Threat of New Entrants: When Apple first began in the early 1980’s, the threat of new entrants was significant. PCs were a relatively new commodity with little distinction, few competitors, and no government regulation, and although initial R&D was complex, assembly was simple. Unsurprisingly, new firms emerged quickly and forced Apple to differentiate its product over time. This push continued through the years, and ultimately, Apple was forced to create more innovative, unique, and quality products—a dynamic favorable to both Apple and the industry. At the same time, the industry’s dominant players were becoming established, reducing the threat of new entrants and solidifying Apple’s position. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: To build a …show more content…
Although buyer’s bargaining power increased, it forced Apple to make profitable changes to their business plan, resulting in a positive dynamic. Rivalry Among Existing Competitors: Although the number of PC manufacturers has increased since the 1980s, there still remain only a few dominant players who fight hard for market share. Many firms have chosen to compete in price, but Apple has competed with innovation. This is shown in Apple’s high R&D/Sales ratio in Exhibit 5, which routinely trumps that of Dell and HP. This is a mostly negative dynamic for Apple, because even though they spend more, they can’t charge significantly more on this price sensitive product. In the past, Apple struggled in the PC industry because of several factors. First, Apple’s slow speed and a lack of competitive software limited sales, and their software was incompatible with other computers. They also failed to adapt to the market’s need for a lower cost PC, thereby losing the bulk purchases made by businesses investing in new technology. This also had first-time computer users adapting to non-Apple technology, thus instigating a switching cost to buy Apple in the future. In recent years, Apple has adjusted their business strategy, improved their software, and created new technology that has customers willing to pay a premium. To remain successful, Apple must continue doing this. Evidence of success is depicted in Apple’s market value over time (Exhibit 1),
We chose to research Apple Incorporated, one of the most innovative companies of our generation. It is safe to say that nearly every one in the US and many foreign countries have used or at least heard of Apple products. We will be looking at the macroeconomic variables that impact Apple’s business as well as how the current developments in the industry have impacted Apple’s financials and we will also look at how Apple competes with other firms in the same industry.
I learned that Apple is a juggernaut when it comes to their technological products and marketing goals. Apple focuses on the needs of customer’s light years ahead of their competition and even before most consumers have realized they want Apple’s products. Through their innovative marketing involving social media, word of mouth, Apple Stores they have convinced consumers about the high value of their product even lending to the formation of a “Mac cult” for its diehard fans. The way ahead for Apple is not to lose sight of its brand loyalty and continue to service the customers and entice them with the brand’s prestige. Even with the death of Steve Jobs, I believe Apple forge ahead to differentiate itself from the markets they are in.
Technology change has naturally been a major factor in Apple's success. The company played a major role in the shift to a mobile computing society, by developing the personal technology devices that would
However, in spite of the successes of Apple, the Company’s stock price had been dipping since reaching its high
Issue 02: Apple is a wildly successful company that generates billions of dollars in profits every year. This is one of the strongest examples of how a company with the right strategy, great products, a strong leader and the willingness to take some risks can become vastly successful. The market in which Apple is strong has intense rivalry for market share. Apple is challenged with staying ahead of its competitors and maintaining long-term relationships with its customers. In order to stay ahead of the competition Apple is forced to keep product innovation a top priority. I would maintain a Blue Ocean Strategy to market our product and maintain our competitive advantage (McGraw-Hill Irwin, Page 152). The company has a strong and loyal customer base which will allow Apple to concentrate the focus to highlighting the features of our products. I will not focus on what our competitors can and cannot do; I will focus the attention to the benefits of having Apple products. Strategic marketing campaigns highlighting the different uses and features of the popular iPhone and iPad will headline the campaign.
The PC industry is highly competitive and constantly changing as technology evolves and customer needs change. Some of the top competitors in the PC industry are IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Dell and Apple. Theses rivals are constantly jockeying for the top competitor’s position. They compete in prices, product innovation, advertising, etc.
