...Case Study n°2: APPLE STORES 2.What store elements helped Apple connect better to the customers and what are the weaknesses of this strategy? The Apple stores have been designed in order to procure the best experience to the customers. Each part of the store is thought carefully and has its own purpose. The main goal of Apple stores, regarding the customers, was to respond to their digital needs and let them leave the shop with the full Apple experience. Apple wanted their store to perfectly represent the brand. To improve the efficiency of their stores, the notion of “shop different” has been experimented in order to know better the expectations of potential Apple customers. The results of the experiences were recorded into a document called “Credo” which gave born to the motto “Enriching people’s lives with innovative, easy-to-use technology”. The Apple store is divided into four areas: * The Products Area: Proposes a display of Apple computers, latest home products and promotes the Apple operating system and its easy use. This Store element is essential to attract customers by showing them the design and the rapidity of Apple’s products. Gathering peripheral products allows consumers to find all what they need for their personal digital use in the same place. * The Solutions Area: Includes four sub-areas, Music, Movies, Photo and Kids. The three first areas aim at revealing the consumers experimentation of Apple products and having a direct idea of their quality...
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...Facts: A father has said he may need to sell his car and two motorbikes after his daughter ran up a £4,000 bill playing 'free' games on his iPad. Lee Neale, 43, had his bank account frozen when Lily, 8, bought in-app extras while playing on the tablet using the password she had seen him entering when downloading items. Now he can't get a refund from Apple. Issue: 1. Whether or not there was a valid contract between Apple and this father? 2. Whether or not the transaction contract was valid? 3. Whether or not Apple has a right to refuse the refund? Law: Article 9 Capacity; Contract through Agent In entering into a contract, the parties shall have the appropriate capacities for civil rights and civil acts. Article 16 Effectiveness of Offer, Offer through Electronic Message An offer becomes effective when it reaches the offeree. When a contract is concluded by the exchange of electronic messages, if the recipient of an electronic message has designated a specific system to receive it, the time when the electronic message enters into such specific system is deemed its time of arrival; if no specific system has been designated, the time when the electronic message first enters into any of the recipient's systems is deemed its time of arrival. Article 51 Unauthorized Disposal of Property through Contract Where a piece of property belonging to another person was disposed of by a person without the power to do so, such contract is nevertheless valid once...
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...Apple Inc. Case Study A. In your own words, define “revenues.” Explain how revenues are different from “gains.” Revenues are the monies that are brought in as a result of the business’ core functions in their respective industry. Revenues are different from gains in that revenues can be accounted for, while still taking a loss in the overall profitability. If an item were to be sold below cost, it brings revenue (selling price), but was sold at a loss. B. Describe what it means for a business to “recognize revenues.” What specific amounts and financial statements are affected by the process of revenue recognition? Describe the revenue recognition criteria outline in the FASB’s statement of Concepts No. 5. A business can decide at what time they recognize their revenues. Revenues can be accounted for at the point of sale, or after Goods have been delivered (are out of inventory). Accounts that are affected are inventory, Accounts receivable, cash, and uncollected revenue. Financial statements affected include the Income statement and Balance sheet. The revenue recognition process is a cornerstone of accrual method of accounting. According to the FASB, revenues are recognized when they are realized and are earned when goods are transferred no matter when cash is received. C. Refer to the Revenue Recognition discussion in Note 1. In general, when does Apple recognize revenue? Explain Apple’s four revenue recognition criteria. Do they appear to be aligned with the revenue...
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...Running head: APPLE INC. CASE Apple Inc. Case Andrea Daniel Bethel University Strategy Planning MOD 440 Patti Vinson September 18, 2012 Apple Inc. Case In 1976, Steven Wozniak and Steve Jobs introduced the first Apple computer which cost under $700. Although Apple is known for its high quality electronics, management is concerned if the company can continue its success while the market is more competitive and with the unstable economy. Apple has several strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats which allows one to see keys issues or problems areas. Also, this would allow Apple to plan better moving forward. The three major competitors of Apple are Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Acer; however Apple also competes with Microsoft in software industry. Dell is the largest computer manufacturer with extremely low cost production strategy. Hewlett Packard is a big brand name and leading provider of technology such as televisions and other media devices. Acer became one of the fastest growing manufacturers of PCs. The financial strengths and performance of the company from 2005 to 2008 were quite interesting. The company is still highly liquid but this liquidity trend is in climbing and declining trend as current ratio 2.67 in 2005 declined to 1.81 in 2006 and increased to 1.95 in 2008. This trend was mainly due to increase in collection period of the sale and increase in number of day’s sale in ending inventory. There is an increasing...
