Apple Stores
Problem Statement
This case analyzes the different issues that Apple faced in the PC industry. The most important issues that Apple faced while making the decisions about the expansion of stores in other locations were finding the right location, selecting and training of dedicated employees and utilization of the innovative store elements.. Another problem that Apple faced was how to determine the best method for evaluating the success of their stores.
Recommendations
Following are the recommendations for Apple:
The pioneer’s strategy among the alternative seems to be the best option that will help Apple to overcome its existing problems. Additionally, it will help the corporation to open its stores in different location around the world and provide the economies of scale and distribution advantages that may result in, increased market share.
As, it will also help Apple to maintain and sustain the leadership by continuous innovation in the product. That will attract a larger customer segment and increased market share.
The company can also lower the cost of its product offering while maintaining its quality in order to enhance the growth and assess the success of their stores at different locations.
Rationale: Alternative
Ø Pioneer Strategy
Apple can adopt the effective pioneer strategy which can overcome the problems and it will help the company to find the right location. By expanding their market and by developing the elements in the product offerings which are different from the competitors that will be appealing to the majority of customers in the industry. Marketing the importance of the brand offerings to the company can attract new customers that are unaware about the product qualities. It will also be easy to examine the behavior of the customers. As this strategy will provide Apple with the significant and the suitable market share over its rivals in the industry. On the other hand, there are also some challenges that the Apple can face by being a pioneer. These may include limited resources for product development, difficulty in positioning the product and competition from the followers.
Ø Strategic Alliance
Another solution for the company is a strategic alliance with another firm for its specific product offerings in the PC market. As, this will help the company to expand into the new locations in different countries and also reduce the cost and process of product development. Furthermore, there will be no compatibility issues if the Apple goes for strategic alliance and also increase the profit margin. Another advantage of a strategic alliance is sharing of assets and expertise as well as a larger range of knowledge that will help the company to select and train employees.
It will also provide the opportunities for new investments and increased the lower market shares of Apple in PC market. But there are also disadvantages if the company goes for joint partnership there may be a conflict among the cultures of both the companies. Another challenge that Apple might face with strategic alliance is the confidentiality of producing innovative products will be affected to some extent.
Ø Business Level strategy
Third alternative solution to the problem of Apple requires the development of the competitive business level strategy. Apple by focusing on the main element of its product offering in a specific market segment can evaluate the behaviors of the customers, as well as it can also attract the customers who had little attention towards the value proposition of the Apple. This will help the corporation to identify the ways to evaluate the success of its different stores. Likewise, another advantage of the business level strategy for Apple will be, that it helps in managing and measuring the expectation of the customers and also identify the factors that impact the success of the different stores of the corporation. There are also a few challenges that Apple may face with business level strategy that includes difficulty in anticipating the needs of the customers and identifying the appropriate segment that is needed to be targeted.
Implementation Tactics
- Apple needs to describe all the core activities and resources that must be required in order to overcome the problems while implementing the strategies. These strategies must align with the objectives and with the long term growth of the company. Furthermore, implementation of the tactics must include innovative ideas and the business tactics that help the company to meet the expectation level of the customers.
Apple needs to involve in the implementation process all the members of the corporation, as it is important to communicate and explain them about the changes. However, this will also help Apple to motivate and encourage its employees towards better performance in order to expand their stores and increase the market share in the industry. It is also important to determine the level of participation of all the employees and train them in order to achieve the desired results.....................
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This case shows the genesis of Apple Stores, revolutionary retail concept began to Ron Johnson, senior vice president of Apple Computer retail. In January 2002, Apple Computer was on the eve of one of the most amazing business success ever known in the consumer market. Body parts, the retail strategy has become a cornerstone of the overall strategy to support Apple's digital lifestyle of its customers. Analyzing the most innovative elements of the store and discuss the implied control problems, students gain a deeper understanding of the multiple roles of distribution channels in the modern marketing. The fact is the ideal tool to understand how the different stages of the marketing process (analysis, strategy, implementation) can be tightly integrated for maximum impact. It also raises interesting questions in consumer behavior. The interactions of the consumer to purchase the expansion and transformation of "Hide
by Luke Wathieu, Kevin Morris Source: Harvard Business School 17 pages. Publication Date: Mar 07, 2002. Prod. #: 502063-PDF-ENG
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