Moroccan or Thai market... apple next step with IWatch

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Marketing Plan for Apple iWatch
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Notifications. Activity. Siri. Apple Pay. Right on your wrist.
Final Assignment
Strategic Marketing Plan for Apple iWatch
Foreign Market Analysis
Prepared By
Mohamed Ali Salem

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Contents
Executive Summary:.....................................................................................................................................5
Introduction:.................................................................................................................................................7
Analysis Thailand and Morocco...................................................................................................................9
Introduction ..............................................................................................................................................9
Economic Analysis.....................................................................................................................................9
Country Reports, Analysis and Data..........................................................................................................9
Morocco..................................................................................................................................................10
1. About Morocco ...........................................................................................................................10
2. Quick Facts..................................................................................................................................10
3. Morocco Economy ......................................................................................................................11
4. The Economic freedoms .............................................................................................................12
5. Regulatory Efficiency...................................................................................................................12
6. Open Markets .............................................................................................................................13
7. Technology in Morocco...............................................................................................................13
8. Morocco SWAT analysis..............................................................................................................14
Thailand..................................................................................................................................................16
1. About Thailand............................................................................................................................16
2. Quick Facts..................................................................................................................................16
3. Thailand Economy.......................................................................................................................17
4. The Economic freedoms .............................................................................................................18
5. Regulatory Efficiency...................................................................................................................18
6. Open Markets .............................................................................................................................19
7. Technology in Thailand ...............................................................................................................19
7.1. Technology statistical..............................................................................................................21
8. Thailand SWAT analysis...............................................................................................................22
Morocco vs. Thailand .................................................................................................................................25
Evaluation of potential...............................................................................................................................28
Smartwatch ................................................................................................................................................28
1. Definition ....................................................................................................................................28
2. The History of Smartwatches......................................................................................................28
a. Foundation..................................................................................................................................28
b. Imagination.................................................................................................................................29

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c. Electrification..............................................................................................................................29
d. Experimentation .........................................................................................................................30
e. Commercialization ......................................................................................................................30
Apple Watch...............................................................................................................................................31
1. Apple Watch vs. Others ..............................................................................................................31
2. Smart Watches, PROS and CONS ................................................................................................33
3. Smart Watches, Tech Specs and Price ........................................................................................34
5. Apple Watch SWOT analysis .......................................................................................................36
Evaluation of the business potential for new iWatch in Morocco and Thailand.....................................39
1. Smart Watches, Worldwide market............................................................................................39
2. Smart Watches, Thailand market................................................................................................41
a. Thailand Operating Systems (OS) Market Share, Usage Statistics – 2014..................................41
b. Market share Thailand smartphone 2014 ..................................................................................41
3. Operating Systems, Morocco market. ........................................................................................42
4. Market share Morocco smartphone 2014..................................................................................42
Evaluation of the potential demand for the Apple iWatch ......................................................................43
Country choice:...........................................................................................................................................46
Determining targets ...................................................................................................................................48
1. Expected sales of iWatch:...........................................................................................................48
2. Target: Segmentation of markets and customers: .....................................................................49
Strategy of marketing plan ........................................................................................................................51
1. Product Positioning:............................................................................................................................51
2. Marketing Mix.....................................................................................................................................52
1) Product................................................................................................................................................52
2) Price ....................................................................................................................................................53
3) Promotion ...........................................................................................................................................60
4) Place....................................................................................................................................................62
Marketing activities to launch the Apple watch in Thailand:...................................................................63
1) Objectives............................................................................................................................................63
2) Marketing mechanism. .......................................................................................................................63
3) Marketing activities. ...........................................................................................................................64
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................68
References..................................................................................................................................................69

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List of figures
Figure 1 ( Marketing plan process ) .............................................................................................................9
Figure 2 (Morocco - Economic facts) (heritage.org, 2015)........................................................................10
Figure 3 (Morocco’s GDP) (heritage.org, 2015).........................................................................................12
Figure 4 (Thailand-- Economic facts) (heritage.org, 2015)........................................................................16
Figure 5 (Thailand's GDP) (heritage.org, 2015).........................................................................................18
Figure 6 (GDP Growth Rate) (heritage.org,2015) .......................................................................................25
Figure 7 (GDP Per Capita) (heritage.org,2015) ...........................................................................................26
Figure 8 (Unemployment) (heritage.org,2015)...........................................................................................26
Figure 9 (Inflation) (heritage.org,2015) .....................................................................................................27
Figure 10 (Smart Watches Ranking) (werockyourweb.com, 2015)...........................................................36
Figure 11 (Top10 smartwatch manufacturers by unit sales in 2014) (statista.com, 2015) ......................39
Figure 12 (Smartwatch shipments in Q2 2015) (statista.com, 2015) ........................................................40
Figure 13 (Thailand Operating Systems (OS) Market Share) ....................................................................41
Figure 14 (Market share Thailand smartphone)........................................................................................41
Figure 15 (Operating Systems (OS) Market Share)....................................................................................42
Figure 16 (Market share Morocco smartphone) .......................................................................................42
Figure 17 (Revenue and profit Q3 2014 VS Q3 2015) (apple.com, 2015)..................................................43
Figure 18 (Revenue by operating segment Q3 2014 VS Q3 2015) (apple.com, 2015)..............................43
Figure 19 (Apple Q3 2015 Revenue) (apple.com, 2015)............................................................................44
Figure 20 (Expected sales of iWatch in Thailand)......................................................................................48
List of tables
Table 1 (Morocco vs. Thailand)..................................................................................................................27
Table 2 (Smart watches-Prons and cons) (werockyourweb.com, 2015) ...................................................34
Table 3 (Smart Watches - Tech Specs and Price) (werockyourweb.com, 2015)........................................35

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Executive Summary:
The purpose of this plan is to find the right actions to develop a strategy in order to access the Moroccan
or Thailand market, solving cultural differences and other challenges. Collecting information about the
target market is a key ingredient to identifying challenging external factors such as language, culture,
amount of competitors and market environment in general Lack of knowledge or familiarity with the
target market environment, customer needs, business culture and competitors might mislead us in this
process of Moroccan and Thailand entry.
I analyzed the Morocco and Thailand through SWOT analysis, SWOT indicates that each country has its
own strengths and weaknesses and there are plenty of opportunities in the higher risk countries just as
there are numerous threats that Apple Inc. need to be careful of in the lower risk countries.
The results from SWOT analysis are led me to choose Thailand based on Thailand’s statistics and records
which Thailand outperformed Morocco.
I conducted a marketing analysis of Apple new product, which is also a new exploration into its new
category line, Apple Smart Watch which is mostly called as Apple Watch. The concept of smart watches
has recently been introduced in the Thai market already with companies such as LG, Motorola, Samsung