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... Retail Store Marketing. Within this essay I will be discussing the Marketing Strategies of a retail store. I have selected a specialty retail store for this assignment within a mall by the name of North Star Mall in my local community. The Apple Retail store is located within the center of the mall, it is a big store compared to others but it looks as if there is a lot of room without use in the store meaning there are a few desks or tables with products on top of them but there is only one or two products on a five feet space. The first thing I notice as I come in is that I do not get attacked by a bunch of sales associates trying to sale me a product instead I feel as if I have the chance to do what I would like. As I look around I realize that most of the people either purchasing products or testing them are young adults and or professional looking individuals testing different products from laptops to all in one personal computers. I surveyed the representatives at the store and was advised that the market includes anybody who is willing to pay the price for a top notch product that will make your computing experience better. Essentially the idea is if you are into photography by using a Macbook you will get access to many tools that you would not get elsewhere and details that will better the experience. Apple is separated from the competition in this case from PC’s due to its ease of use and user friendly experience. There is a marketing phrase of Apple “There’s...
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...Apple Case Cindy Romani MAR 4231 U01 Retail Marketing September 30, 2014 Assignment #2 1. Every time that I go to the mall, if there is an Apple Store, I definitely stop and go in. All of the Apple Products that I own have been purchased from there. At the Dadeland store, I have purchased all the iPhones and iPods that I have owned throughout the years, my iPads, MacBook, and most recently my Apple TV. Its safe to say that I own almost every Apple product. The reason why I purchase my Apple products from their store is because I feel like I am getting it directly from the source. That’s the closest that I can get besides having Tim Cook give it to me himself. If there is ever an issue with any of the products I know that I can go to the Apple Store and that they will solve any issue that I have even if it’s a simple question. The returning and exchanging process is much simpler than if I were to get my MacBook at Best Buy for example. By purchasing it at the Apple Store I know that I am getting the best deal and I feel secure knowing that if anything happens I can return it. Also, as if someone is actually considering not buying from the Apple Store, they have some incentives that they use in order to attract people to them. For instance, if its back to school season they give students a $100 iTunes gift card with the purchase of a MacBook. This is great for the students and it doesn’t harm Apple at all since that $100 are going directly back to them anyways. 2...
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.......................................................................................................................................... 2 2.0. Company Profile ..................................................................................................................................... 3 3.0. Apple Distinctive Competencies ............................................................................................................ 4 3.1. The R-C Model.................................................................................................................................... 4 3.2. Building Blocks of Competitive Advantage ........................................................................................ 6 4.0. Nature of Competition in the PC industry ............................................................................................. 7 4.1. PC Industry Life Cycle ......................................................................................................................... 7 4.2. Porters 5 Forces ................................................................................................................................. 8 5.0. Apple Sustainable Competitive Advantage.......................................................................................... 10 5.1. Value Chain ...................................................................................................................................... 10 5.2. New McKinsey...
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...9-502-063 REV: MAY 20, 2010 LUC WATHIEU Apple Stores Ron Johnson (HBS ’84), Apple Computer’s Senior Vice-President of Retail, never missed a chance to show a customer through the nearest Apple Store. A former Vice-President of Merchandising at Target (a leading department store chain), Johnson joined Apple in January 2000 with the mission to oversee the creation of the company’s own stores. The first store opened in May 2001—and just seven months later, 27 identical stores had been opened across the United States. During his store visits, Johnson tried computer applications, listened to a store employee make a presentation in front of the 10-foot screen at the rear of the store in “the theater,” and respectfully introduced his guests to the local “genius,” the official title of a very knowledgeable employee who stood behind a “bar” (complete with stools and water bottles) and helped solve consumer problems. Every detail of the store experience had been carefully designed, and as much as Johnson enjoyed each tour, he was also checking that all the store’s elements were perfectly under control. “The store experience has to be the same every day, every hour, in every store. We care passionately about that,” he often said. The stores were expanding to new territories, mostly in high traffic shopping malls, with the explicit purpose of “enriching people’s lives” and converting new customers to Apple products. To complete that mission successfully, Johnson’s focus was on choosing...
