Case Study: Apple
Apple Inc. focuses on the design, manufacture, and marketing of personal computers, mobile phones, multimedia devices, and portable music players. Apple Inc. offers consumers manufactured goods under the brand names Apple Watch, iPhone, iPad, Mac, iPod, and Apple TV. Enhancing the customer experience through their proprietary software applications iOS, X, OS, and watchOS brands; and services across their Apple Pay and iCloud products (Forbes.com, 2016). Explored in detail, Apple’s history, current competitive advantage, market share, and how organizations strengthen and sustain their competitive advantage. The evaluation of possible threats or weaknesses and recommendations for diversification into related businesses, through the examination of a case study, by John E. Gamble and Lou Marino (2012).
Apple
Apple History
From their humble beginnings in 1976, Apple Inc., founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Woznick, entered its fortieth year in the computer and multimedia industry on April 1, 2016, with a market cap of $586 billion (Forbes.com, 2016). For more than thirty years Apple focused primarily on the personal computer market and in 2006 held a modest, less than five percent of the market share. In October 2001, Apple introduced the iPod, a portable digital music player, to the field of digital music players and within four years Apple 's share of the entire mobile music device market stood at 76%. The iPod gave an immense boost to Apple 's financial results.
Revenues are recognized in a net basis and only commissions they retain from each sale are reflected under the company’s financial statements.
A competitive strength assessment reveals that Apple’s success is unmatched. They have been able to maintain the leading industry position while developing and introducing new products. Stock price is continuously rising and products are always improving. The current products are improved with software updates and new products are improved by
Apple Inc. started off as a small computer company and rose to prominence over the following years. They faced great challenges and obstacles to evolve and become one of the top notch corporations today. Having a great CEO, Steve Jobs, is credited for the success of Apple. Under the leadership of Steve Jobs, Apple was able to innovate industry changing technology.
The multi billion-dollar corporation, Apple Inc., designs and manufactures some of today’s highest technological gizmos and gadgets. Among their best known products are the Apple and Macintosh computers, iPods, iTunes, iPhones and iPads. Apple is one of the most powerful and influential high tech companies in the world. The success of Apple Inc. stems from the innovation and visions of co-founder and entrepreneur, Steve Jobs, the excellence of the stylish, user-friendly products, and the ability to create innovative products that consumer’s desire.
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.
Based in Cupertino, California, Apple Inc. has become one of the titans of the technological industry in the 39 years since it was created in the spring of 1976. This growing company employees over 115,000 people and has 450 retail stores in 16 different countries. With an annual revenue of $233 billion in 2015 Apple Inc. is the most prosperous technological company in the world. Along with its many retail locations Apple also runs the online Apple Store making it a truly global brand. Over the years Apple has expanded their product line; in its infancy the company specialized in personal computers but more recently the main product line is phones and tablets. Apple’s other significant products include computer software and other consumer electronics (iPod, Apple Watch, and Apple computers).
Apple, incorporated. Created by innovative CEO Steve jobs (who recently passed away) and with the support of Steve Wozniak, is now a multinational corporation that’s focuses on consumer electronics, computer software, and commercial servers. With its broad line of revenue including: the apple computer, iPod, iPhone, iPad, and Mac apple strived for success with the idea to reach all consumers as its target market. The company started from Steve Jobs parent’s garage to its first building in Cupertino, California in 1977. The first computer (Apple I) was created in 1976 and sold to a local computer store called “The Byte Shop” offered at 500 dollars per assembled computer. This became the first computer to display text at 60 characters per
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is one of the world leaders in the research, development, marketing, sales and service of personal digital music & video devices, in addition to personal computers globally. Its' innovative music and digital content delivery service, iTunes, has sold over 1 billion songs to date. As of the close of their latest fiscal year the company generated $156B in Sales and generated a Gross Profit of $68B earning a Net Income of $41B (Apple Investor Relations, 2013). The intent of this analysis is to evaluate Apple's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) and provide an analysis of each. The cause, impact and recommendations for each specific strength, weakness, opportunity and threat are provided along with an action plan of how to maximize strengths and opportunities and mitigate the effects of weaknesses and threats. The Apple brand is among the most valuable in the world and its ability to innovate with successive product generations unmatched, yet this has led to a high dependence on its iPhone and iPad platforms, to the exclusion of entirely new businesses. The Apple iTunes platform and ecosystem delivers 30% of all profits and a significant portion of overall revenue, making this single business a stabilizing force in their strategic product and services roadmap (Apple Investor Relations, 2013). Despite these challenges however Apple continues to attain
Apple Inc. is a corporation that designs and manufactures computer hardware, software and other consumer electronic products. The company is known for the Macintosh personal computers, iTunes media applications and the iPod personal music players. Apple was founded in April 1976 by Steven Wozniak and Steve Jobs, both college dropouts. In 1976, Wozniak and Jobs created the Apple I computer which did not have a keyboard or power supply for a computer hobbyist club. Later that summer Wozniak started his development of the Apple II, which
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.
Apple Inc. is a globally recognised pioneer in the tech industry. It is a corporation that designs, develops and sells electronic products such as tablets, computers and phones. Founded by Ronald Wayne, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976, it is a multinational corporation with headquarters in Cupertino, California. Tim Cook has been CEO since Jobs’ passing in 2011.
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).
This paper presents a case study of Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is a technology based corporation with emphasis on computer software and hardware (MAC and Apps), tablets (IPad), smart phones (IPhone), and mp3 plays, (ITouch). Apple Inc. has grown tremendously over the years and ever since 2001 has expanded its brand and retail stores to over 375 stores/outlets globally. The business has seventy two thousand eight hundred employees in thirty eight countries. Apple Inc. has truly become one of the most efficacious corporations within its field behind or competing with Microsoft and Google Inc.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Customer relation management (CRM) is a cross functional enterprise system that computerizes numerous customers serving form in direct marketing, sales, customer service and accounting management. CRM allows a company to distinguish and focus on their best customer so that they can be held as a loyal customer for a longer period of time.
Apple Inc. is a multinational corporation that specializes in the production of consumer and business computers, electronics, and software. The company was established on April 1, 1976 by three individuals named Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne. It was then incorporated on January 3, 1977 and was initially known as Apple Computer, Inc. for 30 years thereafter, until it was changed to Apple Inc. on January 9, 2007, so as to include a more diverse line of products to the market than just computers, as the former name suggested.