Strengths
As mentioned many times throughout this website, Apple's #1 strength is its ability to innovate the newest and best products. Apple is notorious for releasing a new iPhone nearly every year, staying well ahead of the technology curve. Because they are releasing products every year, they are keeping consumers happy and drawing in a lot of income. Their brand loyalty is strong and is guaranteed to become stronger as the years go on.
Another strength is Apple's finances. They have a premium pricing strategy which comes with high profit margins. They are the world's number one most valuable brand for a reason, with their market value being $534 billion. They account for nearly half of the smartphones sold in the U.S., despite having high prices. Customers are willing to spend more on Apple products and are more likely to buy them, making Apple an undeniable force.
Weaknesses
One of Apple's main weaknesses is that their products are very pricy- if not the most expensive products on the market. In 2013 they tried to market a cheaper product, the iPhone 5c, to attempt to expand into the large value segment. However, sales were disappointing and the 5c did not meet great commercial success. Because of being in a luxury market, their distribution is very limited. The average consumer overseas is not interested in such luxury products, and Apple has to compete with international companies, like Samsung, whose prices are more conservative than Apple.
An Apple product that has not shown great success is the Apple iPad. Although Apple leads the market in tablet sales, sales continue to decline. Apple iPad sales have declined over 6% since last year, despite efforts to push sales for the higher end models like the iPad Pro, iPad Air, and iPad Mini. With laptops becoming smaller, more affordable, and more innovative, the tablet and iPad market will continue to decline and see less sales.
Opportunities
One of Apple's greatest opportunities is its market share. The lead the PC/Tablet market with over a 20% share. It's also projected that this number will increase over the years as Apple grows their market in China and the Asia/Pacific countries. iPhone sales are also expected to increase in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China) as Apple acquires more deals with local wireless carriers. This means their distribution network will be larger and they will be able to reach more customers in the global market.
Another opportunity is Apple's purchase of the Beats company. Beats is a company that manufactures and sells high end headphones. Beats assets are valued at around $1 billion, which was a costly purchase for Apple, but a smart purchase, as well. This deal will allow Beats headphones to be used with Apple products, like the new iWatch. It is also said that the headphones will be a nice complement to Apple's radio streaming service, iTunes radio. In addition to great products, Beats also comes with a creative management team (Jimmy Lovine and Dr. Dre) which will add even more innovation to Apple, as a whole.
Threats
One of Apple's greatest threats is it's competition. As mentioned in the competition section of this website, Apple has many large and successful competitors. The problem with this is that these competitors can produce quality products at a lower cost, challenging Apple's high cost products and allowing competitors to catch up to Apple, in terms of innovation. In addition to this, there is a threat of imitation when it comes to products. Apple was one of the first companies to produce a tablet, the iPad, and now you can find tablets of all sorts everywhere at most companies.
Rising labor costs are also a huge threat to Apple. Rising labor costs could mean lower profit margins and could possibly increase selling prices on their products. This is not good for Apple because their products are already sold at high prices and they could lose loyal customers and new customers if they raise their prices anymore.
As mentioned many times throughout this website, Apple's #1 strength is its ability to innovate the newest and best products. Apple is notorious for releasing a new iPhone nearly every year, staying well ahead of the technology curve. Because they are releasing products every year, they are keeping consumers happy and drawing in a lot of income. Their brand loyalty is strong and is guaranteed to become stronger as the years go on.
Another strength is Apple's finances. They have a premium pricing strategy which comes with high profit margins. They are the world's number one most valuable brand for a reason, with their market value being $534 billion. They account for nearly half of the smartphones sold in the U.S., despite having high prices. Customers are willing to spend more on Apple products and are more likely to buy them, making Apple an undeniable force.
Weaknesses
One of Apple's main weaknesses is that their products are very pricy- if not the most expensive products on the market. In 2013 they tried to market a cheaper product, the iPhone 5c, to attempt to expand into the large value segment. However, sales were disappointing and the 5c did not meet great commercial success. Because of being in a luxury market, their distribution is very limited. The average consumer overseas is not interested in such luxury products, and Apple has to compete with international companies, like Samsung, whose prices are more conservative than Apple.
An Apple product that has not shown great success is the Apple iPad. Although Apple leads the market in tablet sales, sales continue to decline. Apple iPad sales have declined over 6% since last year, despite efforts to push sales for the higher end models like the iPad Pro, iPad Air, and iPad Mini. With laptops becoming smaller, more affordable, and more innovative, the tablet and iPad market will continue to decline and see less sales.
Opportunities
One of Apple's greatest opportunities is its market share. The lead the PC/Tablet market with over a 20% share. It's also projected that this number will increase over the years as Apple grows their market in China and the Asia/Pacific countries. iPhone sales are also expected to increase in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China) as Apple acquires more deals with local wireless carriers. This means their distribution network will be larger and they will be able to reach more customers in the global market.
Another opportunity is Apple's purchase of the Beats company. Beats is a company that manufactures and sells high end headphones. Beats assets are valued at around $1 billion, which was a costly purchase for Apple, but a smart purchase, as well. This deal will allow Beats headphones to be used with Apple products, like the new iWatch. It is also said that the headphones will be a nice complement to Apple's radio streaming service, iTunes radio. In addition to great products, Beats also comes with a creative management team (Jimmy Lovine and Dr. Dre) which will add even more innovation to Apple, as a whole.
Threats
One of Apple's greatest threats is it's competition. As mentioned in the competition section of this website, Apple has many large and successful competitors. The problem with this is that these competitors can produce quality products at a lower cost, challenging Apple's high cost products and allowing competitors to catch up to Apple, in terms of innovation. In addition to this, there is a threat of imitation when it comes to products. Apple was one of the first companies to produce a tablet, the iPad, and now you can find tablets of all sorts everywhere at most companies.
Rising labor costs are also a huge threat to Apple. Rising labor costs could mean lower profit margins and could possibly increase selling prices on their products. This is not good for Apple because their products are already sold at high prices and they could lose loyal customers and new customers if they raise their prices anymore.