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Table of Content
Table of Content
INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………….2
STRUCTURE-CONDUCT-PERFORMANCE………………………………………….2
PEST ANALYSIS………………………………………………………………………..4
SWOT ANALYSIS……………………………………………………………………...12
CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………….17
REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………….21
Introduction:
On the Nov 9, 2007, Britons got their hands on the iphone. Apple’s iphone had been
widely extolled as a breakthrough due to its dynamic touch panel user interface, effective
web-browsing and multi-media capabilities. Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs, had described the
iphone as a “revolutionary and magical product that’s literally five years ahead of any
Structure-Conduct-Performance(SCP):
shares in the market. (Number and size of firms, Industry concentration, Technological
Apple entered the market with a totally new and innovative hand phone that had features
not yet available in any of its competitors (as mentioned earlier). Apple had a
competitive advantage over its competitors in the market. Now, In a market structure like
the mobile industry (oligopoly Structure), all the members’ decision are influenced by
other members of the same market . Apple introduced a new idea at the beginning, the I-
phone, gaining good deal of shares in its markets, and then after competitors introduced
their smart, innovative and new devices, Apple lowered its prices on the 8GB version
The relationship between industry structure and performance has maintained a central
(SCP) paradigm predicts that the structure of the market in which a firm operates will
In the case of the Apple introducing the I-phone, it performed well at the beginning and
for a period of time, and what helped Apple is the market structure it chose (mobile
phone market), selling one million units in a record of 74 days, because of the features of
Particularly in markets that are oligopolistic strategic behaviour may shape, or reshape,
the competitive environment. It may cause structural change, or it may alter conduct
without directly altering the structure of the market. In many cases this will stimulate
consumers, that is through lower prices, product innovation, product differentiation, and
the like. In other cases, however, strategic conduct may damage the competitive process
Apple has a market structure of Monopoly in which he was the only supplier of iPhone
in market. When Apple launched iPhone there was no substitute threat for apple from its
competitors because no other companies were able to replace iPhone. As Apple was
expert in its own software and hardware development, there was no barrier for apple to
enter the mobile phone market. So, Apple acts as a monopolist firm who sets its own
price for iPhone. But in the long run Apple will be no more in monopoly market because
of many large firms who are in competition to apple coming with new phone which can
be substitute to iPhone. Apple will no longer earn profit in market because of the
competition . Apple will have to improve their conduct and performance in innovation,
pricing policies, advertising, research to give better competition in market structure to its
competitors. Apple management must perform effectively to increase their iphone sales.
of buyers and sellers in that market. it is important to study the different structures of the
market for apple industry .There are many events that will influence the Apple Company
to move from Monopoly market to Oligopoly. When more firms producing the same
products enter into the markets it increases the competition in the market. According to
Sloman, (2003), whenever firms enter the market, increasing the competition, selling
products with low prices it is understandable that the profit margins are to reduce. On the
basis of above theory, Apple is not an exception to competition. This competition will
PEST Analysis:
Political:
One of the main political barriers for the iPhone is the existence of gray markets.
Gray markets are created when so called "store owners" import goods from a foreign
country at a cheaper price and sell it at their store front at a price that is usually cheaper
than what is being given at authorized retailers. iPhone is not a global commodity and is
currently only being sold in a select few countries, those being the United States, United
Kingdom, Germany, France, Ireland, and Australia. Gray markets are considered legal
and are very commonplace in many countries, such as Hong Kong, China, Brazil, etc.
Through these gray markets, the iPhone is being distributed and opens the market for the
iPhone prematurely and without the approval and consent of Apple. This poses a large
problem for Apple because they lose a lot of the sales and revenue they would get during
product launch into new markets. Also, introducing such a high tech phone into foreign
markets will generate imitators and bootleggers who can and will mimic its technology.
