Despite the fact that Polaroid is one of the best-known names in photography, its current status is, in fact, a pretty sad thing to talk about. Hence, the famous firm went bankrupt (actually, for the second time around), and all of its assets, brand and intellectual property were bought by the same organization that acquired The Sharper Image after its demise, namely a joint venture led by Gordon Brothers Brands and Hilco Consumer Capital, which includes private equity fund Knight's Bridge Capital Partners and other institutional investors.

As some of you might know, over its 72-year history, Polaroid has developed one of the world's most widely recognized consumer brands, starting with polarized sunglasses, evolving into instant film, camera and camera accessories, and expanding (after the original Polaroid went bust) well beyond into flat panel televisions, portable DVD players, digital photo frames, digital HD camcorders, waterproof digital cameras and more.

Furthermore, Polaroid has managed to bring back the concept of instant-print photography with the ZINK (Zero Ink Printing Technology) enabled printing device. The Polaroid PoGo Instant Mobile Printer offered the ability to print and share 2x3-inch borderless photos and color images from a camera cell phone or digital camera in less than a minute. In 2009, Polaroid unveiled a digital camera with the same printing capabilities, the palm-sized PoGo Instant Digital Camera.

In spite of the fact that the company (or, better said, the brand) has changed hands once again, its future looks promising. The new owners plan to develop a full-scale global licensing and marketing strategy for wholesale, direct-to-retail (DTR) and e-commerce businesses to take advantage of what the name Polaroid still means for so many people.

"The Polaroid brand has immense global appeal that translates into almost all categories," commented Jamie Salter, CEO of Hilco Consumer Capital. "This is a terrific opportunity to unlock Polaroid's brand value and transform its multi-channel platform of diverse and unique consumer products using leading technologies and trend-setting innovations."

Of course, it remains to be seen whether the new owners will manage to get Polaroid afloat again or not, but we certainly hope so, given this brand's heritage and the very large number of products it has managed to release over time.


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