swot analysis

Apple has a lot of potential to grow. Apple’s competition is growing but so is the market for smart phones. Currently Apple has the second largest market share of smart phones after Samsung. But apple’s market share has been growing. There is a lot of potential for Apple to penetrate virgin markets such as Africa were the economy is improving

With Apple the Growth has been substantial and it can be stated that the Products have reached a maturity stage and hence there is a chance of decline. This has also been evidenced to certain extent as Samsung has taken over as the market leader in the mobile phone segment. The emergence of cheaper brands like Lenovo etc has also been a challenge for IT products of Apple. However it is also true that Apple has always focussed on consumer trends and demands and thus has been capable of avoiding the decline stages. Further market development and diversification strategies have been suitably implemented

sales for the past few years. Furthermore the financial analysis showed that a big part of the net sales is generated by complementary products which can be connected to the sales of Macs, iPhones and iPods.

The most significant weakness for Apple is paradoxically its greatest strength as well. Having streamlined their new product development process and the ability to quickly define, engineer and release highly profitable products that have innate differentiation designed into them, Apple finds it very difficult to move down-market. It's most strategic threat is the inability to thwart the onslaught of low-priced competitors that are invading its core markets (Apple Investor Relations, 2013). Apple relies on the highly differentiated nature of its user experience combined with a pricing strategy that further galvanizes its position at the high end of the market. Moving down market to compete is the most strategic threat the company faces.

One major change for the company in the near future is the sales growth for MacBook’s. Once Apple update their MacBook’s software they can expect an increase in sales. The MacBook’s have been operating off the same software since they have been released. Apple other products have had multiple updates since their release dates. To ensure that customers continue to buy MacBook’s they will have to update the systems or they will become obsolete. As of right now Apple is leading in the tables, and cellular devices industries. Apple should continue to be product and customer driven. The qualities that Apple have lets them make products that are essential to the customer’s everyday lifestyle.

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.

4.     Threat of Product Substitutes: In today’s society being first to market is one of the best ways to obtain market share and it forces competitors to catch up while you continue to innovate. Apple was successful at doing this with the i-Pod, where competitors are just finally catching up although they might be too late. The computer industry was completely saturated with substitute products Apple found a new industry to compete in which allowed it to diversify itself.

Apple’s fundamental business model has not changed since it first began business in the late 1980’s. While being a leader in innovation, Apple has consistently produced proprietary hardware and software, eventually leading to a loss of market share in any particular market they have ventured into. Even though it has learned from some mistakes, Apple’s actions in the past few years have not shown a change from the core reasons for its failures and unless new actions are taken its current market lead will eventually dwindle.

Apple Company keeps increasing with its sales, this is primarily due to apples competitive edge over other companies with its products and the services it provides. Apple Inc. is very competitive and like to have the upper hand in all products their competitors sell. Apple paid a total of $6 billion for this year’s research and development to have the upper hand on new technology’s and better products. Just last quarter in 2014, the Company introduced many new products like the, iPad Air, its fifth generation iPad and iPad mini with Retina display. Apple also announced there release of the iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite at the Worldwide Developer Conference in June 2014. In September 2014, the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, and Apple pay were introduced. Then in October 2014, Apple introduces iPad Air 2, iPad mini 3, I Mac with Retina 5k Display, updated its Mac mini, and previews the Apple Watch for all to see. There content developing and innovative technology is always what keeps them ahead of their competitors. Not only does Apple sell quality products but they always provides quality support. Apple provides warranty and product support with it AppleCare which offers a range of support options for the Apple customers. Which is helpful when issue occur in the Company’s products. This makes it easy for customers to get the help they want and keeps the customers satisfied.

Every company’s biggest challenge is competition. In analyzing the 2012 case study, it can be said that Apple’s biggest challenge is competition and new entrants to the market. Their supplier power is high, buyer power is high, and substitute goods concerns is relatively high. The case study highlighted that as Apple continued to successfully produce great products, and increased sales worldwide, competitors saw Apple as a threat and tried to copy their style. According to the case study, Apple’s biggest concerns for the company going into the third quarter in 2012, were how Google’s entry into the market for smartphones and tablets would affect the company’s sales of the iPhones and iPads. In 2011, iPad and iPhones contributed tremendously to boosting the company’s performance in 2011 and 2012. Apple’s biggest competitor with regards to mobile devices is Samsung, which managed to attain the title of the world’s largest smartphone seller in 2011 and early 2012.

Apple Inc. has been able to continuously stay one step ahead of its competition by creating innovative and unique products that customers enjoy. Looking at the industry environment, stiff competition poses a large threat to Apple at this time, as well as rising labor costs in China, and third the ability of a company to imitate an Apple product. The main competitors to Apple are Samsung, Microsoft, and Google. One important external factor that is favorable for Apple at this time would be the continued growing popularity of digital devices as well as the increased use of social media. Apples brand recognition in the industry is very high, meaning its reputation is very good among its customers. In addition existing substitute products to Apple’s are relatively weak and do not come with as many features. As a result Apple can raise and lower its prices without the threat of losing many customers, which is in part why the company has a lot of market power at this time.

One factor that the company uses to penetrate the market is the fact that Apple deals in a variety of products, those of outstanding importance are the iPhone, laptops, desktop computers, the iPad, iPods and services like offering the iTunes. This way, the company

The range of products that apple manufactures makes it vulnerable to competition because there are many other companies making the same product at a cheaper price. Although Apple products cost the highest in the market, the demand for Apple products has only gone up. Apple has kept it this way with its various innovative designs and improvements in features. Apple products are very easy to understand, use and learn.

A weakness of Apple is the prices; this one weakness can make a big impact on sales. Price is normally the determining factor behind the purchase. Nowadays people are looking for ways to save money, so when two choices are presented one may go with the cheaper just to save money. Opportunities would be the growing demand for notebooks, and threats would be third party dependence. Apple evaluates all of these as a whole, and is left with a better understanding of where the company is going (Apple, 2008).

Also, Apple should focus on price differentiation because if Apple has to emphasize on the acquisition of new customers then they would look for options. Differentiation in pricing and more availability of the products to the target market would be a viable solution for attaining a larger share of the market. Additionally, the product range would become more attractive in the emerging markets because Apple can direct its marketing activities towards these markets as well. Diversifying the prices and entering into emerging markets would minimize the risks and produce more opportunities of gaining bigger global market share. For that matter, Apple would have to explore newer retail channels, as mentioned earlier.