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and many more and now Apple will also sail in the same boat. The slightly late entry of Apple smart watch
into the market can be a great challenge to prove itself in the Thai market.
The consumer analysis with the current competitors in the market gives us an idea of the challenges the
new product may face based on its acceptability within the market segment.
The segment mainly targeting younger to medium age group (16- 40 years) with income groups of above
average to high does limit the product to be the first choice amongst consumers, as consumers may not
be willing to shell out a lot. The marketing mix developed for the product keeping in mind the consumer
segment to target high income consumers and consumers who are willing to try this product such as
achievers and experiencers is well appreciated, however this limits the scope of the product within the
rest 69% of the market who are not currently using apple based phones, as the compatibility of the
product is very limited. The aim here is to analyze the possible factors that lead to the limitation of the
success of the product and make alternative recommendations to penetrate the Thai market.
The product although with it’s in depth personalization features, range of choices with accessories and
product itself and sole determination to bring upon a healthier lifestyle. Recommendations on launch
Apple Watch in Thailand through several of activates for instance (web Ads, Social Media Ads, TV Ads) to
attract more Thai customers.

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Introduction:
Apple looks for new markets, especially emergent markets which offer new opportunities for investing
and marketing their products and service with low costs. Apple found a good opportunity to enter the
Moroccan/Thailand market due to the strategic position, the proximity to their actual location and the
high demand of Tech products and services. The purpose of this plan is to find the right actions to develop
a strategy in order to access the Moroccan/Thailand market, solving cultural differences and other
challenges. Collecting information about the target market is a key ingredient to identifying challenging
external factors such as language, culture, amount of competitors and market environment in general. On
the other hand, Apple must identify its internal factors, strengths and weaknesses, regarding to the
company experience, size and product portfolio in order to develop a successful market entry strategy
which will fit the Moroccan/Thailand market. Lack of knowledge or familiarity with the target market
environment, customer needs, business culture and competitors might mislead the company in this
process of Moroccan/Thailand entry.
Core brand values of Apple.
1) Innovative
Apple is known to be one of the most innovative brands with its Macintosh line of computers,
IPod, IPad, ITunes, IPhone and whatnot. There are many innovations which were brought into the
market before any other company could even think of such innovations.
2) Premium marketer
Apple is known as a premium brand. In fact, it is a cream brand which is always using skimming
price and never enters price competition, showcasing its products to be above competition. Thus,

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with no surprise, Apple customers love their products and tend to show off a bit. They strongly
believe in Apple, and that Apple is a product which is hard to obtain and has features unparalleled
by any other company.
There are several versions of Smart watches which have been launched by both Samsung and LG. In fact,
Samsung used its smart watch quite efficiently with the Samsung note 3. And LG, although not successful
with its smart watch.
Smartphones changed everything, putting multi-touch computers in our pockets. Tablets then created a
new middle-ground product that was more immersive than a phone but more handheld than a laptop.
But what do Apple Watch do? It take all the things we're already doing, and give us slightly easier access
to them.

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Analysis Thailand and Morocco
Introduction
Objective is Launch of the new iWatch (the Apple new watch) in one country, Thailand or Morocco
Marketing plan consists of the following 4 steps: Analysis, Country choice, Target and Strategy.
Figure 1 ( Marketing plan process )
Economic Analysis
The countries’ economic investigation include data and analysis on economic indicators as shown
below. Each country has many supporting figures covering trade, imports & exports, policies,
banks, companies, insurance and so on.
Country Reports, Analysis and Data
Reports on economic activity, trends and developments, together with forecasts on economic
expectations are widely available. Countries’ population figures are derived from various sources
including estimates from national governments, the World Bank, the IMF.

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Morocco
1. About Morocco
Officially known as the Kingdom of Morocco and situated on the northwestern corner of Africa;
Morocco borders Algeria on the east and southeast, Mauritania to the south and to the west by the
Atlantic Ocean.
2. Quick Facts
Figure 2 (Morocco - Economic facts)
(heritage.org, 2015)

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Morocco’s economic freedom score is 60.1, making its economy
the 89th freest in the 2015 Index. Its score is 1.8 points better than
last year, with a very large improvement in trade freedom and
smaller gains in freedom from corruption, labor freedom, and
monetary freedom outweighing declines in business freedom and
the management of government spending. Morocco is ranked 9th
out of 15 countries in the Middle East/North Africa region, and its
overall score is just below the world average. (heritage.org, 2015)
Committed to economic reform, Morocco remained largely
immune from significant Arab Spring protests. Over the past five
years, gains in five of the 10 economic freedoms, including labor freedom, monetary freedom, and
investment freedom, have offset declines in the management of public spending and business
freedom. Morocco has regained “moderately free” status in the 2015 Index.
Proximity to Europe and a free trade agreement with the United States have helped to establish a
foundation for dynamic economic growth. Openness to global trade and investment has facilitated
the development of a modern and competitive financial sector. Relatively prudent fiscal policy has
encouraged macroeconomic stability and greater structural reform
3. Morocco Economy
Morocco’s economic growth is far more diversified, with new service and industrial centers such as
Casablanca. In 2015, Morocco’s GDP was US$ 179.2 billion, growing 4 percent and is expected to grow
6.86 percent to US$ 196.326 billion in 2016. Forecasts for 2020 predict Morocco’s GDP to reach US$
225.651 billion, growing about 7 percent per year between 2015 and 2020. (www.heritage.org, 2015)
Population: 32.9 million
Median age: 28.1 years
GDP: $179.2 billion
GDP per capita: $3400
Unemployment: 9.2%
Inflation (CPI): 1.9%
Public Debt: 61.9%of GDP
QUICK FACTS

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Figure 3 (Morocco’s GDP)
Morocco’s population as of 2014 was 32.072 million, and is expected to grow to 33.353 million by
2016. Current (2015) unemployment in Morocco is 9.2 percent, down from almost 12 percent in 2005,
and is expected to go down to 9.1 percent in 2016.
4. The Economic freedoms
Widespread corruption undermines investor sentiment and
raises the cost of operating a business. Recent cases have
involved the embezzlement of millions by public servants. In
addition to his public role, the king is the majority stakeholder in a vast array of private and public-
sector firms. The courts are inadequate and cannot be relied upon to rule quickly or fairly.
5. Regulatory Efficiency
Incorporating a business takes five procedures and less than a
week, with no minimum capital required, but completing
licensing requirements still takes about three months on
average. Labor market rigidity continues to discourage dynamic
job growth. In January 2014, the government ended costly gasoline and fuel oil subsidies, but it
maintained some food subsidies.