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...Apple case Synopsis: Headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple is one of the most well known brands today. Apple didn’t just enter the market and become what they are today, the company had to go through a series of ups and downs which lead them to become a company with an estimated brand value of 153 billion. Apple first entered the public market in 1976 with the release of their first computer Apple I. Apple was profitable for a couple years and then they hit a slump. After a power struggle with the board of directors in 1985, Jobs was asked to leave Apple. 16 years later Apple was on the brink of bankruptcy, with a share price at $3.30. Jobs returned to Apple as an advisor, and then took control of the company as an interim CEO. Jobs brought Apple from near bankruptcy to profitability by 1998. Apple became successful for a lot of reasons but manly it used a market orientation strategy in which it was able to gather intelligence about customer’s current and future needs. As the new CEO of the company, Jobs oversaw the development of the iMac, iTunes, iPod, iPhone, and iPad, and on the services side, the company's Apple Retail Stores, iTunes Store and the App Store. The success of these products and services provided several years of stable financial returns, and propelled Apple to become the world's most valuable publicly traded company in 2011. In addition to revolutionary products Apple’s success in pricing, promotion, and distribution have also contributed...
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...FACULTY OF BUSINESS NILAI UNIVERSITY BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION BM 3319 BUSINESS SYNOPTIC 1 TITLE: Case Study: APPLE (Apple’s Profitable but risky Strategy) Prepared by: LAM SOON LIANG BBAMGT 00009666 Date of Submission: 8th December 2014 Question 1: With reference to the case study, provide one example with a paragraph of not more than 5 lines, which clearly illustrates a link between topics or concepts drawn from at least 2 modules you studied. Launched in late 2001, the iPod was followed by the iTunes Music Store in 2003 in the USA and 2004 in the Europe – the Music Store being a most important and innovatory development. iTunes was essentially an agreement with the world’s five leading record companies to allow legal downloading of music tracks using the internet for 99 cents each. This was a major coup for Apple – it had persuaded the record companies to adopt a different approach to the problem of music piracy. With the slogan "Thinnovation" (2008), apple has become the world's most valuable company and one of the world's most valuable brands. Apple has brought three main marketing strategies that help the company to maintain their competitive advantage which can assemble to empathy, focus, and impute (Christine Moorman, 2008). Innovative Competitive strategy is a tool that companies use to achieve competitive advantages which consists of three main strategy low-price, differentiation and focus (Maria, 2012). Low-price strategy...
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...------------------------------------------------- DTMt: Case submission on Apple stores [Document subtitle] July 6, 2015 14F39 prachi desai, 14f40 PRAMUKH DESai, 14f544 shrey jindal, 14f545 shreya thakur July 6, 2015 14F39 prachi desai, 14f40 PRAMUKH DESai, 14f544 shrey jindal, 14f545 shreya thakur a. (Why) Did Apple need own stores back then in 2002-2003? The consumers were purchasing computers for different purposes and the market was growing for PCs in the early 2000s. The market share of Apple was only 5%, whereas the the share of the leaders were as below: i. Dell : 14% ii. Compaq: 12% iii. Gateway: 8% iv. IBM: 7% v. HP: 7% One of the main reasons for opening up exclusive Apple Stores was to increase their market share by offering other digital products like iPods, iPhots along with iMacs and creating a unique experience for the customers. Stores have the advantage of engaging customers and increasing involvement, which is not possible through online retail. Upselling and cross selling of products is also enabled. Enhanced customer service was possible through the stores and people flock stores for the experience and are ready to pay premium for the same. Apple tried to offer something unique through a “shop different” strategy, wherein they build “Genius Bars” within the stores. A customer could approach an employee at the bar and be assured of a new experience to make their devices to more use. b. What parameters...
