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Essay On Apple Inc

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Case Analysis: Apple Inc., 2012

IBM introduced the personal computer into the mainstream in the 1980’s, after Apple pioneered the first usable “personal ” computing devices. By the early 1990’s, lower price and expanding capabilities drove the growth of “Wintel” (the windows OS combined with an Intel processor). The revenue growth continued through the early 2000’s then lowed over the next decades. The personal computer (PC) industry is in high dynamics, with new products emerging and old technology being abandoned quickly. With the requirement of cost cutting and the development of emerging market, contract manufacturing in Taiwan and China became popular. The dynamics are mainly driven by cost components cutting, software and hardware …show more content…

Almost the same, Microsoft had dominated the OS market since the IBM PC in the 1980s. Microsoft operating systems are used in 90% of computers, giving it substantial bargaining power.
CUSTOMERS:
PC buyers fell into five categories: Home, SMB, corporate, education, and government. These different types of buyers have different preferences towards PC. The strength of the PC buyers has evolved from the availability of numerous substitutes and fierce competition in PC industry. The switching cost for home and SMB buyers are relative low, while the switching cost for corporate, education and government may be high. PC buyers can access to information easily and are usually price sensitive. With the significant shift occurred in distribution, buyers are no longer dependent on a single channel to get the products.
Backward integration is also a factor, contributing the strength of buyers bargain power, since it’s becoming common that people are building their own computer systems. To sum up, the buyers have high bargain power.
COMPETITIVE RIVALRY
The fierce competition among the existing companies is mainly about product functions, cost control, prices and etc. Hewlett-Packard (HP) outsourced most of its production to Asia and lowered its costs. Dell won the second largest market share with its distinct combination of direct sales and build-to-order manufacturing. Lenovo dominates China, the fastest growing PC market in the world. By acquiring

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