Strategic Development History Of Apple

Strategic Development History Of Apple This report will explore the strategic development history of Apple Inc. (previously Apple Computer, Inc.), its current strategies and form the basis of Apples future strategy in the form of strategic recommendations which Apple Inc. can persuade to get sustainable competitive advantage and higher growths in the future. The success of a strategy is determined by the companys initiative actions, how well it anticipates competitors responses to them and how well companys anticipates and reacts to its competitors actions. In strategic development we will analyse how Apple establish a framework for setting its direction and determined the criteria to take strategic decisions. After having analysed it, the report will depict its current strategic situation by doing macro and micro analysis and on the basis of it, the possible future recommendations will be suggested. Introduction: Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and sells consumer electronics, personal computers and computer software. It is best known for its products like iPhone, ipod and Macintosh computers. The company was established in April 1, 1976 in Cupertino, California and incorporated in January 3, 1977. As of September 26, 2009, Apple had 34,300 full time employees and 2,500 temporary full time employees worldwide1. It had worldwide sales of $42.91 billion in its fiscal year ending September 26, 20092. It has more than 284 retail stores3 as of January, 2010 and online store where software and hardware products are sold. The financial Data of Apple Inc. for 2009 are as: Financial Data of Apple Inc. for 20094 Financial Fiscal as Ended on 26-09- 2009 Total Revenue 42,905m Gross Profit 17,222m Total Cash Flow 2,997m Net Income 8,235m Total Asset Value 47,501m 1 www.apple.com 2 Revised Request Quarterly Income Statement Apple Inc. January 25,2010. 3 Apple Tablet Media Event Today. Come See Our Latest Creation MacRumors. January 27, 2010 accessed on [17 July 2010] 4 http://www.google.com/finance?fstype=iiq=nasdaq:aapl Strategic Development Overview: Apple Inc. has managed to create substantial value in the highly competitive consumer electronic and computer industry by innovating and forging a path considerably different from those of the largest competitors in the industry, successfully differentiating its products from those of the competition by choosing to focus on quality, superior customer service and design elegance while outsourcing actual manufacturing to most trusted original equipment manufacturers. Even though despite of this fact Apple has created for itself, the stiff competition within the industry and other external factors present formidable challenges to the firm. The Early Years 1976- 1980 Apple I was the first computer introduced by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronal Wayne. It was sold as the motherboard with Central processing unit (CPU), RAM and the basic textual video chips. By the end of 1970s Apple had a staff of computer programmers and designers and a production line. After Apple II they introduced Apple III in May, 1980. The main competitors for Apple were IBM and Microsoft competing for market share. In 1984 Apple launched Macintosh which was initially sold well but the follow up sales were not strong. The computer industry destiny changed when the Laser writer were introduced. The Mac was powerful in the market due to its advanced graphics capabilities which was already necessarily built in to create the intuitive Macintosh GUI. At that time it has been suggested the combination of these three products was caused for the creation of desktop publishing market. As the desktop publishing became widespread, the sale of Apple has reached new heights and the comp any has offered its first public offerings in September 7, 1984. The reason for the Apple sustainable growth due to its leadership in the education sector, attributed to adaptation of LOGO programming language used in many schools with the Apple II. 1986- 1993 A Move in Strategy After the failure of Bulky Macintosh, Apple changed its strategy and offered Macintosh Portable in 1989. In 1991 Apple introduced PowerBook which made the basis of the modern form of ergonomic layout of laptop computer. In the same year Apple came up with its new operating system System 7 which added colour to interface and enhanced the networking capabilities. It was remained the architectural basis for Mac OS up to 2001. The success of PowerBook brought huge revenues for Apple and it seemed that nothing go wrong with Apple at that time. MacAddict a famous magazine named the period between 1989 and 1991 as the first golden age of the Macintosh. The Apples strategy to attach the market with other products like digital cameras, portable CD audio players, speakers and video consoles did not work well for Apple. The main focus of Microsoft was to gain market share with Windows, focusing on delivering software with cheap commodity where as Apple was even though was rich in engineering matter but was bit expensive. 1994 -1997 Reinvention Apple put its step in the PDA market by introducing Apple Newton which was one the first in the industry. Apple has started working on other platforms by the early 1990s such as A/U. It was needed at that time to replace the platform for Macintosh or reworked to design a powerful hardware to run the Macintosh. 1n 1994, Apple allied with Motorola and IBM. The aim was to create a new computing platform Power PC Reference Platform which would use IBM and Motorola hardware coupled with Apples software. The AIM alliance worked for Apple and Apples software left the PC far behind. Apple introduced Power Macintosh the first time of many Apple computers to use IBMs PowerPC processor. Apple adopted a new built -to- order strategy in November 10, 1997 by introducing Apple store which was tied to its overall strategy. 