Apple uses its retail stores to attract customers and tourists, generating 20% of its revenue. The stores have a calming atmosphere and well-trained staff. While the stores are expensive to operate, they achieve high sales per unit by showcasing Apple's passionately designed products. The stores primarily target high-end consumers and help improve Apple's brand value globally. The document recommends Apple expand to more developing countries where it is currently restricted.

1. THE APPLE STORE
(The Apple Store at 59th Street and Fifth Avenue, New York City. The store is actually
underground, accessed through stairs or an elevator in the glass box.)
Prithvi Ghag
Roll – 35
T.Y B.Com (H)
“Inside Apple Stores, a Certain Aura Enchants the Faithful”

2. -Katie Hefner (The New York Times)
Apple Inc., an American multinational corporation designing consumer electronics
and closely related software products, is popular for its well known products and its
mass power in the market. Apple Company uses unique methods in its physical stores
around the world to attract more customers as well as tourists, which originates 20%
of the companies overall revenue.
Apple has a total of 394 stores in a total of 14 countries.
Flagship stores have opened in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Beijing, Boston, Cardiff,
Chicago, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Montreal, Munich,
New York, Osaka, Paris, Perth, San Francisco, Shanghai, Sydney and Tokyo. The
largest Apple Store in the world is in Amsterdam, on the Leidseplein.
Situation analysis
Current organizational mission -
"Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS
X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music
revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the
mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the
future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad."
Current ownership and management alternatives –Apple is a multi-national
corporationincorporated in 1977 with a market capitalization of 621 billion
dollars , currently in the leadership of CEO Tim Cook.
Current goods/services category - Its best-known hardware products are the
Mac line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad. Its software includes
the OS X and iOSoperating systems, the iTunes media browser, and the iLife
and iWork creativity and production suites.

3. SWOT analysis
Strengths–
1) Excellent locations with flagship stores at some of the best addresses in the
World.
2) A feel good factor once you enter the store which makes it as much as a tourist
destination as a retail store.
3) Bright lights and glass architecture that attracts people because of the serenity.
4) Modern architectural designs in line with the ideology of the Apple products.
5) All products at display which gives consumers ample time to touch and feel
and make the purchase decision.
6) Well-trained and passionate staff that signifies Apple’s passion for its
products.
7) The highest footfall of all electronic stores in the World.
8) Excellent pricing tie-ups with the leading telecom companies such as AT&T,
Verizon.
Weakness -
1) Very expensive model with need for huge retail spaces , high street addresses
and state of the art architecture.
2) Huge costs of display.
3) Tough recruitment for store staff as passionate staff is one of their essential
condition.
4) The number of products is limited so it leads to dis-economies of scale.
5) Huge competition from online Apple store.
6) Apple merchandise also available at all the other big retailers and electronic
stores.
7) Apple does not open a franchisee model so it becomes tough to get apple
stores in countries where FDI in retail is restricted.

4. Opportunities-
1) Apple can leverage its huge cash reserves to open more and more stores
across the globe that become a symbol of the most valued brand in the
world.
2) Many of the economies like India are opening to FDI in single-brand retail,
Apple can take advantage of the fact and can get into many more countries
(presently it is restricted mostly to USA and Europe),
3) Though the model is very expensive but the per unit sale of Apple has
astonished everybody by achieving the highest per unit sale amongst
electronic retailers.
4) Due the popularity of the brand applicants for job at Apple are numerous
with many young person applying.
5) As Apple becomes the most valued brand in the World it really becomes
easy for the Apple stores to grow and dominate.
Threats
1) As the range of products sold is very small there is fear of losing sale if the
company fails to continuously innovate and these products lose popularity.
2) Huge competition from the online Apple store.
3) If the economy is poor and the sales go down the overhead cost of keeping
the store alive is very high.
4) Increasing competition in the smartphone and computer markets.
5) Patent violations in many countries are a serious threat.

5. Objectives
To maintain the elegant appeal of Apple products by making awe-inspiring
stores.
To help improve the brand value of Apple by showcasing the products to
the World in the best manner possible.
To achieve very high per unit sales by charging premium on the products.
To help Apple to become the first ever trillion dollar company.
To expand to as many countries as possible and take the brand visibility to
the highest level.
Identification of Customers
The customer segment of Apple is very well defined (high-end technology), so it is
essentially into concentrated market but the brand has become so big that this
concentrated group of customers has become very huge and thus it gives it some
tactics of mass marketing. But the products are never generalized and are essentially
very specific. Apple has a very loyal group of customers who can go to any extent in
order to get hands on the Apple products.
So the Apple stores have a very good footfall and are able to achieve an astonishing
per-unit sale. The stores itself are a marketing strategy for the company providing a
glorious gateway into the magical World of Apple.
Overall Strategy

6. Controllable variables –
1) Goods/services strategy: - the strategy is to make simple and revolutionary
products that make it impossible for the user to resist. The products are the
first of its kind in the market and in addition to the functionality are also
high in aesthetic value.
2) Location strategy: - The strategy is to take as many high street addresses in
the World in order to increase the brand visibility and make the stores as
valuable as the products to the customers.
3) Pricing strategy: - Apple has always been charging a high premium on its
products as they have a very loyal and passionate consumer customer base,
they charge a premium for their innovativeness and passion.
4) Promotion strategy: - Apple has always advertised on a very large scale with
very creative adds, they are never into any discounts and offers. In their
mind the product would lose respect if they started discounting, the products
are made with passion and everybody should respect that.
Uncontrollable variables –
1) Consumer environment: - the consumers of Apple products are very loyal and
Apple holds a World Wide developer’s conference every year to interact with
various developers and the consumers. The support and commitment they get
from their consumers is tremendous.
2) Competitive market:- the competition is huge both in the smartphone market
from likes of Samsung and nokia and in the pc market from Microsoft and
other companies.
3) Legal environment: - the legal environment is fierce with patent wars all over
(as we had seen the big ruckus between Apple and Samsung), Such continuous
interruptions effect business a lot and are taken into consideration while
developing the overall strategy.
4) Technological environment: - The technological environment has been the
most important factor for Apple as it has been the leading innovator and
always created problems for other players in the industry, thus making it its
strong point.
5) Economic environment: - The economic environment plays an important role
as there is a lot of money spent in innovation so production has to be done at
the least possible cost , so production is spread across the globe as are the
markets. So it becomes very important to analyze on a continuous the various
economies of the World.

7. Specific Activities
Genius bar-All Apple Stores feature a Genius Bar, where customers can receive
technical advice or set up service and repair for their products. The Genius Bar
provides software support for Mac OS X and hardware service on products that are
not classified vintage or obsolete.
Genius training manual -Every Apple Store employee is provided with a training
manual that teaches him or her marketing and manipulation techniques. The basic
tenet is that "Everyone in the Apple Store is in the business of selling".
Recommendations
Apple today is the world’s most valuable brand , though apple’s awesome stores are
present across the globe but they have continuously ignored many developing
countries and focused mostly on the developed countries. There is a very big market
they are not properly exploiting of which Samsung is taking advantage. If there are
legal problems to get into many countries they can go for a franchisee model as they
have started doing in India. Surely some more focus towards the emerging markets
will not hurt them.