The threat of substitute products and services
The first point of Porter’s 5 forces analysis is extremely relevant to Apple Inc. There are many differing companies in the market with products like the I-pod, these companies are finding it hard to compete with Apple and therefore drop there prices. Apple Inc is leading the market in mp3 players, mp4 players and music software and it is hard for other companies to compete with them. Apple Inc is behind in the market for Pc’s and laptops this is due to the price of the products and the poor advertising.
The threat of the entry of new competitors (barriers to entry)
This is the second point of Porter’s 5 forces and it is about how easy it is for new competitors to enter the market. Apple Inc is in many differing markets but mainly electronics, such as their trademark I-pod brand. As it is such a wide market it is easy for new competitors to enter the market. They also can try and compete with the price of the products although they cannot compete in terms of quality of the products.
The intensity of competitive rivalry
There are a lot of rivals in the market that Apple Inc is in, but their clear rivals are Microsoft and some people even see these two companies as bitter enemies. Microsoft and Apple have never liked each other from the begging. They are both trying to beat each other at every aspect of their companies. All over the world it is well known that the both of these companies despise each other.
The bargaining power of customers/buyers
For the customer there is not much of a chance to bargain as the majority of the prices on the site are fixed and you cannot negotiate on them. Although it is hard to lose your business to the competitors apple will do so as there prices are high compared to the other sites.