1998- 2005 A New Start Apple introduced iMac a new all in one computer reminiscent in August 15, 1998  [5]  . The iMac was equipped with new technology and groundbreaking design. Near about 800,000 units sold in first five months and returned Apple to profitability for the first time since 1993. In this period Apple purchased several companies to create a portfolio of professional and consumer- oriented digital production software. In 1998, Apple announced the purchase of Macromedias Final cut software giving a new signal of entering into the digital video editing market. The following year Apple had released two video editing products, one is iMovie and the other one is Final Cut Pro for the professionals. Around 800,000 users had been registered with this software by the start of 2007. Apple has opened its first official store in May 19, 2001 in Virginia and California. In the same year Apple has introduced its first iPod portable digital audio player. This product has given a new success to Apple as more than 100 million units were sold within six years. Apple has a strategy of bounding the customer to its products and doing a business a different way. Apple has given a new theme to music industry business by introducing Apples iTunes Store whereby you can download music for US$0.99 song integration with iPod. Apple has become the market leader in the online music services due to it with over 5 billion download by June 19th, 2008. 2005 -2010 New Era Apple has taken another move in its strategy of dominating the market by announcing on June 6, 2005 in the Worldwide Developers Conference that Apple would start producing Intel- based computers in 2006  [6]  . MacBook Pro and iMac became the first Apple computers to utilize Intels Core Duo CPU. By 7th of August 2007 Apple had transitioned the entire Mac product line to Intel chips. The day Apple announced its iPhone and Apple TV its share price hit $97.80, an all time high at that point and in May that price went up to $100 mark  [7]  . A next step to its success was selling the third party applications for its iPhone and iPod touch. Within a month, 60 millions application sold on this platform and brought in $ I million dollar on average. Three months later it was announced that Apple has become the third largest mobile handset supplier in the world due to the popularity of the iPhone  [8]  . Apple added a one more milestone in its success by targeting the market with its new iPad on January 27, 2010. It runs the same touch based operating system as iPhone and many of the application of iPhone are compatible with the iPad. On the launch day more than 300,000 units sold and this figure reached to 500,000 by the end of the first week  [9]  . Situational Analysis: Apple is one of the most successful companies of the time that bucked the traditional notions of what a corporate culture should look like in terms of organizational hierarchy. After doing the macro (PESTEL), industrial analysis we would be in a position to clearly analyse its current position and suggest further recommendations. Environmental Analysis: PESTEL Analysis For doing environmental analysis of Apple we will use the PESTEL analysis along with keeping of global forces as well. Demographic Economic P/Legal Environment Threats Opportunities Economic 1. Signs of economic turnaround are present but many consumers are unconvinced and spending less. Apple always sell products on premium prices so it may be out of consumer prices range 1. Economic recovery will cause spending. Apple innovative and high quality products attract the customers Demographic 1. Flattening of wages- Levelling Influence 1. Rising prices and stagnant leave workers and families with less money to spend on perceived luxury goods. 1.Apple known for high quality, dependability and long lasting products will attract customers seeking value for their money Political/Legal 1.Potential FCC Internet Regulation 2.Healthcare Reform 1. FCC internet regulations may stifle innovation on the internet, reducing new methods for Apple to capitalize the power of internet. 1.Apples useful portable device could be leveraged in modern healthcare settings, funded in part by government money, increasing demand Technological 1.Device Convergence 2.Shortening Product Lifecycle 1. Apple broad line of devices may become obsolete with the advent of multi-use portable devices. 2. Increased pressure to innovative may result in missed opportunities and inventories losses. 1. As a leader in portable devices Apple can innovate and lead the way in platform. 2. High RD commitments may propel. Apple led the industry by out-innovating competitors. Socio cultural 1.Increase desire for on-the-go devices 2. Greater concern for the environment. 1. Apples portable computers may lose relevance among new on-the-go devices. 2. Device manufacturing will be equated with pollution and climate change. 1. Apple can lead innovation in on-the-go devices utilizing RD portable knowhow. 2. Apples lead in environmentally- sound practices will be a marketing advantage. Global 1.Developing Chinese economy 2. Potential worldwide climate regulation. 1. The developing Chinese economy will require higher wages for factory workers. 2. Emissions regulation will impose huge burdens on Apples production costs. 1. Massive population with increased buying power for Apples products. 2. Apple has already made steps to improve environment- friendliness can be used to the firms advantage. Technological Global S/Cultural Industrial Analysis: For industrial analysis we make use of Porters five forces framework to assess the different forces that affect the overall industry in which firms operate. Porters Five Forces: Threat of New Entrant To analyse the threat of new entrant we have to consider the different barriers that make this threat nominal to sever. The barriers are Economies of Scale Apple had already experience of manufacturing mass- market consumer electronic devices, so Apple was not adversely affected by this barrier. Product Differentiation This trait goes in favour of Apple because Apple is the leader in the innovative products and Apple has certain amount of protection through the strength of its brand identity. But this product differentiation can be emulated to a certain degree. Capital Requirements Apple enjoys a slight advantage here but it may be quickly lost. If we talk about other companies they might have experience in manufacturing cell phones but not necessarily software. To compete with Apple they have to invest a lot on this sector. Second Apple is a leader in innovation as it uses to spend a huge capital on RD which is huge barrier for the new company to spend a significant amount of capital on RD. Access to Distribution Channels Apple remained successful in gaining access to a distribution channel and they also tied themselves exclusively to a single cell phone network. So the new entrant will have to take some time to reach to this level. So having analyzing these barriers we can say that the threat for new entrant for Apple is low to medium. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: The main supplier of Apple Inc. is Intel for microprocessor chips and Apple has strategic alliance with Intel and Microsoft as Microsoft enable Apple users to use the Microsoft Windows operating system on its machine. So, Apple has to be very careful in managing its relation with these suppliers especially with Intel. So the bargaining power of suppliers is medium. Bargaining Power of Buyers: The bargaining power of buyers is low as its only Apple which always come with new innovative products. Even though its true that there are many competitors of Apple in the market for different products but even then people wait for Apples new invention. So, clearly the bargaining power of buyers is low in case of Apple. Threat of Substitute: The threat of substitute is high as Apple products are the premium products and there are lot of companies that are making products like mobile phones (iPhone) which are very similar in functionality and in shape. Second companies like DELL, ASCER and Microsoft has started penetrating in the mobile market shrinking the market share of Apple. So keeping in view of todays scenario the threat of substitute is higher for Apple Inc. Competitive Rivalry: The competition among the giants is very fierce and everyone is fighting for large market share through intensive price cuts and changes. The competitors of Apple are Microsoft, HTC, Dell, NOKIA and others. The competition is becoming tough and tough as most of the companies which were specialist in PC related stuff have started coming in the mobile and PC tablet market. Due to this the competition has become tougher and for more market growth and share, everyone is ready to take any sore of moves like price cuts, technology change, etc. The last step to evaluate the company position in conjunction to its industry we do the SWOT analysis which will depict what sort of strength/weaknesses it has what kind of opportunities and threats it has from its surroundings. Potential Entrant Threat Medium Threat of entry COMPETITIVE RIVALRY HIGH SUBSTITUTES High SUPPLIERS Low BUYERS Medium Bargaining Power Bargaining power Threat of substitutes Porters Five Forces Framework for Apple Inc. SWOT Analysis: Strengths Ease of use High Corporate Reputation Leader in Innovation and market leader Loyal customer base Strong Top Management Creative Style Weaknesses High prices Limited Distribution Channels Compatibility issues (e.g. with IBM) Poor Quality Control/Assurance Opportunities New social devices iTunes Distribution International markets Internet Growing industry Demand for innovation Threats Economic Situation Intensive Competition Potential Litigations Potential increase in supplys costs. Price competition Value Chain Analysis: Value Chain Activity Corresponding Firm Practice, Policy/Procedure General Administration A greener Apple reduction in energy use in production and transportation to match trend in green business. Strong cash position allows the firm to internally finance expansion and development without cost of capital. Human Resource Management Selective hiring process find and attract talent Generous employee benefits program retain industry-leading talent. Technological Development Research Development expenditure increased about 66% from 2007 to 2009 Patent filing protection of important inventions and innovations in the US and worldwide Procurement Positive relationships with suppliers EICC member, working to improve working conditions, created and enforces a Supplier Code of Conduct. Inbound Logistics Automated receiving systems reduce facility footprint and space requirements. Delegate raw materials acquisition offer supervision to OEM partners who carry out acquisition. Operations Utilizes OEMs economies of scale offshore production to save money on costs of build. Internal design design and conceptualize products internally Outbound Logistics Economical/Stylish Packaging eye-catching packaging takes up less space and weight, reducing shipping costs and costs of disposal. Apple Stores/Authorized Retailers working to maintain standards over presentation of products for sale. Direct shipment ship products from China to consumer to minimize inventory build-ups in costly locations. Marketing and Sales Get a Mac Ads Various direct/indirect favourable comparisons Strategic Choices: Taking its environment, industry and value chain analysis we may give some options available to Apple Inc. for its future growth in terms of more market share and profitability. These are given as: Reducing the costs of its products and maintaining the same quality standards. Opening of more retail shops for easy access and more physical presence. Providing facility for customization of its different products like Apple Mac Book and others. Consumer electronics diversification. Option 1: Reducing the costs of Products Apple has that kind of brand which attracts everyone but the only problem is the premium prices for its products. Apple can hit the market segment which can afford reasonable prices which we can say not much low and not too much high. By slightly reducing the prices and maintaining the same quality Apple can further dominate the market and achieve more market share. By doing it the major benefit that Apple will achieve is further brand awareness and customer loyalty. Evaluation of option 1: (SAF test) A useful way of looking at evaluation criteria is to view them as falling into three categories: Suitability, Feasibility, and Acceptability Johnson, G., and Scholes, K.