Another political issue of iPhone is the single carrier contracts that so far iPhone
has signed in each of the countries that it has been introduced. With USA, iPhone's sole
carrier is AT&T Mobility, for UK O2, and so forth. This Simlock for the carrier's
company has sparked a lot of controversy over whether a company should be allowed to
do so. In Germany, a company is not allowed to lock the SIM card to itself, but in
December 2007, a German court granted exclusive rights to T-Mobile which enabled
them to sell the iPhone with the SIM card locked, under the condition that after the
customer's contract expires, T-Mobile will unlock the iPhone. Despite the people's
objections towards iPhone's single carrier policy, Apple has continued to do so. However,
since gray markets already provide unlocked iPhones and the existence of these gray
markets are so widespread and so readily available, it would seem that this single carrier
policy would no longer be an effective strategy. In the United States, AT&T has a history
of letting the government spy on its phone networks on top of the long history of
government regulations on phone networks, and since one of the major components of
the iPhone is its music playing abilities, copyright laws will come into the question. It is
unclear what the government will do with the iPhone but for consumers, the idea of a
locked phone that can only run pre-approved software carried by a pre-chosen phone
network that is subject to government surveillance will definitely hurt its market
performance.
Economical:
As a high end product, it is geared towards the middle to upper class. Therefore,
its price is a major obstacle to its success. iPhone is currently launched in countries with
some of the highest income per capita in the world. With its high price tag, iPhone must
search for markets which has the highest potential for consumer demand coupled with
buying power. Second and third world countries are practically automatically excluded
which limits viable market for the iPhone. However, economic growth must also be taken
Social:
One of iPhone's greatest selling point is its sleek design and strong brand image.
Apple's product design has always been adored by the trendy and many of the time, price
will not be an issue to the innovators. Being in a category of its own, the iPhone has no
true competitors and is considered the choicest gadget. For countries such as Hong Kong,
cell phones are replaced on average in a semi-annual basis for a more technologically
America, where phones are replaced less often, utility and product life is much more of a
concern for consumers. Since Apple is widely recognized nationwide its strong brand
image comes into play. iPods and iBooks have been coveted by many and with the
introduction of the iPhone, Apple adds another tool in its arsenal to appeal to the trendy.
Also its technological superiority places its utility value high above most if not all
competitors.
Technological:
The iPhone was announced as the best invention of the year for 2007. Although
Apple did not invent the touch screen, iPhone utilizes the touch screen capabilities to
such an efficient degree that it seems it as though this was the first and foremost touch
screen user interface gadget. Some of the major barriers of entry for a lot of technologies
are the existence of major competitors as well as the learning curve of consumers for the
new product. As mentioned before, there are currently very few to no true competitors to
Apple’s iPhone that can cause any major problems to its market performance. iPhone was
launched into the phone market, but with such high capabilities it would seem more
fitting in the PDA market, or even in a new category of its one: the first of its kind.
However, being the forefront in the market, the iPhone is highly susceptible to copycats
and competitors that can backwards engineer their technology and implement it for their
own products to market. The other issue, just like with computers, is that many of the
older generations have difficulty understanding and transitioning into many of the
According to Michael Porter (1979), industry is being influenced by five forces. The
strategic business manager planning to develop an advantage over rival firms can use
this model to better understand the industry plans in which the firm operates.
Bargaining Bargaining
power of Rivalry within Power of
suppliers industry customers
Threat of
substitutes
Source - Porter ME, (1979), 'How competitive forces shape strategy', Harvard Business
Review.
will have to wait until their contract expires, or pay an early cancellation fee (typically
$200). The average duration of a cell phone contract is 2 years, which means that 25% of
consumer’s plans will expire in the next 6 months. Since a $200 switching fee makes the
Growth Potential
It is likely that future releases of the iPhone will not be restricted to any single network
for example AT&T in US. This would increase the potential market for the iPhone. It will
Pricing Policy
Pricing:
Model Price
4gb 499 $
model
8gb 599 $
model
Source - By Michael S. Rosenwald (2008), “The Financial Lobe”, Putting Prices Into
Focus, www.washingtonpost.com
Apple introduced the device at high price for early adopters to earn abnormal profits and
it slashed down iPhone price by 50% for rest of market segment. For Reference, In US
When it reduce the price from $599.99 to $399.99 consumer were force to deal with the
mobile carrier AT & T mobility, in service package ranging from $59.99 to 99.99 per
month. But in UK, low amount of inclusive minutes was not competitive. For reference,
O2's iPhone deal allowed 200 inclusive minutes for pound 35 versus competitors that
offers of 750 minutes in addition to a free phone. Apple reduces its prices or introduces
new models for price-sensitive consumers, and its sales could expand considerably.
