Apple Computer

Apple Computer experienced many difficulties in the 1990's. As five years passed, the company has had four different CEO's. As each CEO took over, the company would go through

a different reformation. In July of 1997, Apple had submitted two-thirds of its market share. It was said that losses topped 1.6 billion dollars and shares were trading near all-time lows. Co-founder Steve Jobs had come to Apple's rescue when the company was at its lowest point. He unleashed a series of dramatic moves like a stunning decision to sign a long-term cross-licensing agreement with Microsoft for $150 million dollars. Jobs then ended Spindler's(former Ceo) cloning strategy and went on to kill the Newton, John Sculley's(both former Ceo's) pride and joy. Job's bravest strategy was the iMac, a smart designed, low-cost Macintosh that took the market by storm in 1998. four years later, an updated and more powerful version of the iMac was introduced as a "digital hub" for Apple's new peripheral devices and software. Job's also broke tradition by opening many of Apple-exclusive retail stores and by outsourcing iMac production. By 2000, Jobs had reversed course on nearly every aspect of his predecessors' strategies and had returned the company to profitability. In 2002, however, the company again faced weak unit sales, flat gross margins, and declined share in several core markets.

Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak dropped out of college in their early 20's and founded Apple Computer on April Fool's Day in 1976. Working out of Job's garage in Los Altos, California, they built a computer circuit board than named the Apple I. After a several months, they had made 200 sales and taken on a new partner. He was A.C Mike Markkula, Jr., a minted millionaire who had retired from Intel at the age of 33. Markkula, who was active in attracting venture capital, was the experienced businessman on the team; Wozniak was the technical genius; and Jobs was the visionary who sought to change the world through technology. He made it Apple's mission to bring an easy-to use computer to every man, woman, and child. In April of 1978, the company had launched the Apple II, a simple machine that ordinary people could use straight out of the box. This machine had set off a computing revolution that drove the personal computer industry to $1 billion in annual sales in less than three years. Apple quickly became the industry leader, selling more than 100,000 Apple IIs by the end of 1980. In December 1980, Apple launched a successful IPO.

Apple's competitive position changed fundamentally when IBM entered the PC market in 1981. The IBM PC, which relied on Microsoft's