(1997) As far as the suitability of this option is concerned, then lowering the prices will be suitable for Apple Inc. because most of competitors of Apple they start making the same products design wise and technology wise with lower prices. The company get two benefits with this strategic option. First it will get more customers who like Apple products but cant buy due to higher prices (means more market share) and the other benefit is killing the competition. So, in my point of view this option fulfils all the three parameters of SAF test. Option 2: Opening of more retail Shops By providing more points of direct contact with the buyers will enable Apple to provide better service to customers and bring the Apple more customer and experience to more people. Apples retail stores have been largely successful, that success can be furthered in new locations within USA, UK and other countries. Apple should practice great caution to avoid over- saturation to retain the halo surrounding the stores and maintain their status as a destination. Evaluation of option 2 (SAF Test) By introducing Apple stores provided Apple with an important physical presence to act as both point of sales locations and an advertisement. Opening of more retail outlets will provide Apple more control on the image of brand and provide excellent customer services. Apple comes in the top retailers in- stores sales, generating $4,032 per retail square foot per year, beating other retailers like Tiffany Co. At $2,666 and Best Buy at only $930.  [10]  Matching success and impact like the Apple store model is hard for others to achieve. Apple possesses all resources like capital and top management to consider this option which can prove one step further in its growing success. Option3: Customization of products Dell has taken a lead from all its competitors in providing customized products to its customer through its website. Dell has set a model for its competitors. Apple can contribute to this area by offering customised products like Mac Book and other through its website. In this way you are buying your customer and giving them what they want. The customer will be more satisfied and happy with the services. Customization will provide efficient value chain management and reduces the inventory level. Evaluation of Option3 (SAF Test) Today is the day of internet and most of leading companies are trading through their websites. Now a days the customers are well IT equipped and more aware. They buy what they want not what the gives. By offering customized products you are giving the customer what they want and biding them. Apple has great intellectual assets, so it is easier to come up with business model which will facilitate Apple to provide customized products to its customers. Secondly it will require minimal capital but its results will be outstanding. There is only one time cost and life time rewards attached to this option. So considering all these aspects, this option is quite good for Apples future growth and sustainable competitive advantage. Option 4: Consumer Electronic Diversification Apple already has a well positioned diversified strategy, but it can broaden its scope while creating value in related and unrelated markets including eBooks and medical equipment. We just examine its current diversification beginning with full sized desktop computers to now a days notebook computer, mobile phones, digital music players, iPad. Despite of this broad range of diversification, opportunities are still there for Apple to avail in further diversification. Evaluation of Option 4 (SAF Test) If we take United States or UK the medical equipment and related devices are growth area of economy. As new healthcare legislation is enacted the importance of modernizing our system will come to forefront. Apples innovative and high quality portable devices would provide excellent platforms for care providers to get benefit of streamlining care. In order get more value from this area and to reduce the capital investment Apple should work with medical equipment manufacturers and core providers to establish Apples devices. Apple can open its portable and mobile platforms for development of unique and efficient medical tools using a combination of new digital medical technologies and current technology of connectivity. Good examples of future products can be digital thermometers and blood pressure monitors that connect through USB to Apple device to automatically log measurements and do real time analysis based on historical values to identify trends. Apple can take advantage of being first mover in this kind of products. After presenting the different aspects we may conclude that this option is valuable for Apple Inc. Recommendations: Based on the above analysis, it is recommended that Apple Inc. formulates a strategy of offering customized products to its consumers to gain more customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Consumer specific customization and hardware packaging- increase product diversification and eliminate threat of competitive alternatives. It will help Apple to strip certain features and hence reduce costs. The sales will be increased and Apple will a far larger customer base. Secondly it should gain access to additional distribution channels and sales outlets in the international markets (International Presence). It has substantial presence internationally but still has to be introduced in many Asian countries including China, Arab countries and most of Africa. Apple should drive down the costs per unit to enable price reductions and attract more customers. In this way it will not capture more market share but also beat the competition increasing in the market. It should exploit its RD to innov ate, should create products with similar usability but at lower costs. Especially in the deep recession period people might respond better to lower prices. It has no doubt that Apple is very good in introducing excellent design and innovative products but we have seen a consistent problem with Apples quality control and assurance department. So, Apple should stress on improving in this area to preserve its brand image as well as to win the customer confidence on its products.

