The sales of C41 colour film dwarf B&W film many times over. Isn't C41 colour film something like 90% of the still photography market? I recall Henning and possibly Matt saying so recently. So absolutely, Phoenix and the redscale film have the potential to make a significant difference to Harman's cashflow....not that they were in trouble but they've basically been ticking over making a small profit for years, not expanding and not making sufficient profit to modernise production equipment or hire more people. Before too long they'll file their latest figures and we'll get an idea about how the introduction of Phoenix has affected them.
We certainly don't represent the majority. We are a tiny fraction, those dedicated enough to visit a forum and contribute to it. The majority may well be made up of several demographics but they ain't coming here. That's not because Photrio isn't a great place to exchange knowledge, or a great repository of knowledge....it's because the majority of film users never do participate in online discussions and the younger folk who do are on Discord servers, TikTok, Insta and so on.
Ilford really is the biggest name in B&W photography globally. Between the Ilford and Kentmere brands, Harman offers just about every possible product the B&W photographer could ever want. There were three potential ways to expand the business. ...
One would be to advertise more and hope to gain more customers from Kodak/Fuji/Foma/Adox. I'd imagine that's difficult for the market leader, and where those who do have a strong preference (for Kodak or FUji) probably can't be swayed. The fact is, I see Ilford B&W film wherever I go around the UK, Europe, USA, Japan.
Another might be to branch out into something totally different to photography - which they already do to some extent offering their machinery and services for non-photo uses
Or they could branch out into the biggest sector of the industry they have 140 years of experience in....colour film photography. Risks are low, especially as they sell Phoenix to help fund the R&D....and potential rewards are high compared to their turnover.
We should know by the end of September when they file their 2024 accounts....it'll be interesting to compare the figures with recent years.
We certainly don't represent the majority. We are a tiny fraction, those dedicated enough to visit a forum and contribute to it. The majority may well be made up of several demographics but they ain't coming here. That's not because Photrio isn't a great place to exchange knowledge, or a great repository of knowledge....it's because the majority of film users never do participate in online discussions and the younger folk who do are on Discord servers, TikTok, Insta and so on.
Ilford really is the biggest name in B&W photography globally. Between the Ilford and Kentmere brands, Harman offers just about every possible product the B&W photographer could ever want. There were three potential ways to expand the business. ...
One would be to advertise more and hope to gain more customers from Kodak/Fuji/Foma/Adox. I'd imagine that's difficult for the market leader, and where those who do have a strong preference (for Kodak or FUji) probably can't be swayed. The fact is, I see Ilford B&W film wherever I go around the UK, Europe, USA, Japan.
Another might be to branch out into something totally different to photography - which they already do to some extent offering their machinery and services for non-photo uses
Or they could branch out into the biggest sector of the industry they have 140 years of experience in....colour film photography. Risks are low, especially as they sell Phoenix to help fund the R&D....and potential rewards are high compared to their turnover.
We should know by the end of September when they file their 2024 accounts....it'll be interesting to compare the figures with recent years.