Strategy of Apple Brand

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS STRATEGY OF PARENT COMPANY When a firm decides to go international with their business they must face many competitive decisions. Two of the most important decisions a company will face are the pressures for cost reduction and pressures for local responsiveness. The pressure of cost reduction forces a firm to lower their value of the cost of creation. Firms can outsource to places where costs of their products are much cheaper or they can mass-produce a standardized product in one location. A firm must have the feeling of local representation.

Every country has its own way of life. If a company does not adhere to each country’s differences in traditional business practices, distribution channels, and the demands from the host government, there will be no reason going international. Customers in different countries all hold to their own ways of doings things. It is important for a multinational firm to become aware of all traditions and rules in the countries of entry. There are four different strategies an international corporation can choose from. They are global standardization, localization, transnational and international.

Each strategy leads to the deciding factor that firms will use to determine the amount of pressures for cost reduction and local responsiveness. Global standardization is used to increase profitability by obtaining cost reductions through economies of scale. A firm whom wants to pursue a low-cost strategy on a global scale will normally offer a product that can be mass-produced at a low cost. A localization strategy offers a product that is custom to the host country. The product satisfies the countries preferences and taste. The third strategy is transnational.

It is used when the firm is faced with strong pressures for both reduction and localization. This strategy is hardly used when competitors are in the market because it is hard for a firm to please the local tastes and preferences of its customers at a low cost. The last strategy is international. This strategy is used when firms are confronted with low pressures for both cost reductions and local responsiveness. This strategy is scarcely used when competition enters the market. With each strategy, business can find which one works best for their organization.

Also Case Study will describe why Apple Inc. is a very successful company.

Companies will decide to go international depending on the country it chooses to enter and the amount of profit it can earn. In corporate strategy there are two types of diversification, linked and constrained. “Companies using linked diversification, enter new businesses when it relates in some way to another business they are already in but it does not necessarily have any connection to their other businesses. If they are using constrained diversification, they only enter a new business if it is based on their core resources or competencies.

Companies based on linked diversification have little coherence to their overall corporate strategy, while companies using constrained diversification tend to be more focused. Constrained diversification allows companies to maximize the effect of their resources because they are shared (100). ” Apple is a personal computer, hardware and software company, inherently leading to use constrained diversification because they utilize their competition and they share resources between businesses. For example iPods, iPads, iPhones, MacBooks and Apple TVs all run on the same operating system.

This intends customers to link their music with laptops, TVs, cell phones and other Apple products. This allows for a more appealing product to the customer. Apple is saving money by sharing resources throughout their multinational business. The product of Apple has such a distinct business that competitors have not been able to match their techniques. Each electronic device is unique, allowing for them to be used anywhere in the world and each is different from any of its competitors. Apple’s goal for a mobile business is to be fundamentally innovated and differentiable.

It does not concentrate on the size of its industry because it maintains strong profit margins that have high percentages in the industry’s profit share. Apple does not focus on the quantity of its products but the quality and relevance. “. Peter Drucker wrote that “What makes the future happen is always a business’s embodiment of an idea of a different economy, a different technology, a different society. It need not be a big idea; but it must be one that differs from the norm of today”. This means defining what the devices are (e. . , a pocket-sized device, or a tablet-sized device), and what they do. Apple must do this through constant innovation. ” Apple has secured itself as the industry innovator and a position of strength by constantly defining what their products are and what their products do. Since Apple is continuously redefining the industry, they do not need an overwhelming market share. Apple can dominate the market through their intelligence of inventing new electronics and the respect they have for their customers.

Apple’s basic business model is to sell hardware; every other product, iTunes, Apps, operating systems, is to make their hardware more valuable. The main goal of this strategy is to maximize the value of the firm. Customers are willing to pay high prices to obtain products of high value and high quality. Within an international business setting, firms are competing to receive the highest profit against one another. Apple is competing at a differentiation strategy. They increase the attractiveness of their products, making the products stand out so customers will purchase their products over another.

Apple’s strategic positioning choice is to have high valued electronics that all customers want. Apple products are unique compared to the rest of the world. This allows Apple to charge a higher price. Many people are willing to buy Apple products because they are well produced, have a high quality and are known as a luxury item to the customers of Apple. Apple’s main goal is to maximize all values for the firm. This includes increasing shareholder value in a legal, ethical and a socially responsible manner. Managers can increase the profitability of a firm by pursuing strategies that lower costs or by pursuing strategies that add value to the firm’s products. Managers can also increase the rate at which the firm’s profits grow over time by pursuing strategies to sell more products in existing markets or by pursuing strategies to enter new markets”. Apple is always looking at new ways to increase its value and shareholder profit. Our main strategy to increase profit is to add value, raise prices and to enter new markets.