Soil Sample

Discussion: D10 = 0. 078mm D30 = 0. 125mm D60 = 0. 55mm Cc = (D30)2 / [D10 x D60] = 0. 1252 / [0. 55 x 0. 078] = 0. 36422 < 1 Cu = D60 / D10 = 0. 55 / 0. 078 =7. 0513 > 6 If a soil is well-graded, it should satisfy 1 < Cc < 3 Cu > 4 (for gravels) Cu > 6 (for sand) Note that, from our result, Cc is much smaller than one. So by the constraints 1 < Cc < 3, we can conclude that the testing soil is not well-graded, but poorly graded. And the Cu obtained is 7. 0513 > 6, which implies that the sample should be sand but not gravels. Furthermore, we may classify the sample following the table below accurately:As we see our sample contains 17. 16% of gravel which satisfy the constraints of gravelly sand. So we may further conclude that the sample is poorly-graded gravelly sand. (3) For the engineering application of results, we may see that as sieve analysis test (dry sieve) results in gradation of sample in well-graded or poorly graded on the basis of their particle sizes and its size distribution, so the result can be an indicator of other engineering properties such as compressibility, shear strength, and hydraulic conductivity which is important in construction engineering and geotechnical engineering.In an engineering design, the gradation of soil often controls the design and ground water drainage of the site. For example a poorly graded soil will have better drainage than a well graded soil because there are more void spaces in a poorly graded soil. And other example is a well graded soil is able to be compacted more than a poorly graded soil. Most types of projects may have gradation requirements that must be met before the soil to be used is accepted.Conclusion: From the above result, the sample is classified as poorly-graded gravelly sand. The result is useful for the type of use of the site in further development. These poorly graded stone is good for drainage but not as a kind of foundation support. The importance of the gradation o f soil is understood so that soil can be based in different use and will not induce unwanted accident in construction engineering or geotechnical engineering.

All About College Applications Essay Topics

All About College Applications Essay Topics Application essays about challenges reveal how you respond to difficulty to individuals who are really interested in how you'll deal with the subsequent four years by yourself. Citations and extracts from assorted sources have to be formatted properly. Your response might be amazing, yet supposing it is not presented properly, it isn't going to finish a good deal. Be aware you do not need to have solved the issue, and a few of the greatest essays will explore problems which need to be solved later on. The essay is just one of the significant methods you are able to distinguish yourself. The essays are a part of the general picture of the student. Your essays ought to be unique. The sports essay is predictable and ought to be avoided, if at all possible. The cost of an essay is dependent upon the total amount of effort the writer has to exert. Essay writing can be quite challenging by yourself. Colleges can tell whenever your essay is only a form essay. The same is applicable to school-specific essays. What You Should Do About College Applications Essay Topics Starting in the Next 3 Minutes Also, don't forget that no college is eager to admit a person who is too close-minded to gain from being taught by other people. A whole lot of students make the error of attempting to second-guess what the admissions folks wish to hear in an essay, then write about something which isn't actually central to their interests and passions. Opt for a distinctive topic that others may not think of, and whatever you select, make sure that you know a lot about it! From time to time, even when you're writing about an interesting, relevant subject, you are still able to appear immature or unready for college life due to the manner in which you pres ent that topic the way you really write your own personal statement. There isn't a prompt to direct you, which means you must ask yourself the questions that will get at the center of the story you would like to tell. Let your own voice beam through, together with at the very least sound genuine, also in the event you extend the information a little from fact. Therefore, if you begin with a terrible topic, not only will you wind up with a poor essay, but you risk ruining the superior impression that the remainder of your application makes. Keep in mind the manner of the question you're answering and don't begin introducing new topics simply to pad out your answer. How to Find College Applications Essay Topics College admissions essays aren't rocket science, but there are a range of steps that students may take to gather the most accurate and compelling essays that will assist their odds of gaining admission to their top-choice