Currently, Apple Incorporated is one of the most reputable companies in the world. The company was formerly known as Apple Computer Incorporated. Apple is a multi-national corporation with its headquarters in the United States. The company’s centre of operation is in Cupertino, California. Apple Incorporated dropped the word computer from its title in 2007.
This was after the company decided to shift from extensive computer-manufacture to the manufacture of other consumer-oriented electronics. Apple is only second to Samsung when it comes to manufacturers of information-technology gadgets.
Apple is third after Samsung and Nokia among global mobile phone manufacturers. At the beginning of 2013, Apple was worth over $400 billion. In addition, the company has over seventy-two thousand permanent employees around the world. Apple’s annual revenue for the year 2012 was one hundred and fifty six billion dollars (Apple’s Annual Report, 2012).
Apple is an information-technology based company that undertakes the manufacture of both software and hardware products. However, the company is synonymous with hardware products such as the Mac computers, iPhones tablets, and the iPods (Linzmayer, 2009).
The company also manufactures software products such as operating systems and browsers. Apple’s most popular software innovations include the iTunes, the OS X, iLife, and iWork.
Apple Incorporated is the brainchild of three information technology experts namely Steve Jobs, Ronald Wayne, and Steve Wozniak. The three men formed Apple in 1976 with the aim of selling personal computers that were then known as Apple 1 (Helander, Landauer & Prabhu, 1997).
The company was incorporated one year after it was formed but Wayne had already sold his share of the company to his partners. Wozniak and Jobs received tremendous financial support from billionaire businessman Mike Markkula during the company’s infancy when the company was facing stiff competition from IBM and Microsoft.
In 1980, the company opened its doors to public investors through an Initial Public Offer (IPO) selling one share at twenty-two dollars. This IPO is believed to have created more millionaires than any other IPO in the history of United States. The company started producing computers that utilized a graphic user interface (GUI) in 1983.
The year 1985 saw a power struggle between Steve Jobs and Apple’s then CEO result in the resignation of Steve Jobs. The company later entered into a loss-making period that lasted for six years until 1998.
Steve Jobs made a comeback to Apple in 1997 and he was able to lead the company back to its profit making ways (Young & Simon, 2005). From 1998 to present, Apple has been able to maintain a positive economic growth. However, the period between 2007 and 2011 was characterized by immense growth in profitability and share value.
The products that are currently retailed by Apple Incorporated include iPods, iPads, and iPhones. Moreover, the company has several software products including iTunes. Apple recently developed Apple TV a product that links its user’s iTunes and television preferences. The company’s logo is an apple with a bite, a personal preference of Steve Jobs one of the company’s founders.
Apple uses a unique form of advertising for its products such as the famous 1984 Super Bowl advert. In addition, the company has used different slogans since its inception. The Apple brand attracts one of the most loyal customers around the world.
This brand loyalty led to the formation of “Apple Evangelists” (Hertzfeld, 2004). Apple’s presence around the world has seen the company take advantage of countries with low taxation rates. The company’s corporate model utilizes individuals’ talents rather than a company’s profile. Various companies have replicated this model since the 1970s.
The only threat to Apple’s profitability came this year after its share prices began falling. Before this dip, the company was one of the most positively growing companies in the United States. The company has also been on the forefront of enforcing measures against global warming.
References
Apple’s 2012 Annual Report: More Employees, More Office Space, More Sales. (2012). Web.
Helander, M. G., Landauer, T. K., & Prabhu, P. V. (1997). Handbook of human- computer interaction. Amsterdam, Netherlands: North Holland Press.
Hertzfeld, A. (2004). Revolution in the valley. New York, NY: O’Reilly Books.
Linzmayer, O. W. (2009). Apple confidential 2.0: The definitive history of the world’s most colorful company. New York, NY: No Starch Press.
Young, J. S., & Simon, W. L. (2005). iCon: Steve Jobs, the greatest second act in the history of business. New York, NY: Wiley.