Apple Company’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

The Strengths of Apple’s SWOT Analysis

1. Innovative products. The key to the company’s success is innovation in all areas of business. Apple has introduced popular product after popular product, and this has been Apple’s main strength. It came with the MacBook, then the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad, the iWatch (Mas, 2018). In other words, Apple covered almost everything the consumer wants.
2. Leadership position. Apple is the second-largest smartphone maker and industry, with the most innovative technologies. It became the first U.S. company to surpass $700 billion, and it became the largest publicly traded company in the world (Statista, 2021).
3. Brand capital. Naturally, to be a leader provides needs in brand equity to be high. As of 2016, the Apple brand ranks number one among all global companies. The brand’s value in 2015 was estimated at $118.9 billion (Howmuch, 2021).
4. Design and technology. The main reason for such a massive value of the company is the design and the technology used. Apple has always been sophisticated and elegant in the creation of its products. And at the same time, behind this exquisite design is a machine that provides maximum performance. It all runs on MacOS, another software known for its efficiency.
5. Distribution. Apple’s SWOT analysis shows that Apple has 470 of its stores in 17 countries (Howmuch, 2021). In addition to these stores, it is sold through channel partners, online channels, and other premium retailers. In addition, Apple has also launched an ingenious Apple panel to address customer concerns in the retail store itself directly.
6. Steve Jobs. One of the critical factors, and Apple’s leader, is also a favorite in the high-tech industry (Kahney, 2019). He is an example of leading people to multifunctional and practical production (Kahney, 2019). Since 2011, when he left this world, Apple has been led by Tim Cook, who also demonstrates his genius in developing Apple as a company (Kahney, 2019).
7. Consumer orientation. Apple always designs their products with the consumer in mind while keeping the future in mind. They always try to imagine things that the consumer hasn’t even imagined. In the words of Steve Jobs, “If you ask the consumer what they want, by the time you give them the same thing, they will want something else.” This ideology is the reason for Apple’s success.

Weaknesses in Apple’s SWOT Analysis

1. Meeting customer expectations. At the same time, since the company started to develop quality products since its foundation, customers have very high expectations for future upgrades. At the same time, every year the company manages to meet all customer requirements, as evidenced by the level of sales, which does not go down.
2. Incompatibility. The company has its own kind of monopoly, which does not allow products to interact effectively with third-party operating systems and software. Moreover, company has a significant impact on consumer decision-making process. In other words, when people buy an Apple product, they get into the Apple universe, and customers only need to continue with Apple.
3. Dependence on a small number of products. Although Google or Microsoft products are extremely extensive, Apple has only 8 lines. Consequently, Apple’s dependence on each of its products is very high (Zysman & Tyson, 2019). If one product fails, Apple loses 10%, therefore, Apple has a general need to increase its product portfolio (Statista, 2021).

Opportunities in Apple’s SWOT Analysis

1. Growing market. The market for products provided by Apple is growing steadily. At the same time, the spheres of influence are spreading, for example to poorer parts of the planet, where premium products are not in demand (Zysman & Tyson, 2019). Any company that grows and plans to hold its position should pay attention to castors with different sources of income. Because at the moment this niche is promising for expanding the customer base.
2. iWatch and Apple TV. Two products that could increase their presence are the iWatch and Apple TV, targeting a future where the digital company will grow (Mas, 2018). Apple Watch already has 50% of the smart-watch market in the U.S (Statista, 2021).

Threats in Apple’s SWOT analysis

1. Penetration of the smartphone market. Despite the fact that Apple phones are in demand, it is essential to emphasize that the problem for the company is the introduction of other companies and their products on the market. Android takes market share like everything else and currently has 47.5% of the market, while iPhone has 42% (Howmuch, 2021). Samsung uses Android, HTC, Lenovo and pretty much anyone else looking to enter the smartphone market. Naturally, Android is owned by Google, so Apple should be prepared to compete with smartphones (Zysman & Tyson, 2019).
2. Laptop competition. The MacBook is the best of the bunch. But so are Dell, Sony and Lenovo. The competition in the notebook segments is growing all the time. (Zysman & Tyson, 2019). MacBooks provide much love and consumer loyalty to the company because of their technological flawlessness.

References

Howmuch. (2021). The largest brands of the world 2020. Web.

Kahney, L. (2019). Tim Cook. The genius who took Apple to the next level. Penguin Books Limited.

Mas, S. (2018). Definition and analysis of the market for the Apple Watch. GRIN Verlag.

Statista. (2021). Apple – statistics & facts. Web.

Zysman, J., Tyson, L. (2019). American industry in international competition. Government policies and corporate strategies. Cornell University Press.