colleges. You could also get assistance from a professional who knows precisely what the scholarship committee is searchin g for. An admissions officer is considerably more likely to bear in mind an applicant who has a rather specific essay written in a distinctive and quirky way. Therefore, many students and employees decide to get low-cost essay rather than writing it themselves. Explain your commitments, and you're going to be the sort of student colleges find immensely attractive. There are lots of scholarships which don't require an essay. When there's an excellent essay, that student will stick out. If it comes to write engineering essay for those students that are studying in electrical engineering school becomes confused since they are engineers and not the writers. There's no too easy or too hard endeavor for us. Following are some probable topics. So you don't actually need to locate a topic! Make certain you give clear explanations of the things on your list too. Your college counselor can offer valuable insight into how to increase your college application essays, so make sure to find feedback on your drafts whenever possible. The student may give the particulars of the topics to the firm. Colleges are not searching for perfect folks. They want to get to know more about you. College Applications Essay Topics: the Ultimate Convenience! You may not understand what you would like to do with your career. You are able to also have a concise sentence or two about your career path or some other plans you've got for the future your university education will permit you to accomplish. Colleges are interested in finding a feeling of maturity and introspectionpinpoint the transformation and demonstrate your private growth. Perhaps right now you're trying to enter the school that you dream about. Summer is the best time to start your college essay. Fine, but you must be ready to write whatever you really feel like writing from a college that m ight not be your first selection. Valentine's Day isn't a holiday.

Nike Competitive Advantage - 1089 Words

* 1. MGMT65000 – Strategic Management – spring 2011 Test 1 By: Divya Mishra School of Management Purdue University Calumet Submitted to: Dr. Arifin Angriawan1|Page * 2. Company profile amp; backgroundNIKE, Inc. is engaged in the design, development and worldwide marketing of footwear,apparel, equipment and accessory products. . It sells its products to around 18,000 retail accountsin the United States and through a mix of independent distributors, licensees and subsidiaries innearly 200 countries. NIKE is the largest seller of athletic footwear and athletic apparel in the world.The Company creates designs for men, women and children. The top selling product categoryincludes running, basketball, childrens, cross-training and womens†¦show more content†¦NIKE Innovations NIKE with Apple: The NIKE+ package consists of a pair of specially designed NIKE+ running shoes, an iPod nano, and a NIKE + iPod sport kit. The kit consists of a sensor that fits into a built-in p ocket beneath the insole of the left shoe and a receiver that fits into the iPod nano dock connector. As a person runs, iPod tells the distance, pace, and calories burned via voice feedback that adjusts music volume as it plays. (Google image) Design your own shoes: NIKE allows customers to design their own shoes from a catalogue of predefined designs. Customers can choose their own colors and mascots to create shoes which define their personality. It provides Touch screen technology in store allowing customers to design shoes of choice. (Google image) Nike self lacing automatic shoes: NIKE is also coming up with the new automatic self lacing sneakers. The automatic lacing system provides a set of straps that can be automatically opened and closed to switch between a loosened and tightened position.4|Page * 5. Critical data of Nike Annual Report$ Millions 2010Net Income 1,906.7Current Liability 3,364.2Total Assets 14419.3Tax Rate 24.2%Interest Rate 6.35%Long-Term Debt 445.8Return on Equity 19.54%Total Equity 9753.7Weighted Average Cost of Capital 8.9%Capital Employed 11055.1Interest Expense 6.3EBIT 2516.9NOPAT 1907.81Return On Capital Employed 20.7%Economic Value Added 1267.25Cash Flow From Operations* 3164.2Capital expenditure*Show MoreRelatedNike s Offensive Competitive Advantage1206 Words   |  5 PagesOffensive Competitive Advantage There are numerous definitions of competitive strategy; whether, it was defined by a scholar, a textbook, or a dictionary source, it is not the same. A source may refer to this subject as a competitive strategy or a competitive advantage. Therefore, this subject is difficult to understand and then apply to a company. The Five Generic Competitive Strategies that Michael E. Porter developed are not really five strategies, more like five with subsets under them. 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