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Walgreen’s Joins Wal-Mart in Ditching Kodak for Fuji
Walgreen’s is officially
kicking Kodak to the curb in favor of Japanese-owned Fuji. Kodak used to be
the sole provider of photo-developing services to America’s largest
drugstore chain, but now Walgreen’s has over 4,000 Fuji computer kiosks and
1,500 stores now use Fuji one-hour developing equipment. Wal-Mart switched
to Fuji a few years ago saying “the sooner America realizes how American
Fuji is, the better.” I suppose it would have been “better” for Wal-Mart.
If you read the news last week
about Kodak’s plan to eliminate 12,000 to 15,000 jobs, you may figure it’s
just as well. But Kodak is Rochester, New York’s biggest employer. The jobs
of 21,000 workers there rely on jobs involved with film and paper
production, packaging and distribution. These are the very jobs threatened
by Walgreen’s latest move, and if Walgreen’s decides to switch completely to
Fuji, Kodak might have no other choice but to lay off even more American
workers.
Ninety percent of all the film
Kodak sells to our market is made domestically, although Kodak makes none of
their cameras here. But then again, no other cameras are made here either,
except for Fuji’s one-time use cameras. Kodak recently closed the New York
plant that used to make their one-time use cameras.
Is this a reason to snub Kodak
in favor of Fuji? The answer is no, and I’ll explain why. It is almost
always better to support American-owned companies. Perhaps syndicated
columnist Charley Reese said it best when he said “it is easier to persuade
American companies to bring jobs back than it is to persuade foreign
companies to keep jobs here.” Mr. Reese stated he believes that if Japanese
companies are forced to choose between what’s in the best interests of their
American subsidiaries and what’s in the best interest of Japan, they will
choose Japan – and he’s right.
A couple of recent news
articles back this up. First, the Wall Street Journal reported on Jan. 30
that Japanese camera and film maker Canon “wants to ‘preserve its core
competence’ by retaining as much manufacturing as possible in Japan.”
Although Canon gets about 75% of its revenue from overseas, the company
keeps 60% of its production in Japan, and plans to spend 80% of its
financial capital there in the next three years to bolster research and
development.
The second article featured
Intel, who produces 50 million chips annually in China, but maintains their
roots in America, where most of their product value and profits are
generated. Intel’s main plant in China is a testing and assembly facility
that uses mostly American-made silicon wafers. Of the total product value,
the Shanghai plant contributes less than 5%.
In most cases, we as American
consumers need to show loyalty to American companies whenever possible. How
can we expect American companies to show loyalty to American workers
otherwise? I wonder how many American now upset over Kodak’s closing of
their one-time use camera facility indiscriminately bought either Fuji or
Kodak over the last several years. It’s entirely possible that had more
Americans been loyal to the home team, Kodak’s domestic plant would still be
open.
It’s a simple fact that
American companies must have adequate profits with which to pay the higher
wages we demand in this country. I’m not saying that there is no element of
greed whatsoever in the Kodak company, as there is a certain element of
greed in all companies, foreign-owned and American-owned alike. What I am
saying is that we need to continue to support the American company in this
case, because if Kodak folds, only foreign companies remain (Polaroid has
already filed for bankruptcy). How much loyalty do you think we’ll be able
to drum up through corporate responsibility speeches then? Corporate
responsibility ploys don’t work on foreign-owned companies since they have
no loyalty to America. Their loyalty is to their home country, and it is a
loyalty that must be understood and respected. Any American who has
nationalistic pride in America must have respect for others who have
nationalistic pride in their home country.
America needs a strong
American company in every single industry, and if you’re talking cameras and
film, Kodak’s it. Therefore, a previous either/or situation for me as to
whether to shop at Walgreen’s or the Eckerd’s across the street has become
abundantly clear. Eckerd’s still uses Kodak paper and processing
exclusively, and they have plenty of American-made Kodak film for my Kodak
Advantix camera.
Roger Simmermaker, Author
How Americans Can Buy American
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