Apple Store Homework 5 - Competitive Analysis - Essay Example

Best Practices of Apple Store Competitors There are a number of other different channels in the market, which compete with Apple. These include Microsoft, Google Inc., Research in Motion Limited Company, Hewlett-Packard Company, and Dell, among others. These compete with Apple basing on different business factors such as pricing, product design, merchandise mix, visual presentation, channel design, and target customer. Nonetheless, Apple has been able to compete with these channels favorably in order to remain profitable in the market.

Research in Motion (RIM) Company has excellent customer service. This company focuses on its customers, and primarily aims at meeting their needs. With regard to its merchandise mix, this company produces a wide range of products. Products include wireless hardware, software, and services. This is popular for its Blackberry smartphones, which have e-mail, multimedia applications, text messaging, and internet access. Other products include playbook tablet computer, modems, and software development tools.

This company targets customers worldwide, ranging from individual consumers to institutions. On the other hand, Hewlett-Packard Company is involved with security, cloud computing, and data. The software, hardware, and services, which this company produces are known to be comprehensive. Unlike Apple, HP is the largest producer of PCs in the world. The merchandise mix of Hewlett-Packard Company is so diverse, and includes other products such as printers, networking equipment, servers, and storage devices.

Services this company offers include consulting, IT, business process outsourcing, systems integration, application development, among others. This is an old company, founded about 75 years ago; therefore, it means that it is firmly established. HP strives to ensure quality service to customers, although its product design is not unique (Adobe FrameMaker WEB). Dell Inc. is the third largest producer of PCs. The merchandise mix is of wide range, as this produces different technology products and services.

These include desktop and notebook PCs, printers, peripherals, data storage systems, network servers, and Ethernet switches. Services include asset recovery, consulting, systems integration, infrastructure, hosted IT services, and support. The target customers of Dell Inc. are diverse, and these include government sector, consumers, enterprises, and the education sector. This company also values quality customer care (Dell Inc. WEB). Microsoft Corporation Company is the world’s largest software company.

The products produced are of a wide range. These include the ubiquitous Windows PC operating system, video game consoles, server and storage software, digital music players, and enterprise applications (Microsoft Dynamics). In addition, Windows 7 is a mobile software produced by this company. The customers that Microsoft targets include PC makers, who buy the Windows OS, and pre-install it on their PCs. Microsoft also sells through resellers, or directly online. Nonetheless, the great merchandise mix is advantageous to this company (Microsoft Corporation WEB).

Google Inc. is one of the world’s largest internet technology and advertising companies in the world. This provides products and services that are internet-based. These include software, internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. One of the strengths of Google Inc. is the high level of innovativeness the company embraces, and this is reflected in the uniqueness of its products and services. In addition, this bases on customer experience and product quality as its primary object.

Furthermore, this company ensures product integration. Most of Google products are integrated with each other, and can be used with other OS from different companies, unlike Apple, whose most of its products are incompatible with some OS from different companies (Google Inc. WEB). There are a variety of products from the competitors of Apple Inc, which are selling better than Apple products, thus posing a challenge to Apple. For instance, Google’s Android operating system presents the greatest competition to Apple.

In 2012, the Android OS had claimed 42.7% of the tablet sales. In addition, the smartphones with Android OS continue to sell highly compared to Apple’s. The sale rates of Android smartphones have increased from 57.5% in 2011 to 75% in 2012. In addition, the BlackBerry 10 operating system, together with the new Blackberry smartphones, including Z10 and Q10 by the Research in Motion (RIM) Company have continued to reestablish themselves in the market of smartphones, and this is great competition to Apple.

This company has already exceeded 1 million sales, meaning this is gaining base in the market. Microsoft Company makes great profits from its OS (Windows XP), compared to Apple. On the other hand, Dell Inc. makes more sales on its hardware and PCs. Nonetheless, although the competitors of Apple are well established in the market, Apple remains one of the most recognizable brands in the world. It is highly innovative, and produces unique products, which differentiate it from its competitors’ products.

In addition, the retail stores of Apple are considered the most profitable stores in the world, in addition to their big number. However, compared to its competitors, the pricing of Apple is considerably high. This is because this company targets the high-class people, who are wealthy. Therefore, unlike its competitors, Apple sells its products expensively, and this might be a limiting factor to its sales rate, as customers will opt for less expensive products. With regard to merchandise design, although Apple produces unique products, Apple’s iOS and OS X are designed in a way that they are incompatible with other OS of different companies.

This might, therefore make customers to choose their accustomed Windows OS. However, both Apple and its competitors value customer service, therefore, strive to ensure quality service to customers. Since Apple has such competitors, it is developing various strategies to counter immense competition in order to remain relevant in the market. Works Cited Adobe FrameMaker. “Hewlett-Packard Company Direct Marketing Organization.” Viewed 4 June 2013 Dell Inc. Viewed 4 June 2013 Google Inc. Viewed 4 June 2013