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Apple by the Numbers

June 2005

Attention, all Trivia fans! We have collected some known and not-so-known facts about our favorite Apple gizmos. And the next time you are playing that well-known trivia game, maybe you will have the answers to some of the questions. Scan on and have some fun!

Why Portable?
In our fast paced world where everyone is constantly on the move, who has time to sit around listening to music? We want to take it with us as we lead our lives elsewhere. In the old days, music libraries were kept on vinyl records. Remember those? Or on cassettes. Remember those either? Or on CDs although today many people still have CD libraries. a music library of 5,000 songs would keep us going for a long time, but how much would it weigh? Here’s a brief summary, courtesy of Apple!

ipod Super Sales Facts
The iPod family has been popular and quick selling from the time the first iPod hit the streets. The iPod fourth generation debuted in July 2004, followed in October by the iPod photo. Then the iPod shuffle was introduced in January 2005. The next generation iPod mini burst onto the scene the next month, February. During the last year though, sales have taken off like a rocket. The sales figures for the last two quarters of 2004, for instance, increased over 900% over the same quarters last year! The introduction of the iPod photo and the iPod shuffle couldn’t possibly have anything to do with it, eh?

Just a note about quarters: Apple’s fiscal year begins in October, making their first quarter the same as the fourth quarter for calendar watchers. So the just in sales recorded for Apple’s fourth quarter 2004 is really July, August and September 2004, just after the iPod fourth generation appeared.

5,000 SONGS =
Vinyl: 281lbs cds: 43 lbs cassettes: 14 lbs ipod: 5.6 oz

International Versus Domestic Sales
A very large portion of Apple’s revenue (and profits) comes from international sales. Stores from Tokyo to London have been contributing 35% to 51% since the Apple Store concept was first launched in mid 2001. Even during the lean times at the beginning of 2001 and the end of 2002, the international impact on Apple’s bottom line was significant. To say it kept the company afloat might be stretching the facts but without their contribution.

In the quarter (Q4 2002) when Apple announced a $45 million net loss, Steve Jobs was quoted in the company’s financial reports (available on their web site). “Though our industry continues to struggle, we had some bright spots this quarter - ...and our retail stores sold over $100 million and hosted 2.25 million visitors this quarter.”

Company Performance
Looking at the latest reported income figures for Apple and some of its competitors from the iPod charts, certain truths seem to jump out. Dell, Sony and Samsung lead the Revenues battle, but Apple leads in the digital music arena with 60-90 percent of the market, depending on which source and quarter you look at. And in the latest reported quarter, Samsung's digital music sales actually fell compared to the previous year.

Revenue and net profit amounts for Sony and Samsung have been converted from Yen and KRW (South Korean Won), respectively.

Dell and Sony may be larger companies than Apple, in terms of revenue and net profits. But Apple is growing at a much faster rate than any of its nearest competitors. In fact, Sony is even losing ground. Creative, with a growth rate this last report card of 50% is still 24% behind Apple. The secret to Apple’s successful growth rate can be attributed to their philosophy of innovation and creative thinking, as well as their ability to deliver quality, well-designed and easy to use products that customers actually want. The Numbers do not lie.