Apple, Inc. (Apple) delved into relatively new territory in 2013 by releasing two new versions of their smartphone, the iPhone. This was the first time they released two versions of their smartphone in the same calendar year. This dual or multi-release strategy is not completely new for Apple, as they have previously released multiple versions of a product type from the same family as early as 1979. That year, Apple, then known as the Apple Computer Company, released three versions of their Apple II computer: the Apple II Plus, Apple II EuroPlus, and the Apple J-Plus. As recently as 2012 Apple released two models from their iPad family, the iPad Mini and the iPad (4th gen). It should come as no surprise that during September 2013 Apple released three versions of their iPhone for the first time: iPhone 4s (8 GB), iPhone 5c, and the iPhone 5s. Was this a flawed strategy considering the versions of the iPhone could cannibalize each other? What about deciding to release a new version of the 4s, the 4s (8 GB)? Could this be considered cannibalization in reference to the two new versions of the iPhone 5? Was this considered a form of price discrimination? Was Apple essentially charging customers group different prices for what some may deem as essentially the same product, the iPhone 5c and 5s? What roles do the phone service providers play in the realm of price discrimination? If a phone company subsidizes the price to the consumer in conjunction with service plan contracts, is this still price discrimination? To understand the answers to these questions one should understand what price discrimination is and the laws behind it. One should also determine if the iPhone 5c and 5s are essentially slight variations of the same...
... middle of paper ...
...etitive-analysis/resources/blog/inside-the-iphone-5s/
Juliussen, E. (2013). Worldwide pc and tablet market: Mar. 2013 version. Source: Computer Industry Almanac Inc., Record Number: 2013 SRI C2457-7.
Retrieved from http://http://search.proquest.com/statistical
Kim, A. (2013). Tim Cook warns against trying to interpret supply chain order rumors. Macrumors.com. January 23, 2013.
Retrieved from: http://www.macrumors.com/2013/01/23/tim-cook-warns-against-trying-to-interpret-supply-chain-order-rumors/
Martyak, J. (2010). What Determines Loyalty to a Brand? For Apple Loyalists It’s Emotion. Retrieved from: http://www.compasshc.com/blog/what-determines-loyalty-to-a-brand-for-apple-loyalists-its-emotion/25/08/2010/
Segan S. (2013). The Apple iPhone 5c Is No Failure.
Pcmag.com. October 16, 2013.
Retrieved from: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2425837,00.asp
Mise, J. K., Nair, C., Odera, O., & Ogutu, M. (2013). Determinants of Brand Loyalty and Product Quality of Soft Drink Consumers. Asian Journal of Business and Management , 1 (1), 8-13.
Shortly after the apple iphone 6 Plus was released on September 19, records of the tool bending when placed in a pocket started to surface. One individual, for instance, stated small bending after the apple iphone was in a pocket for about 18 hours, and after that, several various other reports dripped in.
Apple has its competitors, as it is expected, and they do not fall behind by much. One of its biggest competitors is the company Samsung. For years, those two companies have been head to head in the electronical world. All over the web one can find all sorts of articles talking about the conflicts of those two companies and about how they each claim that the other one took their products and just changed its name. But thankfully, those two companies are still strong (no matter how much people complain about the other one) and they both have a lot of people supporting them. There are two sides when talking about phone and electronics: the Apple side and the Samsung side. Now, what those two companies need to be careful about is to not let their guards down and allow the competition to take over, but then again, Apple is well... Apple and they would never let that happen (they have not done it for almost 50 years, they would not do it
The Apple logo was derived from the biblical story of Adam and Eve. Moreover, the bitten apple represents the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. Therefore, the Apple logo symbolizes knowledge (Redding, 2014).
The iPhone 5s is a well-designed phone with the capability of satisfying the need of smartphone users. Even though, the phone has had a remarkable markets performance in the recent past it has reached its sales peak. Increased competition especially from more advanced phones such as the recently launched Samsung S5 outpaces it in the market. This means it is time for Apple to remove it from the market release a new product in order to retain its position as a leader in the global smart phone business.
Competitors of Apple included HTC, LG, Blackberry, and the core competitor is Samsung. Each of them has different sizes, prices, and technologies on their products. First, the most significant drawback of Apple’s iPhone in the market is its screen size. Nowadays, most of the smartphones in the market have 5 inches or larger display screens; however, Apple remains producing 4 inches iPhone with unremarkable technologies innovation since 2012. Second, Apple’s high-end iPhone 5S has the second highest price in the market while iPhone 5C, with similar outlook design and outdated technologies, is only one hundred dollar cheaper. Compare to the highest pricing Samsung Galaxy Note Three and cheaper pricing Galaxy S5, they both have the newest technolog...