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6. Open Markets
The average tariff rate is 3.4 percent. Tariffs have fallen, but
regulatory issues may delay trade. Foreign investors cannot buy
agricultural land, and investment in some economic sectors is
regulated. The financial system has undergone modernization
and expansion. Morocco’s banking sector is one of the most liberalized in North Africa. The stock
market does not restrict foreign participation.
7. Technology in Morocco
The information technology sector in Morocco has been witnessing significant expansion. Morocco is
the first country in North Africa to install a 3G network. The number of Internet subscribers in the
country jumped 85.4% in 2014 over the year-ago period. Further, a new offshore site at Casablanca,
with state-of-the-art technologies and other incentives, has grabbed the attention of many global
multinationals. Setting up offshore service centers in the nation has become tempting. Such is the
rate of growth, that off-shoring and IT activities are estimated to contribute $500 million to the
country’s GDP and employ 30,000 people by end of 2015. The communications sector already
accounts for half of all foreign direct investments Morocco received over the past five years.
The mobile telephony segment comprises three operators:
Maroc Telecom, Méditel and Wana the mobile telephony
market is growing rapidly, the number of subscribers reached
43.2 million in September 2015. In 2015, over 73.5 percent of
the population had more than one mobile phone in their households.
In the fixed-line telephony segment, 3G telecommunications licenses have been granted to two
operators, Méditel and Wana. The data on fixed-line telephony published by the national
telecommunications regulator ANRT in March 2008 indicate a fixed-line penetration rate of about
13.3 per cent, with the number of subscribers rising from 1.62 million in March 2007 to over 2.71
million in March 2008. (wikipedia.org, 2015)
Morocco’s mobile market approached 135% penetration in early 2016, among the highest
penetration rates in the region. All three mobile network operators also provide fixed-line or fixed-

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wireless services, and the boundaries between fixed and mobile services are disappearing as
technologies and services provided by these players converge.
The mobile operators have also become the main providers of internet services through their 3G
networks. The auction of spectrum for LTE use in March 2015 is expected to be followed by the
commercial launch of LTE services by the end of the year. License conditions will ensure that LTE
covers at least 65% of the population by 2020. This infrastructure, and anticipated subscriber take-
up, will further consolidate the dominance in these mobile players in the broadband sector.
(wikipedia.org, 2015)
8. Morocco SWAT analysis
Investing and exporting products and services to new foreign markets is
becoming more and more popular.
Companies look for new markets, especially emergent markets which offer
new opportunities for investing and marketing their products and services
with low costs.
SWOT analysis can be used effectively to analyze the country’s position and capability in order to
determine the feasibility of the business opportunities.

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Strengths
 Stable political situation and economy
 Positive business environment for foreign market and product.
 Europe strong as a trade partner.
 Only 14km south of Europe, Morocco is a competitive platform for trading.
 Low Wages: The average wage is 327$/month, i.e. almost ten times lower than in
Spain.
 Low Tax rates : Taxes paid by companies represent only 49% of their profit
 A continuously growing economy with an average growth rate of 4.7% over the
period 2001-2013.
 The Moroccan economy has proved its resilience, with an annual GDP growth of
4.4% between 2008 and 2013.
 Inflation is maintained below 2%
 The Free Trade Agreement with the United States (Morocco’s 6th largest trade
partner) is part of the overall strategy of the Moroccan economy.
 Morocco is the first country in the southern side of the Mediterranean to benefit
from the advanced status in its relations with the European Union
 Telecommunications infrastructure meeting international standards. Three global
operators (Fixed phone, mobile, Internet and data), the telecommunications sector
in Morocco achieves every year an intense and sustained activity: 129% mobile
penetration and 16 million Internet users (2013)
 A young and active population.
Weaknesses
 Corruption. Low living standards
 High unemployment rate.
 Low level of education
 Infrastructures
 Labor productivity
Opportunities
 Geographical location
 Tourism
 No barriers of market entry
 Growing economy
Threats
 Increasing costs
 Financial capacity
 Growing competition and lower profitability
 Tax changes
 Increase in labor costs

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Thailand
1. About Thailand
Officially the Kingdom of Thailand, formerly known as Siam, is a country at the center of the
Indochinese peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Myanmar and Laos,
to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west
by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Myanmar. Its maritime boundaries include
Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India on the Andaman Sea to the
southwest. Thailand is located in the heart of Southeast Asia. With a surface area of approximately
513,000 sq. km, Thailand is the 50th largest country in the world in terms of total area. Thailand was
also the 21st most populous country, with approximately 68 million people.
2. Quick Facts
Figure 4 (Thailand-- Economic facts)

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Thailand’s economic freedom score is 62.4, making its economy
the 75th freest in the 2015 Index. Its score has decreased by 0.9
point since last year, with deteriorations in financial freedom,
property rights, and the control of government spending
outweighing small improvements in six of the 10 economic
freedoms, including labor freedom, fiscal freedom, and freedom
from corruption. Thailand is ranked 12th out of 42 countries in
the Asia–Pacific region, and its overall score is higher than the
world and regional averages. Thailand’s economic freedom score
has declined for three years in a row. Since 2011, economic
freedom in Thailand has fallen by 2.3 points. Score declines in a majority of the 10 economic freedoms
have been led by double-digit declines in investment freedom and labor freedom and a nearly double
digit drop in the control of government spending. Political unrest and conflict between rural and urban
voters have led to increased perceptions of corruption and an unsteady investment climate. A growing
foreign automobile manufacturing industry provides evidence of the benefits of increasing economic
openness, but the business environment for small entrepreneurs remains difficult due to inefficient
business and labor regulations. (heritage.org, 2015)
3. Thailand Economy
Thailand experienced the world's highest growth rate from 1985 to 1995, following which it saw a
contraction in economy by 1.9% in 1997. The year uncovered weaknesses in the financial sector and
forced the then Prime Minister, Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, to float the currency. The country is
considered a newly industrialized country, with tourism and exports contributing significantly to the
Thai economy. (heritage.org, 2015)
Population: 68.2 million
Median age: 28.1 years
GDP: $673.3 billion
GDP per capita: $3400
Unemployment: 0.8%
Inflation (CPI): 2.2%
Public Debt: 45.3%of GDP
QUICK FACTS

