Strategic Marketing Responses of Multinationals in Kenya: a Case Study of Eastman Kodak Company

Abstract

Photographic industry has over the years been known to be one of the lucrative ventures especially in the local market. This has been facilitated by the fact that it requires heavy capital investment and a skillful art which has been a great hindrance of new industrial entrants, therefore making it a reserve of the few who went on to dictate the prices. The industry has been dominated by Multinationals who supply almost all the consumables as well and the technology involved in processing. Spanning over five decades now, the local market has been dominated by four major competitors namely Eastman Kodak, Fuji, Agfa and Konica in that order. The famous Polaroid wrapped up its market share as competition and technological challenges took to new heights in the 1980s. However, over the recent past, stiff competition has been experienced in the industry forcing more competitors to close shop including Konica and Agfa. This has forced Eastman Kodak to device not only survival strategies in but also long-term and growth oriented strategies to retain and gain more market share. Therefore this study focuses on those factors that have influenced those strategies.