The story of the Kodak Four

It was while walking past the Radio Shack kiosk Consumer Electronics Show 2025 I spied a Kodak stand not far ahead. And that was while thinking about the fate of these two floors – well maybe not Floors – Names you spied on last The Kodak booth is two rows away. For a company that has been dead more than a few times, it’s definitely enjoying something of a renaissance. Look, it’s not like there haven’t always been brands that die and are revived in the pursuit of a quick buck. Especially if the price is cheap and there is any residual degree of affection for it, but despite that there are a lot of them now. Do we need four different companies selling Kodak-branded products?

Perhaps the most egregious example at this year’s show came from Mizari, a Los Angeles-based company that sells the devices under various names. This year, it has been showcasing a range of products under the Memorex brand, including e-bikes, scooters and golf clubs. If you’re not familiar, Memorex made recordable media in the analog era: computer tapes, cassette tapes, VHS, CDs, and eventually DVDs. Its slogan was “Is it alive or is it a memorex?” It has superior sound quality. Does this logo also work for e-bikes, scooters and golf caddies? This is less clear.

Company representatives said using the Memorex name was an experiment to see how the public liked the brand. They target people over 40 who remember what they recorded on their sticky tapes. At the same time, they are targeting younger generations who may feel the appeal of this old name, since we seem to be in an age where anything old is inherently laudable. Mizzari also holds a license for Delorean, albeit only to make e-bikes, scooters and go-karts for kids, you know?

RadioShack has been passed from owner to owner since the application was initially placed Chapter 11 in 2015. In May 2023, it was purchased by Unicomer, a RadioShack franchisee from Central and South America that is now relaunching the parent brand in the United States. It will, like many such companies, act as a distributor, adding its name to a variety of products made elsewhere. Its range is already 400 products strong, from gaming keyboards and mice to portable projectors and speakers. The idea, as you may have guessed, is to take advantage of the fact that people will likely remember the name of this product over some generic product they’ll find among the dregs on Amazon.

Two nearby Kodaks share the Kodak name, but very little else: One displays the Kodak Mini Shot (main image), made by Prinics. Walk 50 yards down the plush CES carpet and you’ll find another Kodak (pictured above), this one selling digital photo frames and tablets. Staff at both wings are happy to talk about which part of Kodak’s sprawling license they’re paying for. Hell, Kodak’s last booth was also advertising the same products under the Thomson name, an old French electronics company that was rebranded as Thales 25 years ago.

After a short walk, you will soon find a large stand from RCA, which also bears the names Thomson and Blaupunkt. The three are nothing more than names and logos placed on products shipped from various manufacturers. RCA is best known for manufacturing radios and other electronics before branching out into broadcasting, music, and movies. So it’s also natural that you can buy an RCA-branded e-bike and scooter, taking advantage of all those bikes RCA made when your pop was in diapers.

Next to the Memorex-branded Mizari displays, there was a third Kodak booth that I stumbled upon, displaying a wide range of products. This included smartwatches, cameras, binoculars, halo mirrors, and Bluetooth speakers, all made by different licensees. In every sense of the word Two compartmentsHe was last The Kodak platform, this time from C&A Global, which makes Kodak-branded photo printers (and HP Sprocket) as well as projectors and scanners.

I’m not sure I need to be waving my hands and trying to make some sort of grand point about all of this. One hand, it doesn’t matter. A lot of low-cost products are sold to people who won’t question their purchases. Given how common the practice of buying a dead brand and imposing it on everything you sell is, it has to be profitable enough to justify doing so. But it leaves me scratching my head, wondering who would remember the 90s tape company and want to ride an e-bike with their logo on the side. Or who believes there is any confidence left in the Kodak brand given the near-optimal dilution levels it is subjected to. Perhaps the true remaining value of these companies is a reminder to all other tech brands that this is the fate that awaits them if they continue to mess around.