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Figure 5 (Thailand's GDP)
Thailand's economy started to recover, expanding by 4.2% in 1999 and 4.4% in 2000, primarily as a
result of exports. Although the growth weakened to 2.2% in 2001, due to a slowdown in the global
economy, strong growth in Asia, a relatively weak baht and increasing domestic spending put the
nation back on the path to recovery in the subsequent years.
4. The Economic freedoms
Corruption and graft are widespread at all levels of
government and society amid unprecedented levels of
political instability. Before a May 2014 military coup
replaced the democratically elected government, the independent judiciary had been generally
effective in enforcing property and contractual rights but remained vulnerable to political
interference. Private property has generally been protected, but the legal process is slow.
5. Regulatory Efficiency
Forming a business takes almost a month, but no minimum
capital is required. Licensing requirements remain onerous.
Reform of the relatively rigid labor market has lagged. The
new military government imposed price controls and
expanded its power over state-owned enterprises (e.g., in the utility, energy, telecommunications,
banking, agriculture, and transport sectors) that account for more than 40 percent of GDP

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6. Open Markets
Thailand’s average tariff rate is 4.9 percent. Tariffs on
agricultural imports are especially high. The government
restricts foreign investment in many sectors of the
economy. The financial system is under strain caused by
political instability. Revisions in the Foreign Business Act, intended to open capital markets further to
foreign investors, have been largely cosmetic. The banking sector remains relatively stable.
7. Technology in Thailand
Thailand Number 26 in the Doing Business rankings, the country attracts not only tourists, but
investors from all over the globe, particularly in the area of information technology and
communications.
The IT and communications sector is expanding in Thailand and with the expertise of a highly qualified
workforce and an exceptional geographical position in the heart of Southeast Asia, Thailand is primed
for success.
Labor costs and the highly qualified workforce are the country’s strengths. The engineers develop
applications, computer software and smartphones for neighboring emerging countries where
demand is enormous.
Today, the electronic and computer sector in Thailand has the highest export value. It represents 20
percent of Thailand’s global exports, and provides jobs for almost 200,000 people in the country.
Another advantage for Thailand is its strategic position at the heart of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations whose 10 members will next year forge an economic community, based on the same
principals as the EU. This free trade area will bring together 700 million people, making it an attractive
hub for global investors.

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(yozzo.com, 2015)
Global investors in information technology and communications continue to flow into Thailand.
Assisted by government incentives, the single business port, simplifies selling and administration
procedures. Help is also available to locate production sites or business partners. Add to that a wide
range of tax breaks and duty exemptions and everything is in place to keep investors happy.
In Thailand 97.6 million mobile subscribers in Thailand, which is a
penetration rate of 146%. The Thai market is predominantly prepaid
with 84,8 million prepaid subscribers. More than 99% of the market
share belong to three large operators (including their subsidiaries):
Advanced Info Service (AIS) who has a 46.52% market share, DTAC
with 28.50% market share, and True move with a market share of
24.26%. Other operators include the state enterprises TOT Public Company Limited (TOT) with 0.57%
market share, and CAT Telecom with 0.15% market share and Mobile Virtual Network Operators
(MVNOs). (wikipedia.org, 2015)

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7.1. Technology statistical
 Thailand Mobile Subscribers 98.9 Million
 Mobile Penetration Rate 146%
 Smartphone penetration in Thailand is 52%
 The sales of smartphones will grow by 29% to reach 20 million units
by the end of 2015
 Internet Users in Thailand 23.86 million, penetration 35.8%
 Internet Broadband 4.55 million users, 22.7% penetration per
household
 Total 3G subscribers 82.3 million.
 Total 4G subscribers 2.5 million.
 Mobile data users 14.9 million (52%).
 By 2017, mobile app download is expected to exceed 200 billion per year, and revenues will
reach $63.5 billion.
 51% of Thai people ever purchase goods via smartphones.
 Smartphone sales in Thailand are tipped to 12.5 million unit of the total 22 million in 2014.
(yozzo.com, 2015)
 Thailand has the 3rd
largest Facebook population in the world with 35 million users.
 Bangkok has more Facebook users than any other city in the world with 20 million.
 93% of Thai Internet users access Facebook every week, compared to 47% globally.
 19 million, access Facebook through their mobile device
(yozzo.com, 2015)

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8. Thailand SWAT analysis
Investing and exporting products and services to new foreign markets is
becoming more and more popular.
Companies look for new markets, especially emergent markets which offer
new opportunities for investing and marketing their products and services
with low costs.
SWOT analysis can be used effectively to analyze the country’s position and capability in order to
determine the feasibility of the business opportunities.
Thailand , A fast growing domestic market, the high quality of the content industry including related
industries and human resources, a variety of film locations and facilities services, progressive overseas
development by domestic business entrepreneurs, some cases of ripple effect on tourism and other
fields are advantages. The relatively limited governmental resources available to assist private
companies, however, weak human resources development programs within the
Industry, many different regulatory government departments related to the content industries,
absence of established conditions of agreement for international cooperation are problems.
In the external environment, with an affluent population, high economic growth in a variety of fields
is expected. Growing spending power along with a growing middle class, the launch of terrestrial
digital broadcasting, economic integration in ASEAN scheduled in 2016 are positive factors for the
content industry. Low average GDP per capita, however, undeveloped broadband networks, unstable
power supply, the shortage of funding and staff in governmental support for the content industry,
insufficient measures in terms of tax incentives and other privileges offered to business
entrepreneurs, lack of legal enforcement to suppress copyright violation are problems.

