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EXCLUSIVE: Officeworks drops Kodak, moves to Fujifilm

Officeworks has confirmed to PhotoCounter that it has chosen Fujifilm to replace Kodak Alaris as photo services equipment and consummables providor in its 160 stores and online. 

‘Officeworks has identified global leader in photo capture and processing Fujifilm Australia as the preferred supplier for its photo services,’ wrote Officeworks PR and Social Media manager, Carla Carafa. 

‘By partnering with Fujifilm Australia, Officeworks will be able to offer its customers a more expansive range of photo products to choose from via a more consolidated back-end system.’ 

National accounts manager John Wilson, a 20 year veteran at Kodak, left the company last week along with another well-known Kodak staffer, Matthew Briscoe-Hough, according to another Kodak Alaris staff member. (Source: LinkedIn)

The loss of Officeworks is a body blow to Kodak Alaris in Australia, and has led to the loss of key personnel. According to industry rumours, and (unofficially) confirmed by a Kodak Alaris employee, John Wilson left the company on return from annual leave in early February, and at the same time Matthew Briscoe-Hough left. Industry insiders inform PhotoCounter that both executives were made redundant. 

Kodak Alaris marketing manager, Michael Palm, has simply ignored repeated phone calls and emails for clarification of what’s actually going on, not even bothering to professionally ‘decline to comment’. When ‘what’s going on’ involves the possible departure of an individual’s colleagues, the silence is difficult to understand.  

(As the publication of record of the Australian and New Zealand photo industry, we would be a bit miffed by the discourtesy, but this seems to be the professional standard of communications the company holds to!)

John Wilson was account manager for Officeworks from 2005 to 2014, having secured the contract for digital photo processing in 2004 ‘after an extensive store trial and tender process against Fujifilm’ according to his business biography.

For the past two years he has overseen the ‘ownership and development’ of Kodak Alaris mass merchant accounts: Officeworks, Kmart, Target, The Good Guys and Myer.

Matthew Briscoe-Hough’s role has been focussed on the equipment and equipment maintenance side of the operation. 

Business director (ie, general manager) at Kodak Alaris, Stephen Nichols, has been either on holidays or unavailable ‘for personal reasons’ since the beginning of the year.

 

 

 

4 Comments

  1. anonymous anonymous February 15, 2017

    Finally things are starting to bite Kodak on the ar**.

    A company so big and so powerful in its time somehow forgot how to support the small players from day dot and now the big players are playing ball their way.

    Good luck to Fuji as for me Kodak lost me many years ago in some other life.

  2. VOR VOR February 15, 2017

    Firstly I’m so sorry that the only good guy left at Kodak in John Wilson has parted ways. Good bloke!
    Secondly… kodak “Alaris” has not learnt any lessons from their dark past of how they bullied their customers and trade partners. Unfortunately they have a recipe for disaster in out dated products and the same old wrong people running the company.
    Time for a clean out from the top!
    Finally if true and Fuji is going to be getting into bed with Officeworks….look out independents! Those still supporting Fuji….what the hell are you doing!

  3. John doe John doe February 18, 2017

    Well this could start a price war between big w, harveys,and officeworks..5c prints.. with fuji laughing all the way.
    could this mean kmart changing from kodak to fujifilm too.
    officeworks and kmart owned by the same company.

  4. Chris Braham Chris Braham April 21, 2018

    Why doesn’t Manual Correction work in the Fuji kiosks at Officeworks I have tried getting staff to be interested in the problem three times with different staff including people in charge but they have said it is up to Fuji and haven’t seemed to know who to contact and not confident anything can bs done. On the kiosk program it looks like you should be able to manually adjust brightness and contrast but when you change either nothing happens. How do I get Fuji interested? It is disappointing.

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