Distribution:
Unlike iPods, which are available through many retail channels, the iPhone will only be
sold through Apple stores and single network stores. For instance, iPhone was available
When a firm sustains profits that exceed the average for its industry, the firm is said to possess a
competitive advantage over its rivals. The goal of much of business strategy is to achieve a
cost advantage
differentiation advantage
For other device manufacturers getting into this market may be important. The problem is that
they have to try to develop a product that not only matches the iPhone but give competition to
it. This is where competitive advantage comes in. Features such as touch-screen capability,
internet access, large memory capacity and, crucially, design are all things that the iPhone has
been well known for. For other manufacturers to come up with something better takes time,
research and funds - simply copying the iPhone is not that easy. The features are what give
Apple the competitive advantage, and the fact that it is not easy to reinvent those features
quickly is what makes the competitive advantage defensible. Apple has managed to create a
Macintosh computer with mobile phone capabilities, bundled within an Internet enabled PDA
and an iPod body. The iPhone combines smart phone capabilities with a simple to use graphical
interface projected on a large ‘multi-touch’ display with Wireless Internet Communication
Device.
Style-conscious cell phone consumers who would like to browse the Internet and enjoy
entertainment t, the iPhone is a smart phone that combines a web browser, email, iPod and
Apple’s plan of slashing down the price of iPhone by $200 after few months of its release. So
what's strategy behind the price drop? Is it a long-planned strategic move to pick up a second
category of customers following those early adopters for whom price was no object. Here the
company target the price sensitive market segment. When it reduce the price from $599.99 to
$200, now US consumer were force to deal with the mobile carrier At & T mobility, in service
What could give an iPhone an edge over its rivals? The question is that Apple Company is going
Smart phone – software and applications of Apple are highly reliable and have good
PC Expertise – As software and hardware are owned and developed by Apple, they are
The Apple store and complete security for handset build goodwill for company.
Even if Apple’s competitors produce copies of the iPhone, they will struggle to compete
because of Apple’s first mover advantage that will likely cause consumers to ssociate
similar products with the iPhone (similar to what has happened with the iPod)
SWOT ANALYSIS:
Apple entry into the mobile sector market will make a grate impact on the industry structure. As
we saw in the introduction of the company apple is a very well known company in the market it
has already repudiated name the mind of the consumer. And when it comes in the sector of
mobile telephone, I comes with the unique product which is extremely different from the
products already exist in the market. That’s mean apple created a greater competition in the
market. Because with it’s unique product apple is earning the abnormal profit for the company.
After seeing the abnormal profit of the company other companies are being attractive towards
that particular segment (iphone).its mean in the 3-5 year the industry will be very competitive.
We can see that with the help of SWOT Analysis by MC gee et al (2005),
SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths Weaknesses
Opportunities Threats
A. Strengths
The iPhone has several features that add to the strength of the product. These include its
unique look and feel accompanied by a mobile operating system. It has phone sensors that
work with the multi-touch screen, which is a new patented technology. These new features are
presented to a large and loyal user base that Apple has accrued over the years. Finally, the fact
that the company is first to deliver in this arena of computer phones is one of its greatest
strengths. The iPhone is significantly different than its competitor’s product. Apple also has a
certain amount of protection through the strength of its brand identity. iPhone launch was
extremely different technology from other mobile companies. But to keep product
B. Weaknesses
Like every new product, there are is a set of weaknesses. The iPhone is not a 3G device and will
not work in technologically advanced countries such as Japan and Korea. All of their phones are
3G compliant. Several of the iPhone features are also not particularly impressive. These include
the fact that it has a sub par camera, standing at about 2 mega pixels as well as its memory not
being removable. The phone is priced around 500 to 600 dollars and surveys have shown that
consumers are happy with their current mobile device; essentially, this phone is geared towards
the high end consumers. Apple’s choice of distribution channel has also been construed as a
weakness as they’re limiting it to only Cingular and Apple retailers. Finally, its purpose is to be
questioned – does the phone fulfill corporate duties or is it just an entertainment system. Since
iPhone is only offered by single networks such as O2 in UK and AT&T in US, customers of other
networks will have to wait until their contract expires, or pay an early cancellation fee (typically
$200). The average duration of a cell phone contract is 2 years, which means that 25% of
consumer’s plans will expire in the next 6 months. Since a $200 switching fee makes the iPhone
very expensive.
