The 'Big Three' snap up the film business - Kodak, Polaroid and Fuji

Discount Store News, Oct 4, 1993

The "Big Three," a term typically used in discounting to refer to Wal-Mart, Kmart and Target, certainly lends itself to the film category, which is also dominated by three big names: Kodak, Polaroid and Fuji.

These leaders have gone to great lengths to make an impact on the film industry.

This year Kodak made the largest introduction of new products in its history, helping it once again secure the No. 1 spot in DSN's Top Brands Survey of store managers.

It should be no surprise that 98% of store managers named Kodak as one of their top performing brands in the film category, up from 97% last year.

While Polaroid kept the No. 2 spot, the brand received fewer mentions this year, 47% vs. 60% last year. But with the introduction of its new Captiva camera (see story, this page), Polaroid expects to see increases in sales of its Captiva 95 film, a new personal, pocket-size format film designed especially for the camera.

Polaroid also has been having success with its High Definition film. The company says the film lets consumer take pictures in different lightning conditions and delivers a better photo image.

This trend of better quality film is running rampant in the industry and has helped Fuji, No. 3 in the survey, keep its spot, with 35% of store manager mentions. While the brand received 47% of mentions last year, the introduction of its new Fujicolor Super G color print film and an advertising push for its film brand will keep it competitive. In addition, the brand is top of mind due to an array of promotions.

Backed by the strength of the No. 2 discounter Kmart, Focal eclipsed Scotch/3M as the No. 4 brand in the survey. Focal, Kmart's private label brand, received 41% of mentions as a top performer at Kmart vs. 37% last year.

Scotch/3M, which tied with Focal last year with 11% of mentions, is now in fifth place with 7% of mentions. Scotch/3M recorded its higher percentage of mentions among managers at Wal-Mart, 16%.

The remaining brands, Canon, Minolta, Duracell, Yashica and General Electric, all received very few mentions among store managers. In fact, Minolta, Yashica and General Electric are new to the survey. [TABULAR DATA OMITTED]

Kodak strengthened its hold across all regions of the nation, with 100% of mentions in the Northeast, South and West and 95% of mentions in the North Central region.

Polaroid made its strongest showing in the South and North Central region, but was weakest among the "Big Three" film brands in the West.

The West is where Fuji continues to make its mark, with varying degrees of mentions in the other regions surveyed.