Overview:
Designs, manufactures and markets mobile communication and media devices, personal computers, and portable digital music players, and sells a variety of related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications.
History:
Locations:
Company Work Culture and Environment:
Values:
Company Growth and Stability:
Caveats:
Reputation:
Competitors:
Investments:
Designs, manufactures and markets mobile communication and media devices, personal computers, and portable digital music players, and sells a variety of related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications.
History:
- Apple was founded on April 1st, 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne. Very shortly later, Wayne sold his 10% stake in the company for $800.00, which today would be worth over $3 Billion. Apple's early days were developing personal computers in a garage. They grew into a huge company, thanks to the releases of products such as the iMac, Mac OSX, iPods, MacBooks, and iPhones.
Locations:
- Apple's headquarters is located in the Silicon Valley, in Cupertino California. As of June 2014, Apple maintains 425 retail stores in fourteen countries, as well as the online Apple Store and iTunes Store, the latter of which is the world's largest music retailer.
Company Work Culture and Environment:
- Apple is so secretive that it makes us all wonder what it must be like to work on the inside.
- "If I was still at Apple, I would not be responding to this question, nor would I feel wronged for not being able to. ... The general idea is this: You are part of something much bigger than you. The ideas you talk about in the hall, the neat tricks you figured out in CSS, the new unibody machining technique, that's part of your job, something you are paid to do for Apple's success, not something you need to blog about to satisfy your ego. Don't f--- it up for everyone."
- "The Apple Campus itself is an amazing place, with the huge building surrounding a central Quad with grass and sidewalks and the amazing cafeteria: You get trays and silverware just exactly like in College, and go pick from a large handful of sushi, Mexican, make-your-own sandwich or salad, or countless other options, then check out at a register before sitting down inside or in their little Outdoor Cafe in the Quad. Even the food is running at 100% throttle, with the Cafeteria crowded and bustling, and even the Chefs dressed perfectly and clean-white smocks with black Apple hats on, doing their part to keep everyone fueled and running their war at 100% efficiency."
- "They desire and demand a collaborative atmosphere. Your work is peer-vetted -- we had to present our work to the team and take feedback."
Values:
- Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings.
Company Growth and Stability:
- First established in a garage by 3 men, received funding during incormporation of $250,000, during first 5 years revenue’s average growth rate 700%, 1980 Apple goes public at $22 per share creating 300 millionaires, Macintosh computer very successful. 2000’s gave Apple new life with iPods and the new Apple retail stores. iMacs were big, and the iPhone was massive.
Caveats:
- Apple sees large decline in 90’s because of inferior products. Microsoft’s Windows is doing well, driving Apple’s sales down. Apple saw slight decline after the death of Steve Jobs.
Reputation:
- Apple has long been known as one of the most innovative companies in the world, although that has been slipping since the death of Steve Jobs.
Competitors:
- Apple's main competitors are the other large cellphone companies, such as Samsung, Motorola, the android platform, and other computer software companies, such as Microsoft. They must also compete with other mp3 playing devices, like the Zune, and other music providers, like Pandora and Spotify. Macbooks and iMacs are in constant competition with every other laptop manufacturer on the market, such as Toshiba, HP, Dell, and so on.
Investments:
- As of 2014, Apple is listed as a partner of the Product RED campaign, together with other brands such as Nike, Girl, American Express and Converse. The campaign's mission is to prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to child by 2015 (its byline is "Fighting For An AIDS Free Generation"). In November 2012, Apple donated $2.5 million to the American Red Cross to aid relief efforts after Hurricane Sandy.