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Strengths
 Fast growing domestic market.
 The Thai economy is resilient and has weathered years of political turmoil much
better than most economists were anticipating. Overall GDP growth, exports, foreign
direct investment inflow and tourism have all outperformed most forecasters in the
public and private sectors.
 Thailand is far ahead of other ASEAN countries in attracting foreign direct investment
into the automotive sector and supporting industries. It also has a good reputation
for attracting foreign investment in other export-oriented manufacturing industries,
from consumer electronics to sporting goods to processed foods.
 There is a large supply of operator-level labor at a relatively low price. It is also easier
and less expensive to hire expatriate managers in Thailand than it is in most emerging
markets of Asia
 High quality of digital content production, service equipment, post production and
manpower.
 Good facilities services.
 Cost of living consider not high.
 Some major cases of ripple effect on tourism.
Weaknesses
 Relatively limited resources to assist private companies from the government
including financing & academic support
 Weak human resources development program
 Political risks are likely to stay high until the new government demonstrates it can
withstand challenges from special interest groups, including the military.
 Uncertainties will also stay high until the country demonstrates it can manage a
succession in the monarchy without experiencing political turmoil or social unrest
 One of the casualties of the political turmoil and increase in the military’s role in
politics is that Thailand has changed from having one of the freest media’s in Asia to
having one of the most censored.
 The crackdown on on-line political discussion over the Internet has been especially
severe. The reputations of other institutions like the judiciary have also be damaged.
 Energy costs in Thailand are relatively high, and the country is lagging behind others
in Asia in putting in the latest telecommunications technology.
 The supply of skilled technical labor is less than in other countries covered here with
the exception of Indonesia and the standards of spoken English are the worst of any
country covered here. It can be difficult to recruit and retain experienced, skilled
Thai labor.
 One of the biggest drawbacks to Thailand is its bureaucracy. It can also be difficult
getting cooperation between different government departments.

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Opportunities  Following chronic shortages in recent years and an import-driven power economy,
Thailand has huge potential for solar power and other “green” power technologies,
which can be used to address rising power demand.
 The recent increase in labor unrest and rising wages in China will give Thailand a
chance to market itself more as an alternative investment site for foreign companies.
 Most of the policies reforms the new government has announced should put more
money in the hands of average Thais and help stimulate consumer spending, which
has depressed in recent years by social turmoil and political uncertainty. The new
government’s policies could create new local market opportunities at a time when
export prospects have been damped by adverse global developments.
 Recently announced measures to improve agricultural productivity should, if
implemented, will bring new skills, investment and other resources into neglected
areas raising local incomes and business activities.
 Under China-ASEAN free trade agreements, China is required to open up wide areas
of the services sector to Thailand and other ASEAN members. That will provide fresh
opportunities to Thai firms in several sectors such as legal services, finance and
accounting, telecommunications, education, tourism and logistics
Threats
 Political risk is the dark spot in Thailand’s otherwise stable business environment.
With it comes a string of other issues, such as the reliability of policy continuity,
especially concerning infrastructure investments, and excessive military spending
that is diverting financial resources away from what should be higher priorities.
 The size of the public debt could become a bigger problem if the new government is
as aggressive in in spending policies as it has indicated it wants to be.
 Terrorism threats are increasing in the south of the country.
 Problems in the US, Japan and the EU could hurt the growth of Thai exports and
cause some foreign investors to have second thoughts about going ahead with
planned disbursements in Thai projects.

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Morocco vs. Thailand
The below comparison will summarize all previous figures and numbers,
throughout the comparison items we can shape a solid vision of the
business opportunities in Morocco and Thailand.
Facts
Continent Africa Asia
Capital City Rabat Bangkok
Government Type Constitutional Monarchy Constitutional Monarchy
Member of the United Nations
GDP $104BILLION $387BILLION
GDP Growth Rate 4.38% 1.77%
Figure 6 (GDP Growth Rate)
(heritage.org,2015)
GDP Per Capita $3,092 $5,778
GDP Per Capita Growth 2.81% 1.42%

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Figure 7 (GDP Per Capita)
(heritage.org,2015)
Unemployment Rate 9.2% 0.7%
Figure 8 (Unemployment)
(heritage.org,2015)
Inflation Rate 0.4% 1.9%
Inflation GDP Deflator 1.0% 2.8%

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Figure 9 (Inflation)
(heritage.org,2015)
Gini index 40.88 39.37
Total Population 33MILLION 67MILLION
Median Age 27.7 years old 35.1 years old
Average Sex Ratio 0.97 male(s) per female 0.98 male(s) per female
Population Below Poverty Line 15% 7.8%
Literacy Rate 67.08% 96.43%
Internet Users 56.00% 28.94%
Table 1 (Morocco vs. Thailand)

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Evaluation of potential
Smartwatch
1. Definition
A smartwatch is defined by three characteristics:
 Worn on the wrist
 Able to indicate time
 Able to wirelessly connect to the Internet
(wikipedia.org, 2015)
2. The History of Smartwatches
First wristwatches evolved at the end of the 19th century, becoming hugely popular. In the
1940ies, people started to imagine that watches could do much more than indicating time.
Based on the electrification of watches in the 1970ies, various companies started to build
smartwatches in the 1990ies. But it took another two decades to make them a commercial
success. (smartwatchgroup.com, 2015)
a. Foundation
Stationary watches appeared in the 15th, pocket watches in the 16th century.
However, minimizing and adapting the components to produce wrist watches took
another few centuries: The first such watch was produced by Patek Philippe in 1868
(some argue that it was Breguet in 1812). Another Swiss watch manufacturer – Girard
Perregaux – commercialized wrist watches with an order by the Germans to equip
their solders with wrist watches in the First World War.
The technology improved dramatically over time. Rolex introduced the first
waterproof watch called Oyster in 1926 and shortly thereafter self-winding
watches, Breitling launched first stop watches in 1930. New materials, better
production methods, improved designs, and new complications were responsible for
a steady stream of innovation. However, the indication of time is at the core of
mechanical watches until this day. (smartwatchgroup.com, 2015)

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b. Imagination
As wrist watches became more and more popular, people started to imagine that a
watch could potentially do much more than indicating time. Intelligent watches were
an important element in various films and series such as Dick Tracy (1940ies), Star
Trek (1970ies), Knight Rider, and Inspector Gadget (in the 1980ies).
Even more famous may be the various smart watches James Bond used in his films. A
Samsung commercial made in 2013 provides a nice impression of the imagination
phase. (smartwatchgroup.com, 2015)
c. Electrification
After projects by Japanese, US, and Swiss companies starting in the 1950ies, the first
digital watch called Pulsar was introduced by Hamilton in 1970. Smiled at first, the
new technology almost put conventional watch companies out of business. Quartz
watches were not only cheaper, they were also more precise than mechanical
watches.
In the 80ies, Intel produced first LCD watches, and companies like Casio and Seiko
produced watches with built-in databases, dictionaries, blood pressure sensors,
touch screens and even gesture control. While most of these functions did not have
big markets, the quartz watch was there to stay. After some reluctance, even the
Swiss jumped on the bandwagon: Swatch now belongs to the world’s most successful
watch manufacturers.
Within the same period, Internet and mobile phone technologies started to emerge.
Both are critical technologies for the periods to follow.
(smartwatchgroup.com, 2015)

