Swot analysis of samsung 2018

Apple’s SWOT Analysis

Points of Strength:

· Globally Recognized Brand: Since its establishment, Apple has built an astounding reputation of being one of the most reliable companies providing technological services and solutions. It has one of the largest customer bases to ever exist, making it the first company ever with a stock price of one trillion dollar.

· Demanded Brand: Apple is a highly demanded brand all over the globe, it is the number one choice in America for smart phones, accessories and corporate office supplies. It has a technology that is suitable for every age and domain.

· Focus on Research & Development: Apple as a company puts a lot of its efforts and money into product design, manufacturing, quality, and marketing. A lot of studies and researches are conducted before product release that are based on customer needs and demands.

· Innovation: Apple changed the way people interact and communicate back in June 2007 when they introduced the IPhone, and that trend continued on when they introduced the IPad in April 2010. Apple shed a new light on the way people use their smartphones and tablets. Nowadays these products are an essential part of work and everyday life.

Points of Weakness:

· High Prices: Apple products are generally considered in the market as a luxurious items due to their premium prices. These products are more oriented towards middle to high income customers than low income.

· Incompatibility: Apple is considered a unique product when it comes to software and cross platforming. Items purchased from Apple whether they are computers, phones, tablets, or accessories will only function on a particular software produced by the company which leaves small space for sharing and cross platform.

· Competitive Market & Penetration: Although Apple has a solid place in market, it does not lower the chances of growth of competitive brands such as Sony, Samsung, Google, and Microsoft. In 2018 a research was conducted stating that while IOS software (Software used by Apple) is dominant nationally, 72.23 of the global market uses Android (Software produced by Google).

· Underwhelming Marketing & Promoting Efforts: Due to its solid reputation in market place, Apple has a bad reputation for promoting or marketing their products. They have poor marketing strategies the barely promotes the products and depend solely on their name to attract customers towards their products.

Opportunities:

· Focus on Services: While the main source of profit is from smartphones and tablets, Apple gets a decent amount of revenue from the services that they offer. Apple gains revenue from selling products like IPhone or IPad to every customer once every year, while they can gain profit from their services on a daily basis. These services include Apple Pay, Apple Care, Apple Music…etc. It is estimated that if Apple can put these services into good use, the company can gain up to 10 million dollar in a quarter of a year.

· Partnership with Tesla: Many analysts noted that a partnership between two companies like Tesla and Apple could be the deal of the century. They both strive for top quality hardware accompanied with flawless software that could one day be the next big invention in the field of technology and engineering, and create a big increase of profit for both companies.

Threats:

· US-China Trade War: Since Apple started working on their IPhones and IPads, most of the manufacturing process was produced in China. The decision by the American government to make the manufacturing process happen internally increased the expanses of production. In addition, Apple like any other American company is going through the phase of “Bear Territory” which is the struggle to increase stocks in December, one of the usually most profitable months of the year.

Apple SWOT | SWOT analysis of Apple

Reference List:

· Hallmark, M. (2019, March 19). Apple SWOT 2019 | SWOT Analysis of Apple. Retrieved from https://bstrategyhub.com/swot-analysis-of-apple-apple-swot-2018/

· Apple Stock Forecast For 2019: SWOT Analysis I Know First Forecast For AAPL. (2019, January 14). Retrieved from https://iknowfirst.com/aapl-stock-forecast-for-2019-apple-swot-analysis-i-know-first-forecast

Sony’s SWOT Analysis

Points of Strength:

· Emphasis on Multimedia: In the last decade, Sony made a big jump in terms of profits due to their decision to shift their focus from hardware to multimedia such as: games, movies, television, and streaming services. This diversity helps the company avoiding risks and increase their stability in marketplace.

· Strong Demand for Brand: Sony has built a very solid reputation both nationally and internationally. Customers are more likely to purchase from Sony than other competitors due to high quality product and a very loyal customer base.

· Legacy in Gaming: Most people nowadays recognize Sony’s brand from their expenditure in gaming. Their console the Sony Playstaion is one of the most sought items on the market today. As of December 31, 2018 Sony has sold 91.6 million unit of their latest hardware PS4 with approximate profit of 1.6 Billion dollar.

Points of Weakness:

· Fluctuation in Marketing & Prices: Due to lack of marketing strategies and overpriced products, Sony had by the end of March 2018 to lay off a lot of their staff in distribution and marketing departments, their loss financially was 435 billion yen which is approximately 390 Billion dollar.

· Too much Focus on Gaming: Over the last decade, a lot of Sony’s focus went into gaming division driving the company away from their core products in hardware and electronics.

Opportunities:

· Full Integration: Sony can gain advantage from their strong foundation in gaming industry to support their underwhelming products from other divisions such us movies and music. By integrating these services into one form of product, Sony can gain a large amount of profits and spend less on marketing and distributing.

· Smartphone & Tablets: In 2001 Sony entered the telecommunication market by joining the Swedish company Ericsson to make Sony Ericsson, this partnership ended in 2012 due to lack of sales and profits. With Sony being a big name in the market, they can establish their own brand of smartphones and tablets and become a big competitor in the field of telecommunication.

Threats:

· Competition: Sony has a lot of competition from rival companies such as LG and Samsung that provide similar products at lower costs.

· Online Hacking: On November 2014, a group of hackers were able to leak confidential data from Sony pictures that included staff salaries, unreleased movies, and other information. That kind of act can make the company lose their competitive advantage and make customers exposed to theft and fraud.

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Reference List:

· Fatakia, K. (2012, March 02). Sony Corporation: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats. Retrieved from https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2012/03/02/sony-corporation-strengths-weaknesses-opportunitie.aspx

· Greenspan, R. (2017, March 01). Sony Corporation's SWOT Analysis & Recommendations. Retrieved from http://panmore.com/sony-corporation-swot-analysis-recommendations

· Sony SWOT and PESTLE Analysis. (2018, November 05). Retrieved from https://www.swotandpestle.com/sony/