Dermavescent Lab Case

Andrea Silberberg
Management 449
October 21, 2014
Apple, Inc.
Apple has sustained itself as a fast-growing, competitive brand since the 1980’s. From the launch of the first iPhone and iPod, Apple started viewing itself as a “mobile device company”. Sixty percent of total Apple, Inc. sales in 2009 were strictly from the iPhone and iPod sales. Revenues and net income were still growing even in the severe economic recession. As Microsoft started introducing new software, consumers were becoming more open to the idea of buying PCs over Apple products, and Steve Jobs knew that he could not relax and had to come up with a new product in order to remain a top competitor. The launch of the first-ever iPad was expected to take Apple to the next level.
Apple has used many different strategies to remain a profitable company. The launch of applications for Macintosh users and programs such as the iLife suite which contained iPhoto, iTunes, and iWeb was costly for Apple, but ultimately contributed to the growing segment of the company. This continued with the production of the Mac Pages, Keynote, and Numbers. Steve Jobs also utilized the use of Microsoft products for his Macintosh computers, as well as Internet explorer, so that customers already familiar with the Microsoft products would still be open to the use of Apple products. The feature that dramatically differentiated Apple from its competitors was the launch of iTunes desktop. This separated the iPod from major competitors because Apple users were now able to sync their iPods to iTunes and keep a music library readily available on their computer. Users could also purchase music through iTunes and have it automatically download to their iPods. Steve Jobs saw competitive online music stores growing, and made the smart decision to buy out one, Lala.com, which was a music streaming service. His second response to this threat was the launch of the iPhone. Launching the iPhone exploded revenues to well over $13 billion by the end of 2009. Along with the iPhone came the launch of the App Store, in which consumers could purchase applications straight from their iPhone and have it downloaded within seconds.
Apple soon realized that iPhones were being sold in the grey market by re-sellers, so they decided to come up with their first contract with AT&T in which consumers could purchase the iPhone for only $199 with a 2 year contract. This helped launch sales because iPhones ran for $599 if they were unsubsidized. iPhones soon accounted for 30% of Apple’s total revenue. With all of Apple’s innovative creations and on-going updates of technology, I do believe that the company will remain profitable. It by far surpasses it’s competition with loyal customers, and is always the first brand to launch a new type of product. I believe that Apple has a strong enough following and customer loyalty to sustain profits, even through recessions and occasional failures within the company.