The Lucky story is a little off-topic, so maybe we'll split it off of this thread at some point.
Anyway, Google turns up this:
That Reddit thread is wrought with misunderstandings, misinterpretations and evidently a lack of concrete information. The factory visit photos function as 'evidence' (at least in how I read this) that Lucky is about to produce color film. Film-wise, the only thing we see in the photos are bits of a confectioning line. No actual coating stuff. The layer stack in the presentation is one of color paper - not film. A Lucky employee is cited as saying that "sure we can do 120 as well; it's just a big sheet of film so it doesn't matter what we cut from it", but that's not really the case, since 120 and 135 go on different bases (although they might decide to cut a
massive corner and ignore the reasons why base materials would have to be different).
From the 'evidence' presented, it's unclear whether lucky is presently capable of coating a color film. They have been in the past, so who knows. It's just a question mark at this point.
Having said that, if they come up with a C41 film let's hope it'll be a decent one and more along the lines of NC500/Shanghai 400 than something resembling Phoenix. It's evidently nice to have Phoenix with its unique, quirky character (and honestly, I hope Harman keep producing it from time to time even after they move on to a more final product), but I think most of us are really looking for a more regular C41 film that also optically prints decently.
On the other hand, it wouldn't surprise me if Lucky's statements about a new C41 film turn out to be a 200-speed Kodak film that they buy as master rolls and then confection in China.
If this is true, it can affect Harman strategy.
How? In the sense that Harman would simply give up? Probably not; they're too invested in it. It may only mean that it'll be a lot more difficult for them to recoup the investment. And frankly, it would have had to be incredibly naïve for Harman to have counted on the market conditions remaining the same when they started with their C41 adventure. Lucky has always been in business; they've been pumping out color paper all the time. Moreover, Harman would have been amply aware of which players have a demonstrated or potential capability of producing a functional color film by the time Harman expects to introduce their final/mature C41 product(s).
It won't affect Harman's
strategy. It may affect Harman's market introduction and their marketing mix (incl. pricing).