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d. Experimentation
With the advent of mobile phones, various companies started to think about new
form factors for the technology. AT&T patented a wrist phone in 1993, and various
companies started R&D activities in the 1990ies. Samsung launched its first product
in 1999. IBM developed a watch with built-in Linux, Bluetooth, fingerprint reader, and
accelerometer. But as the Swatch Group – which built a phone-watch in the late 90ies
they never brought the technology to the market.
Initial euphoria quickly lost ground to the insight that the technology was too clumsy
for a successful consumer device. Several product launches in the years thereafter –
incl. Fossil’s first Wrist PDA in 2001, Microsoft’s SPOT smartwatch in 2004, Sony
Ericsson’s NBW Series in 2008, and the LG Watch Phone GD910 / Samsung GT-
S9110 in 2009 – remained unsuccessful.
However, due to the incredible advances in the mobile phone industry, needed
hardware components became smaller and smaller. Plus, due to the introduction of
smartphones, a fast mobile data network was built up globally.
e. Commercialization
The Kickstarter-Campaign by Pebble was the starting point for the commercialization
of smartwatches. In a crowdfunding campaign in 2012, the unknown startup company
raised more than 10 million USD by selling 70,000 smartwatches within little more
than a month. Thousands of media articles brought the almost forgotten technology
suddenly back into the spotlight. Samsung reactivated the R&D programs followed in
the decade before, and dozens of other companies started the quest to secure parts
of what seems to become a large industry over the years to come.

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Apple Watch
With the increase of brands in the market of smart watches the intensity of the competitors is
very high in this market. As all the brands are trying to introduce the better product in order to
compete in the market therefore, the competition is increasing.
Similarly, iWatch is also facing competition from different leading
brands in the market offering unique features. Though Apple has a
high brand image, but it is also facing huge competition regarding
the smart watch market. The different brands are competing over
the offers they are providing such as the innovation, user
friendliness, unique options and many more features, other than that, the prices of the smart
watches play a vital role in the competition. The brand which provides the best features win the
competition and hence, have an edge in the market. Many leading brands in the market which
provide the smart watches are focusing on the integration of the smart watches with the
smartphones and tablets, GPS navigation system, attractive designs, strong battery and also third
and fourth generation. The prices of the smart watches vary from $189 to $400.
1. Apple Watch vs. Others
The key competitors of Apple iWatch are following:
Moto 360
Moto360 by Motorola is one of the smartwatch which can compete with
the Apple iWatch. Almost all the smartwatches currently offer the square
and rectangular shape and does not offer other shapes. Moto 360 took the
advantage of that and is offering a circular shaped smartwatch that is
having the Android Wear’s support. It possesses the high-tech features
other than the traditional wrist watch that gives it a competitive advantage
in the market. The price is expected is to be in $249, Moto 360 can be a hot seller and also the
real competition for Apple’s iWatch.

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Samsung Gear Live
Samsung Gear live is third major smartwatch which was released last year such
as the Galaxy Gear which was followed by Gear 2. Samsung is releasing different
design smartwatches to stay in the competition. The Gear Live is featured with
Android Wear and due to this it is gaining valuable exposure in the market. Gear
Live can be integrated with the Samsung’s smartphones like Galaxy S5, and also
it is best suited for the large consumer base of Android. The price of Gear Live is
as minimum as $199.9, giving it competitive advantage over the expensive smartwatches in the
market.
LG G Watch
G Watch is one of the first two watches that was supported by Android Wear
and it is better looking of the two. LG G Watch is one of the first watch which
basically targeted women via its advertisements and this gives it a
competitive edge. Moreover, the price of G Watch i s $229; it comes in a
traditional Black Titan case and offers all the functionality of the Android
Wear. LG is offering the slim design and also focuses on being the
fashionable accessory. It is available in attractive colors and it is compatible with the standard
watch straps. Other manufacturers of the smartwatches are focusing on technology aspects and
innovation, but LG is mainly focusing on fashionable design and wants to compete with Apple
iWatch via its fashion strategy.
Pebble Steel
Pebble realized the increasing competition of the smartwatches therefore, it
introduced its smartwatch in 2014, having price of $249 named as Pebble Steel.
It might not look as a threat for Apple iWatch, but it offers a mature look and also
it has many apps, long battery life, easily readable display in the sunlight and also
its compatibility with the Android Wear and iOS. Thus, it can be a competition for
Apple iWatch.

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2. Smart Watches, PROS and CONS
Facts PROS CONS
apple Watch  Lift your wrist and the face will light
up. When you aren’t using it the
screen will be black (most likely in a
type of “power save” mode)
 Lots of bells and whistles such as a
sketch feature and displaying your
heart rate
 Watch face and bands available in 2
different sizes
 Customizable watch faces
 Tracks your fitness via the Activity
app and includes an accelerometer
and hear rate sensor
 Use the watch as a remote for your
smartphone camera
 Highly wanted, on backorder
 iOS (Apple) only
Moto 360  Microphone equipped for voice
commands
 Charger doubles as a clock for
nightstand
 Activity tracker capabilities to track
your heart rate, steps, distance and
calories burned
 Get directions to a location
 Weather, flight and traffic
notifications
 Moto Maker lets you customize your
watch
 Android only
 Battery lasts only 1 day
 No camera capabilities
Samsung Gear  Can play music without phone
 Capability to act as TV remote
 Fitness tracker
 Heart rate monitor
 Find My Phone feature
 Draw emojis
 WiFi
 Short battery life (1-2 days)
 Only compatible with Android
Galaxy

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LG Watch  Customizable
 Accelerometer
 Compass
 Barometer
 Heart rate monitor
 GPS
 Draw emojis
 WiFi
 Can’t be used with iOS
Pebble  Inexpensive compared to others on
the market
 7 day battery life
 Pebble app store allows a
customizable watch face
 Easy to read watch face in both
bright and dim environments
 Fitness tracker capabilities
 Supports Android wear
 Pebble Time has an e-paper look
 Inexpensive compared to others
on the market
 7 day battery life
 Pebble app store allows a
customizable watch face
 Easy to read watch face in both
bright and dim environments
 Fitness tracker capabilities
 Supports Android wear
 Pebble Time has an e-paper look
Table 2 (Smart watches-Prons and cons)
(werockyourweb.com, 2015)
3. Smart Watches, Tech Specs and Price
Facts Tech Specs Price
apple Watch
 Use the watch as a remote for your
smartphone camera
 Retina display
 iOS only
 6 different straps in various
colors
 3 different styles: Apple Watch,
Apple Watch Sport and Apple
Watch Edition
 Price is not available yet but
rumors suggest the following:
 Sport model: $550
 Stainless steel and sapphire
crystal model: $1,100
 Gold version will be in the
thousands of dollars range
Moto 360
 Call, text and email notifications
 Compass
 Camera capabilities for an extra
charge
 iOS and Android compatible
 $249.99*

