A lot has been written about the recent successes at Apple, one issue is missing.
With its brand extensions Apple moved from a computer brand to an accessories brand. Already the iBook was marketed as an accessory, mostly through productplacement.
No matter the features, the iPod was and is foremost an accessory, a prestige product. Just ask some teenagers.
The same is true for the iPhone. Among managers the Blackberry still might be the leading phone. But if you ask freelances, architects, media people, the iPhone is the must-have accessory.
And the iPad goes along the same route, few people will drop “real” computers and/or laptops completely.
And all those products are priced like other prestigious accessories, sunglasses, handbags, watches, jewelry.
Apple has proven a couple of things, brand extensions:
- work
- enhance brand image
- advance brands
- broaden the customer basis and
- open new sources of revenue and profit
As pointed out elsewhere, Apple recently passed Microsoft in market capitalization.