Can Phil Schiller Keep Apple Cool?

Can Phil Schiller Keep Apple Cool?

Is Apples brand in jeopardy following the death of Steve Jobs? I believe Steve Jobs became well known and synonymous with Apple because people love the Apple products. People will build loyalty toward a brand because of the product, not the CEO or perceived genius behind it. I believe Steve Jobs personal brand benefited from the products popularity and brilliant marketing. He was highly publicized and marketed as “the man” alongside the products. In most cases, consumers enjoy a product and never even know who the CEO is, or the marketing managers. Around the time of Steve Jobs death, Apple is the leader in its industry. If a new ‘cool’ product was to be invented, marketed and brought to consumers, it was Apple. In Burrows and Satariano article “Can Phil Schiller Keep Apple Cool?” they quoted Trip Chowdhry, analyst at Global Equities Research who leaves an open question asked of all great companies who became the clear cut leader in their industry;

“They’re at the top—-and when you’re at the top, there’s only one way to go if you don’t reinvent yourself” (Burrows & Satariano,2012). Generic strategies that can be implemented to prevent a down slide is continue to forecast consumers’ needs 3-5 years in advance as well as continue to overspend in research and development. What can we expect from Apple in the future? and will they continue on their current trajectory? I believe Apple will continue to stay atop the industry. Unless they miscalculate an overall slowdown/plateau in product evolution, they should not lose their huge market share and brand loyalty. As far as Steve Jobs passing on October 5th 2011 and trying to analyze if Phil Schillar is up to the task, lets look at one basic financial barometer. The stock chart below was provided by Google finance showing a five year stock price indicator. Apple’s stock price just prior to Steve Jobs death was trading around $250 per share. On April 29, 2013, Apples traded at $430 per share.

What does the stock price tell us about Apples viability and marketplace dominance after the death of Steve Jobs. In my opinion, the unfortunate death of a great innovator and the face of Apple did not have huge long term impact on the Company. Phil Schillar who we know was a marketing guru and largely responsible for Apples successes, continues to increase the company’s value. Brand loyalty, and customer satisfaction is often hard to determine or judge, but great barometer for any CEO can be summed up in a few questions with one being most important; Has the CEO increase shareholders equity? Phil Shillar has.

Reference Page
Burrows, P., & Satariano, A. (2012). Can Phil Schiller keep Apple cool? Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-06-07/can-phil-schiller-keep-cool#p2