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...a Shine to Apple Inc. Summary This case describes Apple Inc. from humble beginnings in 1976, early success followed by near bankruptcy in the early 1980’s due to product flops, to the firing of Steve Jobs in 1985 as a result of internal conflicts and his return that led the company to extraordinary success over the past 10-15 years. The key component to Apple’s success has been their ability to determine customers’ current and future needs even before the customers themselves knew they needed it. Apple uses this information about customers needs to shape their pricing, promotion, and marketing strategies. Apple has also formulated a unique approach for their retail stores by aligning all aspects of their stores, from design to customer service, with the company image. Answers to Questions 1. How has Apple implemented the marketing concept? Apple has implemented the marketing concept by applying simplicity in their marketing approach. They understand the customer’s needs, both currently and in the future, and develop simple marketing campaigns that highlight the benefits and value of their products. DeMers (2014) cites a specific ad campaign, their Mac versus PC ads: 2 guys just standing and talking, set against a white background...Each ad aims to make one point, and one point only: one way in which Macs are better than PCs. 2. Describe the roles of Apple stores as an important part of its marketing strategy. The role of Apple stores in its marketing...
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...EMBA 8700 – Apple Case Write-Up Executive Summary Apple Inc. is a global producer of personal computers, portable digital music players, and mobile communication devices for the consumer electronics industry. The company is also a provider of complementary software, services, accessories and peripherals, networking solutions, third-party applications and digital content. The company’s core strategic position is to differentiate themselves by delivering the best user experience through a combination of innovative industrial design (hardware) and software harmoniously working in concert resulting in a price premium that exceeds the cost of being unique. From an industry standpoint [see Chart 1], rivalry in consumer electronics is extremely high where product differentiation is short-lived (i.e. copycats). Even “the most valuable company in the world” cannot slow down. The industry, the competition, and advancements in technology are dynamic and continue to evolve at lightning speed. Apple must stick to its blueprint of success over the last two decades – differentiated product development and operational excellence without losing sight of the customer’s value chain – or risk falling behind and dropping market share. Analysis As a company, Apple has created an enviable and unique position in the industry of being able to design, manufacture, and market their own operating system, develop their own customer friendly hardware and application software, creating an ecosystem that...
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...2030 is realized. Be careful to hinge your discussion on the pillars of Kenya’s vision 2030.20marks MOUNT KENYA UNIVERSITY VIRTUAL CAMPUS DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT MASTER OF ARTS, GOVERNANCE AND ETHICS CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT TEST II MDS 521 GOVERNANCE AND LEADERSHIP SKILLS DEVELOPMENT Instruction to students * Deadline November 15th 2013 or earlier * Assignment should be typed in prose not on bullet points * Font: new times roman * 12 points * Normal margins * minimum of 30 pages 1.5 spaced * Should indicate at least a minimum of 5 reference books. * No late submission * Plagiary will lead to no grade Question Using the public/private synergy model, come up with a case study and discuss the synergy or lethargy brought about by of public/private partnerships. 20 marks MOUNT KENYA UNIVERSITY VIRTUAL CAMPUS DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT MASTER OF ARTS, GOVERNANCE AND ETHICS CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT TEST I MDS 522 GOVERNANCE, ETHICS & ANTI-CORRUPTION REFORMS Instruction to students * Deadline October 30th 2013 or earlier * Assignment should be typed in prose not on bullet points * Font: new...
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...Apple Inc., formerly Apple Computer, Inc., is a multinational corporation that creates consumer electronics, computer software, and commercial servers. Apple's core product lines are the iPad, iPhone, iPod music player, and Macintosh computer line-up. For more than two decades, Apple Computer was predominantly a manufacturer of personal computers, including the Apple II, Macintosh, and Power Mac lines, but it faced rocky sales and low market share during the 1990s. Steve Jobs, who the left company in 1985, returned to become Apple's CEO in 1996 after his company NeXT was bought by Apple Inc., and he brought with him a new corporate philosophy of recognizable products and simple design. With the introduction of the successful iPod music player in 2001, Apple established itself as a leader in the consumer electronics industry, dropping "Computer" from its name. The company is now also known for its iOS range of products that began with the iPhone, iPod Touch and now iPad. Apple has 327 retail stores in thirteen countries, and an online store. It is the largest technology company in the world by revenue and profit, more than Google and Microsoft combined. As of September 24, 2011 the company had 60,400 permanent full-time employees and 2,900 temporary full-time employees worldwide; its worldwide annual revenue in 2010 totaled $65 billion, growing to $108 billion in 2011. People tend to think of Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, CA as the company’s heart and soul, but a majority...
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