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Samsung Gear
 Make and answer calls
 Camera
 Android only
 Gear Live – $199.99*
 Gear 2 – $299.99*
 Gear S – $384.00*
LG Watch
 Android only  $349
Pebble
 Call, text and email notifications
 Compass
 Camera capabilities for an extra
charge
 iOS and Android compatible
 Pebble – $89*
 Pebble Steel – $199*
 Pebble Time – $199*
 Pebble Steel bands (stainless
steel or matte black) – $20*
 PebbleCam – $2.99*
Table 3 (Smart Watches - Tech Specs and Price)

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4. Smart Watches Ranking
The top performers in review are the Apple Watch.
Figure 10 (Smart Watches Ranking)
5. Apple Watch SWOT analysis
Apple iWatch has several strengths which can take it to the peak of success such as the brand
awareness of the product is great strength for the company. Apple iWatch can cope up with the
weaknesses as it has the opportunity of creating whole new product category, whereas, the threat
for Apple iWatch is the new smartwatch introduced by Samsung.

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Strengths
 A beautiful smartwatch
 If you use other Apple devices, the Apple Watch will seamlessly tie them all
together into one easy-to-use gadget.
 Never miss a phone call, email or text message again with phone notifications
sent straight to your wrist.
 Core feature, this smartwatch takes a complete portrait of your biometric
variables.
 Varity size and style to match any one. Two sizes (38mm and 42mm) are available
in three model options (standard, sport and gold) with various wristbands.
 Communication is over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, regardless of where your other
devices are in the house.
 Health tracking, communications and device control form the complete Apple
Watch experience, giving you access to all things digital from your wrist.
 Now at your beck and call from your wrist. No more taking out your phone to
chat with your virtual personal assistant.
 Brand equity – Apple is one of the top most companies of the world for its brand
equity. From the days of McIntosh computers, Apple is known to be a brand with
promise.
 Amazing software and OS – The IOS which is the operating system of Apple
Watch is a respected platform because of its flexibility and speed. The user
interface is fantastic, and one you use an Apple Watch, you get addicted to its
ease of use.
Weaknesses
 less immediately user-friendly than most Apple products
 Apple Watch will require daily trips to the power adapter to recharge.
 High price, the price ranges from expensive ($550) to prohibitively expensive for
the Apple Watch Edition (starting at $14,000).
 All of your iPhone notifications are visible for all and sundry to see on your wrist.
 You will need to pair this watch with an iPhone to access location tracking and
internet services, like email.
 Hold onto that waterproof sports watch you bought to track your swim sessions:
the Apple Watch is only splash resistant.
 You can’t wear the watch while it charges at night, so forget sleep tracking.

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Opportunities
 Smart Watches are the rage nowadays and the market is not going to get smaller.
Thus the large market of potential customers is there for the taking for a brand
like Apple.
 People are becoming more and more addicted to internet and apps. So much so
that future hardly anyone is seen without a Smart Watch. As people become more
digitalized, and as spending power increases amongst consumers, Smart Watch
like Apple Watch Will see a boom in the industry.
 Till date Apple Watch is selling only in urban areas. But there is bound to come a
time when Apple Watch will look towards geographic expansion. At that time, the
opportunities will grow even further for Apple Watch because there is a lot of
market pending to be covered by Apple Watch.
 The accessories market is never ending, and the more company accessories that
Apple manufactures, the better profits they will get from return customers.
Because accessories in general give very good margins.
Threats
 The single biggest threat to Apple Watch is the Android operating system. Google
has taken the world by storm due its operating system and android is poised to grow
even further because it is free for all.
 Another threat to Apple Watch is Samsung with its large arsenal of smart watches
coming in all shapes and sizes. Samsung had really shown the world the power of
android and has brought android OS in cameras as well. Thus Samsung us the biggest
competitor for Apple Watch.
 Lack of innovation – In past few years, Apple has not brought any new product in the
market and people expect Apple to come out with innovative products. This lack of
new products might become a threat to the followers of Apple Watch.
 Threat of brand Apple losing its shine – With no innovation in last few years, and no
Steve Jobs, there is a slight threat that the brand Apple might lose its current brand
equity over a period of time. If Apple launches a single innovative product in the
coming years, then again the brand value will go up. However to maintain the brand
equity, Apple has to keep shining, else it will fade.

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Evaluation of the business potential for new iWatch in Morocco and
Thailand.
1. Smart Watches, Worldwide market.
In its first quarter on the market, the Apple Watch already dominated global smartwatch sales.
While Apple did not break out Apple Watch sales in its latest earning report, analysts are
estimating that the company sold between 2.5 and 4 million watches between its release in April
and the end of June.
According to Strategy Analytics, which pegs Apple Watch sales at the high end of that range, Apple
accounted for more than 75 percent of global smartwatch sales in the past quarter.
Figure 11 (Top10 smartwatch manufacturers by unit sales in 2014)
(statista.com, 2015)

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Apple’s rise from non-competitor to market leader speaks volumes of the company’s marketing
power. Despite many other smartwatches being available long before the Apple Watch, it took
the appeal of the Apple brand to take smartwatch sales to another level.
Figure 12 (Smartwatch shipments in Q2 2015)
(statista.com, 2015)
The latest update to IDC’s worldwide quarterly wearable device tracker puts Apple ahead of the
pack with 4m Watches sold in the second quarter of this year. The next biggest smartwatch vendor
was Samsung, with 400,000 of its Gear smartwatches sold, which makes Apple’s sales six times
greater than its closest rival.
Apple’s success in the smartwatch space will be measured in how many people buy the second
and third generation devices over the next few years, after the novelty has warn off and the early
adopters have already bought their devices. Only then will Apple Watch’s impact outside the tech-
geek niche be clear.

