Skip to main content

WSJ: Kodak is trying to sell its online photo gallery business

Kodak Logo
Image used with permission by copyright holder

In the process of clawing its way back to operable financial standing, Kodak is lightening the load and selling off what it can. According to the Wall Street Journal, Kodak is trying to sell its online photo-sharing business to “fund its turnaround.”

The image of a sailor throwing items—and then buckets of water—off a sinking ship comes to mind. Just last week it was revealed the company has sold off its image sensor division to a private company, which presumably doesn’t mean much for its camera manufacturing future. Even if Kodak chooses to produce digital cameras, we wouldn’t expect to see any real innovation or market captivating devices from the brand.

Analysts have mused that Kodak might transition into a behind-the-scenes business, in the sense that its products revolve around the imaging world in a more supplementary way. Business and creative solution services, we mused, might be an ideal category to throw its weight behind: Lighten your load, lose what you can, downsize, and so on and so forth–and pick a sector that’s less expensive and more efficient to focus on.  

While business solutions still might be in the cards, it’s becoming clear that Kodak doesn’t intend to hit up consumers for their post-shoot imaging needs. Kodak is reportedly trying to sell off Kodak Gallery, which provides uploading, sharing, hosting, and photo gift options, to photo-sharing sites, competitors, retailers, and private equity firms for “hundreds of millions of dollars.” Unfortunately the company is in no position to barter: It needs money and it needs money now. Also worth noting is the fact that Kodak Gallery was the product of acquiring a site called Ofoto in 2001 for a price speculated to be below $100 million.

So what’s going to be left of Kodak at the end of the day? That remains to be seen, especially since it isn’t yet clear what the company is choosing to focus on actually selling—only what it’s willing to get rid of in order to stay afloat. Printers and business solutions are still in the mix, but we’ve got a feeling Kodak isn’t quite done reshuffling its divisions yet.  

Editors' Recommendations

Molly McHugh
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Before coming to Digital Trends, Molly worked as a freelance writer, occasional photographer, and general technical lackey…
Fujifilm’s successor to the wildly popular X100V has just landed
fujifilm unveils x100v successor x100vi

FUJIFILM X100VI Promotional Video/ FUJIFILM

Fujifilm has finally unveiled the successor to its super-popular X100V camera.

Read more
How to download Instagram photos for free
Instagram app running on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5.

Instagram is amazing, and many of us use it as a record of our lives — uploading the best bits of our trips, adventures, and notable moments. But sometimes you can lose the original files of those moments, leaving the Instagram copy as the only available one . While you may be happy to leave it up there, it's a lot more convenient to have another version of it downloaded onto your phone or computer. While downloading directly from Instagram can be tricky, there are ways around it. Here are a few easy ways to download Instagram photos.

Read more
Astronaut captures stunning images of a snowy Grand Canyon
A snow-covered Grand Canyon seen from space.

In the final days of his six-month stint aboard the International Space Station (ISS), Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen took some time out of his science work to snap some striking photos of a snow-covered Grand Canyon.

The images were captured from the station in recent days as it orbited Earth at an altitude of around 250 miles.

Read more