* In 1985, Compaq and IBM do a research and development (R&D) and make move Apple into the mainstream by becoming low-cost producer and joint venture with IBM. This’s one of Apple failure moment and Apple Gross margin drop to 34%.
Apple has prospered internally and it is necessary to consider both strengths and weaknesses. Apple has lots of strengths, the major of them being it’s impressive brand reputation, Apple managed to position the brand as “premium products” for “elite” people. Customers are loyal and tend to stay in Apple’s ecosystem. Apple’s self-reinforcing ecosystem, it has a diverse ecosystem which integrates various hardware and software products into one large interactive space. Status of top innovator, Apple is perceived as the leading innovator and its products are highly anticipated. Apple’s very strong financial performance, high profit margins and very high liquidity. It’s network of retail stores, high-quality customer service helps to create advanced user experience. A powerful marketing strategy, Apple’s team masterly uses various marketing techniques to create a hype for their products and to strengthen the brand.
Diversity in products and their prices helps Apple remain an inelastic company, regarding their demand. If a price rises for one of their products, there is sure to be another product that moves into that previous product’s price range that is still comparable in design and quality. There will always be people to buy the more expensive items not only because of Apple’s positive brand recognition and loyalty, but because Apple consistently produces quality and innovative products; including, if Apple finds a defect or fault, they fix the problem for free or replace the product altogether.
Apple has always been something of a trendsetter in the tech space. Its product history since Steve Jobs’s return in 1997 gives us a solid list of examples to choose from, from its very first iPod, to Apple’s PowerBook (and later MacBook) lines, to the iPhone and the iPad. Apple’s history is dominated by products that existed before Apple had a crack at them - but it was Apple who simplified them, made them appealing on a much wider scale, and ultimately made them objects of desire for the masses.
Nowadays, Apple has positioned itself to be an innovator in the personal computer industry and Apple has developed by offering modern products compared to its competitors. According to Apple’s mission statement last year, “Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.” (Business Management,
Even though Apple has encountered many setbacks, it continues to bring new and improve products to the market. Apple’s competitive strategy has been innovation. They have made an extraordinary effort developing, implementing, and executing its very unique strategy through innovation which has resulted in new product, and the enrichment of the existing ones. More specifically, Apple attempts to meet and supply the needs of a global market, by offering eager and enthusiastic consumers with innovated and high-quality products and services. Apple has employed a differentiation strategy linked to innovation with its three core products (computers, personal media player, mobile phones, tablets and other accessories). A key piece of their strategy involves meeting the needs of the converging digital electronics and computer markets. Apple has elected to implement its strategy by designing and developing proprietary operating systems and software technologies, thus allowing for strict protection of its intellectual rights.
Apple Inc. has launched its iPhone in January 2007 (telegraph) as a new product in the market with latest technology and it was the first multi touch smartphone adding the feature of iPod and received an overwhelmed response by selling 270000 units. It had created a new record for a new company like apple, iPhone had laid a stepping stone for the success of Apple and till this time iPhone is the best seller product of Apple Inc. during first quarter of 2016 apple has sold over 74 million iPhones worldwide. (statista, 2016).
One key element of Apple’s strategy in computers, personal media players, tablet computers, and smart phones is product innovation, diversification and development. Over the years Apple has been very successful in integrating software and hardware in new developing products. Despite the struggling economy in recent years, Apple has been able to grow their market share and stay ahead of the game.
It is beyond all doubt that Apple Inc is one of the most successful and well-known companied all over the world nowadays. What’s more, the company is considered to be the leader of the industry The Apple products are of high quality and in high demand on all the markets. Apple services and stores are the gold standards for all the followers and niche players of the industry. Moreover, the majority of Apple customers are extremely loyal to the brands. Once they started using its high-technical products they keep doing it. At the same time the market share of the company is increasing constantly. Probably all the competitors are questioning what is the key to Apple Company’s success. It is important to note that the whole strategy determines the success of the business and the strategic analysis of the company can help to identify the main criteria. Thus, the object of the research paper is to develop a strategic analysis of Apple Inc, including its internal and external environment.