Two thirds of $1,000+ computers sold in the U.S. last quarter were Macs. Though Apple only has 14% market share overall, owning 66% of the premium market means Apple wins.
In this post-industrial world you succeed by making objects of desire. The middle of the market, the land of “pretty good”, has been hollowed out. Today you want to be either Walmart or Louis Vuitton.
Dell and HP are Walmart. When you build commodity computers running Windows just like everyone else does you can’t differentiate your products. You have to join the race to the bottom and make it up in volume.
Because their computers are unique, Apple has a defensible market position. I don’t see how anyone could beat them at “premium” now because high end Windows PC users (gamers) tend to build, not buy.
If I were a gambling trading chap I’d go long APPL, short everyone who isn’t Dell or HP.
3 Comments ↓
wow is 14% accurate these days? i haven’t kept up w/ the stats in so long.
Turns out the data is just for brick and mortar stores, so the overall market share is certainly less than 14%, but still impressive. Dell and HP sell A LOT of crummy mini towers in corporate land, but the key is that Apple doesn’t care about this market.
In the high margin end of the business Apple is becoming dominant. Every time I see any Apple store it’s totally hopping with activity. Compare this to a Sony Store, Dell mall kiosk, or the Best Buy computer department. Even at Best Buy, people come to play with the Apple computers, not the PCs.
Also, look at the growth: Apple had less than 18% of the $1K+ brick and mortar market in January 2006, and now they have 66%.