Calling all Croatians...

Recently, APUG sponsor Freestyle Photographic Supplies has started selling the following product:

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/sc_prod.php?cat_id=&pid=1000001828

Efke 400, currently available only in 35mm format, is touted by Freestyle sales dept. as a new product from Fotokemika, and not a re-branded Ilford/whatnot product.

There has been countless speculations, counter-speculations, and I-told-you-so's about the nature of this film. The latest statement on it I received comes from Freestyle, and goes as follow:

Hi Michael

The Efke 400 film is not a re branded film. It is fresh brand new product manufactured in Croatia by Fotokemika.

Thank you.

Marv Keller
Customer Service/Sales Supervisor
Tele: 1.800.292.6137 ext. 203 or 108
Fax: 1.800.616.3686
E-mail: marv@freestylephoto.biz
www.freestylephoto.biz

Now, if there would be someone having any contact with Fotokemika employees, or living in Zagreb and able to have any information to confirm/infirm such a statement, this person would be the first to scoop all the doubtsayers and find out the real dope on Efke 400.

The winner also gets a print from Ole...

I think it's been fairly common knowledge that EFKE were working on a fast 400 ISO film for quite a while.

EFKE have never re-badged other manufaucters film and sold it as EFKE film. On the other hand they used to sell EFKE films under the ADOX brand name. They bought the coating plant etc from Dupont and licensed the film technology & brand name from them. They ceased using the Adox brand name quite a few years ago.

The current Adox Brand name belongs to Fotoimpex in Berlin, who happen to sell EFKE film under the Adox brand name again, but also re-badge other products from Ilford and Forte, and others as Adox - film & paper also chemistry and some equipment.

I'll send you PM with my address for you to send my print from Ole

Ian

Ian, although you are not Croatian, I can deserve an honorable mention for the strength of your logic...

I'm really not up to date with all the rebranding issues (and personally I still wonder what's the point for a film manufacturer to compete against itself), but it seems to be doing more to make customer suspicious than to make them save pennies.

Michael,

There is something to be said for trade mark names. As an example, my Dad used to work for CPC International one of the world's largest food and starch companies, which was later broken up and bought by Unilever and then spun off. You will recognize many of their name brands including Skippy, Mazola, Helmann's Mayonnaise, Nusoft, Bosco, Thomas' English Muffins, Arnold's Bakery, Knorr, Fanning pickels, Best Foods... Well and though this was regional, Helmann's Mayonnaise was sold in certain parts of the US and elsewhere it was Best Foods Mayonnaise. As far as I know the same product though sold under different names.

Maybe a better example is Proctor and Gamble who markets so many different detergents, soaps, and toothpastes.

Leave it to say many companies want the name recognition even if they sell the same item under different labels. So if a company is bought, it may be bought for the trademark due to the name.

Rich

Rich,

What I find astonishing about the photo world is that the same one company/many brands practices that are current in the rest of the industry create confusion rather than indifference. With toothpaste, you get many different brands for the same product, but not in the same market, as you said.

With film, a manufacturer brand like Forte, Foma, etc. is in the same market as the rebranded items (Arista, J&C, Adox, etc). If the film producers didn't have at the same time their "company" brand in addition to their rebranded products, then perhaps the nomenclature confusion would not exist.

Hellman's Mayonnaise and Efke film are really two different kinds of things.

Hellman's is all about the brand in the market in which it's known. That it also happens to be mayonnaise seems a side issue.

Efke makes film, but doesn't particularly do much to market the brand. They just sell film to whoever wants it. The resellers don't make film, but they do marketing, so they try to get an edge with their brand name. Freestyle has taken the gamble that "Efke" has become a recognizable brand and their strength as a retailer will carry the brand, while J&C and Fotoimpex seem to be banking on the historical connection to "Adox," and they're trying to enhance the brand with features like a higher standard of inspection and availability of a greater number of format sizes.

It wasn't long ago that resellers tried to hide these brands, saying that the films were made "In Europe"--if it was France or Germany, I guarantee you, they wouldn't say "Europe."

I thought it was disappointing and amusing when Ben and Jerry's sold out to Unilever. Would you eat "Cherry Garcia from Unilever"?

David A. Goldfarb said:

I thought it was disappointing and amusing when Ben and Jerry's sold out to Unilever. Would you eat "Cherry Garcia from Unilever"?

Click to expand...

I would fear that bubbles might come out of my mouth.