Apple

Apple Inc. has long been a leader in the consumer electronics industry. Apple’s success has lead to fierce rivalries from competitors wanting a piece of the growing industry. Two of Apple’s most notable rivalries are with Samsung and Google. It is worth noting that for the majority of Apple’s existence, Microsoft had been seen as their biggest competitor. Although Microsoft is still a competitor, Samsung and Google’s successful entry into mobile consumer electronics has left Microsoft lagging behind in (consumer) market share.
The consumer electronics industry is dominated by few companies that control a majority of the market share. This consolidated industry makes entry by potential competitors difficult. Apple, Google, Samsung and Microsoft are so large and established that their entire processes have become leaner because of economies of scale and strategic and exclusive partnerships, which reduce their overall costs. Potential competitors would have to have a substantial capital investment in order to set up manufacturing processes that can compete with the largest companies. This alone is a very high barrier to entry for the consumer electronics industry.
Consumers are very valuable to the companies in this industry, especially because of their brand loyalty. This loyalty leads to word-of-mouth recommendations, consumers willing to spend more money on products from a particular company, and a higher consumer lifetime value over time. This is also a competitive advantage because these consumers are very proud and vocal about their loyalty to a particular company and make it a point to publicly reject competitor’s products. The same competitive rivalry that the companies engage in basically spreads to the consumers. The consumers think of themselves as a part of that company and feel like their acts can really help the company. They identify with the brand and see competitors and potential competitors as personal rivals. Again, this intense brand loyalty