ...
By Lee Hower
Yesterday was Apple's shareholder meeting and, as many of you know, there's been healthy debate about what they should do with its $137 billion in cash. I had read somewhere that Apple's cash pile was equivalent to Hungary's GDP so perhaps an activist shareholder should push an acquisition of Hungary rather than thinking small (e.g., MORE
Feb 28, 2013 2:16 PM ET -
How Apple should deal with its cash: Go with the Flo
Progressive has an intelligent, rational, and transparent way to deal with the surplus cash that its operations generate. Apple doesn't.
FORTUNE -- The folks at Apple could learn a lot from Progressive Corp., the auto insurance company made famous by the ubiquitous Flo, star of its endless flow of ads.
Apple doesn't need help from Progressive when it comes to selling products. But Apple could really profit by studying how Progressive deals MORE
Allan Sloan, senior editor-at-large - Feb 22, 2013 5:00 AM ET -
3 lessons for Apple's shareholders
The recent swings in Apple stock prove that a few simple rules of investing always hold true.
FORTUNE -- For most people, Apple mania means buying the company's products and playing with them. But for us financial voyeur types, the fun comes from watching the lunatic lurching of Apple's stock price.
You gotta love it. From the start of last year through its all-time closing high on Sept. 19, Wilshire Associate says, MORE
Allan Sloan, senior editor-at-large - Feb 6, 2013 5:00 AM ET -
Where does Apple stock go from here?
What was once a growth story is now a growth stock and a value play.
By Jon Birger, contributor
FORTUNE -- I'm a nervous investor, so the notion of having all my money in any one stock is anathema. That said, I've owned some Apple (AAPL) for years. My "aha!" moment came when I replaced my old PC with a MacBook in 2009, and I've bought more shares since.
Three years ago, MORE
Dec 6, 2012 5:00 AM ET -
Why you're right to be obsessed with Apple stock
Loading up on the tech giant's shares has been a winning strategy.
By Jon Birger, contributor
FORTUNE -- Just thinking about Terry and Jeanne Gregory's portfolio can be a little scary. Retirees now living in Honolulu, the Gregorys have basically their entire life savings -- about $2.5 million -- invested in just one stock: Apple Inc.
The Gregorys' love affair with Apple (AAPL) flouts every bit of investment advice doled out by MORE
Dec 6, 2012 5:00 AM ET -
Pre-Marketing: Apple should buy Twitter
* Michael Wu: The big data fallacy
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* Patrick Gibson: Apple needs to (quickly) buy Twitter
* Morning Call: U.S. futures point lower, European shares retreat and the Nikkei climbs.
* Rise above: CNBC's move into advocacy
* Warren Buffett: A minimum tax for the wealthy
* LivingSocial: Fab's newest distribution channel
* Kolhatkar & Brady: Jack Welch's unretirement
* Big deal: Baxter in talks to buy Gambro for $4 billion
* Get Liquid: Join us this MORE
Dan Primack - Nov 26, 2012 7:10 AM ET -
Fortune 500: The year of living profitably
America's biggest companies smashed records for earnings in 2011. Too bad the party can't last.
FORTUNE -- Given the sluggish recovery and a strapped consumer, you'd expect to see corporate America trudging along, not racing for glory. In fact, the Fortune 500 are thriving as a group. Unlike the U.S. economy, they've shown quicksilver agility, rapidly shifting their product mix and producing more goods at little new cost. This nimbleness belies MORE
Shawn Tully, senior editor-at-large - May 7, 2012 12:00 PM ETPosted in: aig, apple, AT&T, Bank of America, ExxonMobil, Ford Motor Company, Fortune 500, General Motors, Honeywell, INTL FCStone, Microsoft, wal-mart, wells fargo
