=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
This E-mail is Sponsored by: Small Dog Electronics
--> Specializing in New & Factory Refurbished Apple computers <--
Surf to <http://www.smalldog.com> Check out our daily specials!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
http://www.insanely-great.com/news.php?id=441
Apple''s Five-Year Market Share Decline Under Jobs?
By Remy Davison, Insanely Great Mac
May 21st 2002
How sustainable is a 2.5% world-wide market share?
Last week, IGM looked at Apple''s projected Q3 revenue and questioned the company''s
rate of revenue and unit growth. Now a Newsfactor story cites Gartner Group figures
showing a steady decline in Apple''s global market share over the last five years.
Given that 2000 was not a good year - particularly the final quarter, resulting in a
relatively large loss of more than $200 million - it is striking to note that market
share went from 2.8% in 2000 to 2.5% in 2001.
The Gartner figures also estimated Apple''s world-wide market share in 1997 and 1998
at 3.2%, and 3.3% in 1999. While Apple''s US market share is higher than its global
penetration, the figures at least demonstrate an overall decline in world-wide
shipments.
This is partly attributable to a the depressed state of the Japanese and European
economies, especially as Japan is a key sector of Apple''s education and consumer
market.
However, market share isn''t everything. Installed base counts too. But it can impact
negatively, as I recently found out. One workplace I visited (a college) recently was
turning over its Power Mac 7220s (4400s in some markets). Circa 1997. Then I got a
real shock: they were also replacing their Performa 6200s. Sure, they were replacing
them with Macs, but the 6200? I didn''t even think they existed anymore (or hoped they
didn''t). This was in big contrast to their PC labs, which got turned over every three
years. Total cost of ownership, as Gartner''s (now very dated, but oft-cited) study
will tell you, was very low for these Macs. But what did Apple get in the meantime?
It''s kind of like making Rolls-Royces last so long, no one needs replace them.
But another question is, how long can Apple keep selling into its existing base of
users? And how many Wintel (or even Linux) converts will the AppleStores deliver?
Certainly, XServe can deliver growth in certain markets, and that''s the type of
product and enterprise environment that Apple is really looking for. And eMac can hold
the fort in education - but can it deliver unit growth?
The bottom line is that there are only so many iBooks, iMacs and PowerBooks you (and
I) can buy. In 2000, Jobs and Anderson spoke confidentily of doubling Apple''s
(presumably US) market share to 10%. "Only 1 in 10 buyers has to switch and we''ve
doubled our market share," Jobs said.
Then 2000 happened.
The dot-com bubble burst, and dealers generally found the FireWire iBooks, rapid-aging
Pismos, underpowered G4s and (yet another color of) fruity iMacs hard to shift in an
evaporating PC market.
The fact is that Apple is a smaller company under Jobs II. A leaner, more efficient,
still leading-edge company, but smaller nonetheless. The upside is that smaller firms
are usually nimbler than their competitors and can judge and adapt to market trends
more quickly - and even set them.
But the negative side of this is that to be both a hardware and software company means
large investments in your own R&D engine. Thankfully, money isn''t frittered away on
grand projects that never fly, as occurred under Jean-Louis Gassee and John Sculley.
But every new product is a risk: two Cubes in a row can mean it''s five minutes to
midnight.
Memo to self: Replace that 8100.
Post your comments at:
http://www.insanely-great.com/news.php?id=441
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Copyright (c) 2001 Insanely Great Mac. All rights reserved. This article
may not be republished in part or whole without explicit written
permission from IGM Publishing.
Brought to you by Insanely Great Mac <http://www.insanely-great.com/>
To SUBSCRIBE - send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with subject
subscribe macnews
To UNSUBSCRIBE - send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with subject
unsubscribe macnews
Subscription problems/questions please email [EMAIL PROTECTED]