Overarching Type of Strategy Brian Masi says, “Apple is pursuing a broad differentiation strategy. Apple differentiates itself by offering high-quality, exceptional design, and personalized service. The scope of their strategy is broad, targeting customers ranging from unsophisticated beginner users to special needs power-users.” (Masi, 2009) To develop a strategic vision, there are a few significant elements that Apple uses to formulate a successful long term strategy plan: • Trend Identification – Steve Jobs visualized a strategy to create a product based on consumer wants. Steve Jobs used his networking abilities to research other areas within the industry.
This report will analyze and discuss the most important elements of the marketing environment for the launch of the iPhone, that is to say the main three levels of the marketing environment: the micro-environment through the customers, competitors and distributors, the macro-environment through technological, economical, social, political and environmental forces and finally the internal environment through the relation of Apple with its employees and its marketing philosophy. The analysis for the micro-environment is based on Porter’s 5 forces model and the one on the macro-environment is based on PEST analysis. The report will also give an interpretation for each of these aspects, a conclusion with a rating of the attractiveness of the UK current marketing environment in which the iPhone is launched.
The Apple releases a new phone each year. Most consumers who have a cellular phone contract are on a two year plan. The cycle of when you can or cannot upgrade determines the price of the new phone and will influence the buying power of the customer. Some like mobile carriers offer the Apple for life program, which allow you to get the latest phone every time a new one is released, it’s still a contract and still comes at a cost.
-Apple should not overprice their products. This hinders the sales of the product line. This will also help avoid an iPhone fiasco.
An international marketing channel signifies an association of individuals and procedures that goods pass over to reach their final target. An operative international marketing channel permits organizations to influence its potential consumers at an economical price and within a rational extent of time. The distribution channel is the expression utilized to define the method in which goods or products are substantially distributed from the place they are produced to the location of the final customer.
Apple uses a minimum advertised price (MAP) strategy in which Apple supplements wholesale discounts to resellers with more substantial monetary incentives that are available only if those resellers advertise its products at or above a certain price (Tabini, 2013). This price strategy is effective as it allows the company to have strong control over direct competition directly with Apple’s retail stores and it ensures that no one reseller has an advantage over another. Because retailers don’t have enough of a profit margin to offer big discounts on Apple’s products, customers end up paying a price close to the manufacturer suggested retail
Under the circumstance that the mobile phone industry entered the 3rd generation, Nokia faced competition from both macro level and industry level. For the macro level, the government encouraged competition among the operators and handset manufacturers by giving digital licenses to new entrants. As a result, the mobile phones became more sophisticated, for example, the cameras and the games in the mobile phone. For the industry level, which can be analyzed by the Porter’s Five Forces, (lecture )Nokia was facing threat of new entrants, competitive rivalry and the bargaining power of buyers is increasing as well. As the government encourage completion between the handset manufacturers, there are several new entrants from different countries enter this industry, such as Apple from USA, Samsung from Korea. These new entrants compete with Nokia in both smartphone segment and basic phone segment. Some of them even constructed “ecosystems”, which they could integrate the services and applications quickly, in order to produce the phone in just two days. For the bargaining power of buyers’ aspect, they do not need to rely on the only operating system Symbian. They can choose Windows mobile launched by Microsoft, Android launched by Google and Ios launched by Apple, in addition, basically all of them are better than Symbian (Amiya, 2010). The buyers could choose any
Apple is one of the leading company dealing with technologies and is a type of company that innovates more often than any other companies in the same industry. We can call it luck that Apple is successfully, but the reality is that it has a very innovated and unique planning process. Its planning process consists mostly of focusing on a limited number of products that customers would be interested, like it is mentioned that Apple takes into consideration what “staffs’ friends and relative think about Apply product and how it can be improved.: (Case Study, pg.1) I would say Apple has a much defined goal/mission, which is shaping a name in the industry, and directing its product planning and conception to lead to industry. From the case study, it is crystal clear that Apple focuses more on innovation than anything else. Apple also “reviews its plans every week, on Mondays to review the product they are working on, to make sure that all the issues are addressed.” (Case Study, pg. 2) I would say Apple uses tactical planning, which is short term for actions and plans. For example, Apple does not take a lot of time to plan a product and by meeting every week shows that they want results and actions quick. Apple also uses operational, by setting a specific direction for the
What is product? Product can be anything, tangible and intangible. Product is anything that the company can offer to the consumer. Apple’s products are the best of service in the market. From computer to smartphone to tablet computer, today customer believe that if they get the apple product. Even that price is high also worth it. Apple products are usually high quality, so in some case that is the best of available device for customer. However, it is not perfect, many customers leave for a series of problems, so they deeply hurt.