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Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes?


In September 2016, Apple prepared to launch a new version of its flagship product, the iPhone 7. The new product, termed "the best, most advanced iPhone ever," was priced at three times its cost in the U.S. market. However, Apple had witnessed an 18 per cent year-on-year dip in iPhone revenues in the first calendar quarter of 2016, dragging down Apple's revenues for the first time in 13 years. The leader in the smartphone market was ousted from its number one position in fiscal year 2016 by the Samsung Group, which had a 20.5 per cent market share. A multitude of factors had caused a dip in the sales of iPhones in the United States and China-Apple's key markets. Apple was now eyeing India, the third-largest smartphone market in the world, to replicate its China growth story. The India launch of the iPhone 7 was planned for October 7, 2016. The base model was priced at the equivalent of over US$900, about 39 per cent higher than the U.S. phone price. Did Apple have the pricing power to charge more than three times the cost of the iPhone in the Indian market? What would be Apple's best pricing strategy in a market like India? How could Apple grow its revenues and profits in one of the fastest-growing smartphone markets in the world? Tulsi Jayakumar is affiliated with SP Jain Institute of Management & Research.

Authors :: Tulsi Jayakumar

Topics :: Global Business

Tags :: Mobile, Pricing, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes?" written by Tulsi Jayakumar includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Iphone Apple facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Mobile, Pricing and Global Business.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes? casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, technology disruption, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes?


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Iphone Apple, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Iphone Apple operates in.

According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.




SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix


SWOT analysis of Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Iphone Apple
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Global Business field.
4. Making a Global Business topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Iphone Apple




Strengths Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Iphone Apple in Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes? Harvard Business Review case study are -

High brand equity

– Iphone Apple has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Iphone Apple to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Analytics focus

– Iphone Apple is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Tulsi Jayakumar can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.

Ability to lead change in Global Business field

– Iphone Apple is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Iphone Apple in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Iphone Apple is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes? are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Diverse revenue streams

– Iphone Apple is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes? case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes? Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.

Strong track record of project management

– Iphone Apple is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Iphone Apple are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Iphone Apple has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Iphone Apple has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes? HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Digital Transformation in Global Business segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Iphone Apple digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Iphone Apple has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Iphone Apple in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.






Weaknesses Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes? are -

High dependence on existing supply chain

– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Iphone Apple supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes?, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Iphone Apple vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Tulsi Jayakumar suggests that, Iphone Apple is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes?, it seems that the employees of Iphone Apple don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.

Lack of clear differentiation of Iphone Apple products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Iphone Apple needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Iphone Apple needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes? HBR case study mentions - Iphone Apple takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes?, in the dynamic environment Iphone Apple has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Iphone Apple has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Iphone Apple has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Iphone Apple has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes? has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Iphone Apple 's lucrative customers.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Iphone Apple, firm in the HBR case study Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes? needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.




Opportunities Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes? | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes? are -

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Iphone Apple has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Iphone Apple to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes? case study. Iphone Apple can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Iphone Apple can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.

Buying journey improvements

– Iphone Apple can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes? suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Iphone Apple to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.

Identify volunteer opportunities

– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Iphone Apple can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Loyalty marketing

– Iphone Apple has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Iphone Apple to increase its market reach. Iphone Apple will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Iphone Apple can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.

Reconfiguring business model

– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Iphone Apple to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Iphone Apple can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Global Business segment.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– Consumer behavior has changed in the Global Business industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Iphone Apple can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Iphone Apple can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Iphone Apple can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Manufacturing automation

– Iphone Apple can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Global Business segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.




Threats Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes? are -

Backlash against dominant players

– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Iphone Apple business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Iphone Apple high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Iphone Apple with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Environmental challenges

– Iphone Apple needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Iphone Apple can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Iphone Apple in the Global Business industry. The Global Business industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.

Regulatory challenges

– Iphone Apple needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Global Business industry regulations.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Iphone Apple has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Iphone Apple needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Global Business sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Iphone Apple can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.

Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc

– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.

New competition

– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Iphone Apple in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Iphone Apple is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Capital market disruption

– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Iphone Apple.

High level of anxiety and lack of motivation

– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Iphone Apple needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes? Template, Example


Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes? needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants. We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –

First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes? is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.

Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes? is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.

Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Apple's iPhone in India: Ringing in New Fortunes? is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Iphone Apple needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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