Apple Evaluation Case Essay

In 1996, Apple was a struggling company that had lost more than 70% of its market capitalization in the past decade. Apple’s sales had fell dramatically and their new personal computers weren’t particularly popular with consumers. The return of Steve Jobs to the company was a turning point for Apple and initiated a new era for the firm. With the launch of innovative products such as the iPod, iPhone and iPad, Apple became the biggest brand in the world. Now it remained to be seen if Tim Cook would be able to continue to develop new products and maintain Apple’s success.

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

Since 1976 Apple’s innovation has helped the company become a market leader in computer and mobile electronics. Through this time the company has faced a number of challenges either it be an internal power struggles or criticism from the media for certain aspects of their business model. This report covers five different issues that the company is facing or may face in the future.

In January 9, 2001 Apple introduced iTunes, and later that year on Oct 21 2001, Apple introduced the first iPod. (Apple Introduces iTunes, n.d.)Steve Jobs announcement about the release of the iPod would be the demise of the industry leader in personal music storage devices the Sony Walkman (Walters, 2011). The IPod provided “consumers a device with instant purchasing power and the ability to listen to high quality audio files on the go” (Walters,

Since the iTunes music store was introduced on April 28, 2003, gross music sales have plummeted in the United States - from $11.8 billion in 2003 to $7.1 billion in 2012, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (Covert). Counterintuitively, during that time consumers were buying more music than ever. How is that possible? It 's because iTunes had made digital singles popular and was selling them cheap. This would change the music industry forever. In 2000, Americans bought 943 million CD albums (Covert), and digital sales didn’t even make a dent in comparison. But by 2007, those inexpensive singles overtook CDs by a wide margin, generating 819 million sales compared to just 500 million for the CD.

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 has been the leading force in innovation for the past couple of years, not only does it dominate the mobile-phone industry, it has also transformed the computer industry too. With millions of people using their products today, Apple is one of the most successful companies in the world. However, Apple did not “come all this way” from nothing. It suffered ups and downs just like any other company, with this being said, the way Apple dealt with its problems was the difference between it and any other company.

ITunes created the first legitimate digital music store that competed with piracy. On April 28, 2003, Apple released the iTunes store. The music industry had finally an application to earn money from the sale of digital music, after years of suffering from the power of Napster and piracy. Steve Jobs created a new link between the artist and the customer. Indeed, instead of having to go to a store and

Purchases of luxury products has gone up as purchasing power of consumers continues to increase in different markets. Music industry growth has witnessed soaring heights which is a big social influence on Apple and its products. One of Apple’s main offerings is the music store iTunes and Apple has gained a lot from this social development and change in modern lifestyles.

The shifted new strategy of Apple was initiated by the release of iPod in 2001, followed by the iPhone in 2007, then by iPad in 2012. It was the iPod that brought significant growth in Apple. Initially, the iPod was just another MP3 but soon became the icon of the digital age due to its sleek design and user friendly interface. Moreover, iPod could sync with Windows as well as a Mac and offered accessory markets. Soon enough all the competitor in MP3 market had to face the challenge of consumers comparing their model with iPod. However, the greatest challenge that the competitors had to face was the introduction of iTunes store.

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.

| Weaknesses * It is reported that the Apple iPod Nano may have a faulty screen. The company has commented that a batch of its product has screens that break under impact, and the company is replacing all faulty items. This is in addition to problems with early iPods that had faulty batteries, whereby the company offered customers free battery cases. * There is pressure on Apple to increase the price of its music download file, from the music industry itself. Many of these companies make more money from iTunes (i.e. downloadable music files) than from their original CD sales. Apple has sold about 22 million iPod digital music players and more than 500 million songs though its iTunes music store. It accounts for 82% of all legally downloaded music in the US. The company is resolute, but if it gives in to the music producers, it may be perceived as a commercial weakness. * Early in 2005 Apple announced that it was to end its long-standing relationship with IBM as a chip supplier, and that it was about to switch to Intel. Some industry specialists commented that the swap could confuse Apple's

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,

Apple Inc. is known for their innovative products, combining user-friendly technology and elegant design, Apple’s bite of the consumer electronics market has been getting a little larger year by year. The Apple brand is fun, unique, and memorable because it is such a departure from brands that sound serious and corporate. Apple’s Macintosh computers has always stood out because it looks different from other personal computers and relies on software that even novices can learn. IPod backed by music-driven advertising, the player with the white ear buds immediately became the product of choice for many consumers. Newer models such as the iPod Nano and the iPod Touch have continued the

Meanwhile, the music industry generally refused to see any merit in instituting its own digital distribution. It took a technology company, Apple Inc., to take advantage of this pent-up demand by launching an online Web site (the iTunes Store) in 2003 to sell songs, and later videos, for play on the company’s iPod portable digital media player, using the company’s iTunes music program. By 2006 Apple had sold more than 100 million iPods, and more than 2 billion songs had been downloaded from the iTunes Store, with all of the songs paid for and the royalties returned to record companies and artists.