Apple Inc. Case 2010

1. What, historically, have been apples warlike advant elds? apple has had various competitive advantages since its origin until the present. Firstly, orchard apple trees concept has continuously been its hallmark. Beginning with the freshman apple I till the iPad 2, orchard apple tree products have change the development of the marketplace many times, specially during the last decade, with the first iPods lunch. Although Apples oneness technologies have not been walkthroughs created by the club itself, it has developed the characteristics of these technologies and combined them in a way that had never been done before.One of Apples main ways to put in is through the ease of white plague of its products, another(prenominal) of its big competitive advantages. Apples products be popularly considered as genuinely intuitive and, although MP3 players already existed in 2001 or multi-touch surfaces in 2007, products like the iPod and iPhone allow the use of these technologies and devices in a precise hard-nosed way with an al approximately vertical tuition curve. Besides this ease-to-use, Apple has plug & international axerophtholere play oriented designs devices ready to be used with a serial publication of peripherals without requiring introductory knowledge.This has led Mac computers to be digital hubs of the refreshing digital devices. Moreover, Apple has always had a proprietary design. Apple has never licensed any of its products or designs (except during Spindlers management). This means that it has always had a encompassing control over its value chain, from the designs from come upon of their computers, till the softw ar and its marketing or gross revenue. It has a roomyly vertical unified business and nowadays, it is even beginning to design its own microchips. This has led to a very unique distinctiation that can be hardly found in competitors products.That is why one of Apples most typical characteristics are its products elegan t and progressive industrial designs and superior software (OS). solely components of its products are perfectly integrated and determine altogether better than separated. Apples design process consists of a series of activities that can be hardly copied. Finally, it is very important to highlight Apples brand image and the whole glossiness created around it. As Jobs says, Apple products are intended to be a heathenish force.Apple delivers through its products complete solutions and experiences, different to the use of any other go withs products. Its devices are considered as iconic within their correspondent markets and the troupe is seen as a leader of the digital age. Apple has always had a square(p) base of loyal customers and its brand is curtly one of the best known in the world. Furthermore, Steve Jobs chief operating officer is considered as an innovation guru and has been named CEO of the decade, boosting Apples popularity even high, if possible. 2. disassemble the private computer industry.Are the dynamics fond or problematic for Apple? The personal computer industry is a super concentrated market. The four top PC vendors (Acer, Dell, HP and Lenovo) control the 55% of oecumenical shipments. It is a competition intense domain given the low switching cost of the industry. Growth has been driven by a decrease of prices and expansion of capabilities, with consequently higher sales volumes, but with a relatively smaller growth in revenues. PC components are going through a standardization process and PC citers are cutting expenditures in R&D.Due to the aforementioned low switching be and the low differentiation among vendors, the threat of transform products is very high in the industry. However, scorn the low product differentiation, vendors have strengthened conceptive brands and the investments required to enter the field are very high, for what the entrance of new competitors with similar volume and brand sense as the pres ent top vendors is quite unlikely. The completely open way for competitors bets to be the white-box market (with around 30% of sales in 2009), but these machines cover only the desktop market.Regarding the clients power, they have a wide range of very similar products in design, capabilities and price to choose from, for what the switching cost are very low, as mentioned. PC vendors customers are therefore in a strong position to push them in the desired direction. On the other hand, PC findrs have also high negotiate power in their relationships with their suppliers, as PC components are widely available at very competitive prices (excluding microprocessors and operating systems).As for Apple, the celestial spheres dynamics involve two favorable and problematic characteristics. The still hegemonic wintel systems make Apples products a strong and very differentiated alternative. Moreover, home consumers are the biggest segment in the industry, a class that values design, mob ility and connectivity, some features in which Apple is a leader. On the other hand, the company may have an overall minor base of potential clients willing to draw the knowledge to operate its devices.Despite the fall in prices and increase in capabilities that the market requests, something that could seem problematic to any player in the sector, Apple is still able to head aid prices through design and substance abuser experience differentiation, without requiring to push its devices capabilities over the average. exclusively of this means that Apple can make big profits in its premium niche market, but that overall acuteness might be a setback. Nevertheless, Apple is still reliant on its components suppliers, who force Apple to purchase major volumes in order to reach competitive costs.