Kodak, Tennessee Kodak, Tennessee Kodak is an unincorporated community in Sevier County, Tennessee, United States. It is located along State Highway 139 and State Highway 66, and just south of Interstate Highway 40 and Knoxville, Tennessee. The elevation of Kodak is about 896 feet (273 meters) above sea level. Kodak was named in 1892 when the local postmaster, Harvey N. Underwood, learned of the new "Kodak" brand of camera. Underwood decided that this was a name that was easy to remember and spell, hence he sought permission from the founder of Eastman Kodak, George Eastman, to use this name for his village
Kodak selling inexpensive cameras and making large margins from consumables – film, chemicals and paper. As late as 1976, Kodak commanded 90% of film sales and 85% of camera sales in the U.S. Japanese competitor Fujifilm entered the U.S. market (via Fuji Photo Film U.S.A.) with lower-priced film and supplies, but Kodak did not believe that American consumers would ever desert its brand. Kodak passed on the opportunity to become the official film of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics; Fuji won these sponsorship rights, which gave it a permanent foothold in the marketplace. Fuji opened a film plant in the U.S.,