" (Quick MBA, p. 1) Quite in fact, few companies have ever demonstrated the effectiveness of this principle better than Apple, a technology firm which ultimately succeeded in dominating a flagging music market by substituting its technologically driven delivery innovations for the role played by record companies, distributors and music retail stores alike. In a sense, iTunes and the iPod have superceded all of these forces in determining the thrust of the current music industry. Today, there are many different streaming and subscription digital music services. Likewise, there are a wide array of mobile devices, media playing devices and listening platforms which might be perceived as potential substitutes for different aspects of Apple's music product lines and services. However, to present day, Apple owes a great deal of its success to the fact that its product differentiation is nothing less than iconic. Such is to say that its sleek design, singular functionality and general cultural cachet have helped Apple products permeate commercial, social and artistic contexts in a way that is virtually unparalleled in home computing.

Buyer Power:

In many ways, Apple has succeeded in rendering buyer power almost moot. By offering a product that is perceived by many buyers as unparalleled in quality and capability, Apple has remained fairly recession-proof even while maintaining some of the highest product prices in the industry. Without question, this ability stems from its innovations, which often come to define product design throughout the industry. The iPod is perhaps the greatest example of this. According to the case study, "in 2001, Apple introduced its first iPod, launching a new era for the company...

Capitalizing on the emerging trend of MP3 music, Apple introduced a breakthrough product that soon became synonymous with the MP3 music player category." (Heracleous & Papachroni, p. 9) Thus, even as its probative prices were sustained through many generations of advancement, each iPod, iPhone or iPad produce derived from this original model continues to command market dominance.
Rivalry:

Even with the untimely death of visionary CEO Steve Jobs, Apple remains several steps ahead of any potential rivalry because of the stamp his personality left on the company. According to Helft & Miller (2011), Apple executives have observed that "Mr. Jobs's creativity, obsession with a product's design and function, and management style, as well as the force of his personality, were unusual, not only in Silicon Valley, but also in American business. They said that it would take several people with different skills to fill Mr. Jobs's shoes." (Helft & Miller, p. 1) Jobs pursued a strategy of concentration of expertise within the industry which stifled any potential rivalries with software giants like Microsoft or computer giants like Dell or Hewlett Packard. As such, Jobs did an excellent job of surrounding himself with the types of individuals who could replace him by instilling a constant desire for innovation in the Apple company at large.

Works Cited:

Helft, M. & Miller, C.C. (2011). A Deep Bench of Leadership at Apple. New York Times.

Heracleous, L. & Papachroni, a. (2009). Strategic Leadership and Innovation at Apple Inc. Warwick Business School.

Quick MBA. (2010). Porter's Five Forces. QuickMBA.com