C. Opportunities
There is quite a demand for a better mobile computing experience. The iPhone tries to combine
both powerful computing as well as entertainment into one system. People have also noted
that the Mac OS applications for desktop can be seamlessly adapted for the iPhone. Also, this is
the first step towards an Internet Protocol-based network. The emergence of Wi-Fi networks is
pushing for there to be visitor fees instead of having a provider lock in users. It is likely that
future releases of the iPhone will not be restricted to any single network for example AT&T in
US, O2 in UK, and T-Mobile in Germany and Orange in France. This would increase the potential
market for the iPhone. It will also reduce the problem of growth in market share.
D. Threats
The majority of threats come from other companies including Nokia, Sony, and Google with
their respective products. Smart phones are one popular example that stands to compete
against the iPhone. The iPhone mainly distinguishes itself from competitors over its user
interface which is driven by a multi-touch screen. Apple claims various patents relating to this
technology. However, it is still likely that other players in the market will soon be able to deliver
similar products. Synaptics and LG have already disclosed details of coming products which
feature touch-screen interfaces, as well. In case of Apple the buyers of the iPhone are price
sensitivel. Substitution reduces the demand for particular class of a product as customers switch
to the alternatives even to the extent that this class of products or service becomes obsolete.
The demand of the iphone might be reduce in the future because of the availability of the
substitutes Given the relatively high price of the iPhone it remains to be seen whether
consumers will pay a high price for Apple iPhone features when their needs may be equally met
by cheaper alternatives. However, the iPhone’s compelling mix of features makes it attractive to
a broad set of cell-phone consumers. The iPhone’s market is limited by two factors: 1) the high
price ($499 for 4 GB) and 2) Apple’s exclusive US carrier agreement with Cingular. (For example
AT & T, O2)
Summary
In the next 3-5 year if we see the industry would be more competitive than today. So many firms
will be competing in the market and new firms will be try to come in the market for taking the
advantage of profitability, which would reduce the profit of the firms. Consumer will have more
choice because of substitution, and they can force the companies to reduce the prices of their
product. And the supplier will have the power to raise the price of the raw material because of
Evaluation
If we see the above theories, author said that if the organization wants to have sustainable
competitive advantage than its product must be less imitable but in the case of iphone, the
biggest rival of the company LG, SAMSUNG have already announced their touch screen
If the company want to sustain on the bases of price based strategy then it would not be
possible for the long time, because iphone will have to face the competition, so the
company will have to spend more money on the advertising for selling it’s product which
will increase the cost and one possibility is that supplier can raise the prices because of
From the above discussion and analysis the following can be made regading the
1.Apple should innovate in such a way that it continues its market sustainability with the
2.Apple should reduce the price of the product so that it can increase the sales and get
more profits.
3.Apple should increase its distribution and launch in many other countries so that it can
4.From the Exhibit 1 the basic configuration of iphone has been easily implemented by
the other companies like Samsung,LG in affordable prices with wide range of
distribution.
5.According to exhibit 2 these are the market share of different mobile companies until
2007 .By using product distribution strategy the apple can improve it sharehold in the
Source: http;www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=501734
Worldwide Total Smart Mobile Device Market . Market Shares Q4 2006 , Q4 2005
Smart Phone
Wireless Internet Communication Device
iPod
PDA, Computer and Camera
Software Capabilities:
Full OS X
Multi Tasking
Networking
Syncing
Low Power
Security
Video
Cocoa
Core Animation
Graphics
Audio
Widgets
Technical Specifications:
Operating system OS X
Porter, M.E. (1979), "How competitive forces shape strategy", Harvard Business Review,
Vol. 57 No.2, pp.137-45.
Porter, M.E. (1985), Competitive Advantage, Free Press, New York, NY, .
Sloman, J., 2003. Economics: with the collaboration of Mark Sutcliffe. 5th ed. Harlow:
Pearson Education.
Texty Staff (2007) “iPhone: Who's the real manufacturer? (It isn't Apple), [online]
Available from www.texty.com [Accessed date 9 December 2009]