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2. Smart Watches, Thailand market.
a. Thailand Operating Systems (OS) Market Share, Usage Statistics – 2014
Figure 13 (Thailand Operating Systems (OS) Market Share)
b. Market share Thailand smartphone 2014
Figure 14 (Market share Thailand smartphone)
Windows
83%
OS
8%
Android
3%
Linux
1%
Other
5%

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3. Operating Systems, Morocco market.
Figure 15 (Operating Systems (OS) Market Share)
4. Market share Morocco smartphone 2014
Figure 16 (Market share Morocco smartphone)
Windows
91%
OS
3%
Android
2%
Linux
1%
Other
3%

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Evaluation of the potential demand for the Apple iWatch
Apple broke quarterly records with $10.7 billion in profit and $49.6 billion in revenue, compared to
$7.7 billion in profit and $37.4 billion in revenue in Q3 of 2014. Its gross margin was 39.7 percent.
These results easily beat Apple's guidance for the quarter, which predicted revenue between $46
billion and $48 billion and profit margins between 38.5 and 39.5 percent. (macworld.com, 2015)
Figure 17 (Revenue and profit Q3 2014 VS Q3 2015)
(apple.com, 2015)
Figure 18 (Revenue by operating segment Q3 2014 VS Q3 2015)
(apple.com, 2015)

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About two of every three smart wearables shipped this quarter was an Apple Watch, The demand for
smartwatches is relatively tiny, but it's growing. Global smartwatch shipments grew by 457% annually to
hit a record 5 million units in the second quarter of 2015, according to (StrategyAnalytics.com, 2015). Of
those 5 million watches shipped, Apple accounted for 4 million of them, giving the company 75% market
share, the research firm reported.
Figure 19 (Apple Q3 2015 Revenue)
(apple.com, 2015)
The rate of growth reflects not only Apple entering the market but an increase in market awareness.
The increase in shipments in the quarter was the fastest growth the industry has ever experienced
with the volume exceeding the 4.6 million smartwatches shipped in all of 2014.
Apple is setting the tone and crushing competitors including Samsung, which Strategy Analytics
estimated shipped 0.4 million smartwatches in the quarter despite having its watches on the market
longer.

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Apple predicted to sell 'iWatch' to at least 10% of
existing iPhone users in 2015 , market watchers
have begun to speculate exactly how many wrist-
worn devices the company could sell, with one
new projection pegging the device with at least 10
percent penetration among iPhone users in the
first full year.
With an estimated active iPhone installed base of 335
million users by the end of 2014, analyst Keith Bachman of
BMO Capital Markets believes Apple could sell at least 33.5
million of a so-called "iWatch" in calendar year 2015.

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Country choice:
Based on market analysis of Morocco and Thailand, I chose Thailand to launch Apple iWatch
successfully.
I chose Thailand to launch Apple iWatch
Mohamed Ali Salem
17/9/2015

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Choosing the Right (and Most Profitable) Market for Apple Watch, if spend too much time focused on
Apple watch and not enough time on finding the right market opportunity we will lose a lot of
investment. Without the right customers, we won't have revenues, profits or much chance of success.
It's important to determine if we are going after the right market or we need for more analysis to
determine it.
On a way to determine the right market for apple watch we have to find out a solid answer of the
following question.
 How many customers are in the market?
Determine the targeted customers depends on the product’s value, As per Keach (2014), the
watch would likely to be compatible with just the recent additions of iPhone 5 & 6, hence this
itself has led to narrowing down of apple market share of the new product. However it can
be treated as treat for the more loyal customers of the brand. As per Solomon et.al (2012),
segmentation can be broadly categorized on demographic, psychographic and behavioral
attributes.
Deep diving into the demographic variables, we can see that age and income social groups
can be considered as one of segment variables. The features provided with the iWatch has
more emphasis on healthy lifestyle and reminder of health routines, it also acts as an on the
clock heart monitoring device (Apple, 2015). The features embodied within the product will
tend to attract the younger to medium age range (16-40 years). The price indicated would be
expected to be 300 pounds and above (Suleman et.al, 2015). As indicated by macrumors.com
(2015), the price of the product will only increase to more than triple its start rate with taking
a more expensive variant. Indicating a medium to higher income social groups.
Also owing to the new category intrusion within the Apple Company, the customers willing to
have an inclination would mostly reside towards the Innovators category with likely hood of
achievers and experiencer’s willing to make purchases and have impact by media
(strategicbusinessinsights.com, 2015).
Regarding to the above points and below comparison we can note that Thailand has a greater
chance than Morocco.
Facts
Total Population 33MILLION 67MILLION
Median Age 27.7 years old 35.1 years old
Internet Users 18,480,000 19,389,800
Apple iPhone Users 6,864,000 12,060,000

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Total number of iPhones in use in Thailand is 12,060,000, as Apple predict that the selling of
iWatch will be at least 10% of iPhone users. It means that Apple will sell 1,206,000 of Apple
iWatch.
 Can these customers pay for your products or services?
The purchasing power of consumers is directly proportional to the economic conditions in the
country. (Jeynes, 2013). The aspects needed to be considered here are the interest rates,
inflation employment level and future Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita (Friesner,
2014).
Facts
GDP Growth Rate 4.38% 1.77%
GDP $104BILLION $387BILLION
Gini index 40.88 39.37
Population Below Poverty Line 15% 7.8%
Unemployment Rate 9.2% 0.7%
Of previous figures, we find Thailand is superior to Morocco in all rates so the Thai market in more
promising than Moroccan market.
Determining targets
1. Expected sales of iWatch:
Apple predicted that they can sell 12,060,000 piece of iWatch in Thailand in 2015.
Figure 20 (Expected sales of iWatch in Thailand)

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2. Target: Segmentation of markets and customers:
Based on the potential market segments as discussed above, we will need to evaluate the market
segment, develop their profiles and finally choose marketing strategy (Solomon et.al, 2012)
The Thai market potential is growing with current share
being 18% of apple iPhones, however the market share
of Android users remains high at 45.4 %. With strong
competitor base already established in the market for
smart wearable watches with Samsung, Motorola, LG
and Microsoft, the demand of apple watch will boom in
the market (Griffiths, 2014). As per Keach (2014), the
estimated sale of Apple watch can be approximated to
40 million units on first year.
Having established the potential of the market segment
for Thai consumers as per the evidence, it is safe to say that the demand will be more towards
the existing apple users where loyalty of brand can be expected.
The typical segment profile that is developed from the evidence must be a young to average age
individual between 16 to 40 years, falling in a medium to slighter higher income social group who
is willing to take chances with choices provided. This will also lead us to select the differentiated
targeting strategy to have a grasp over different consumers that can lead to diversify the product
profile in market (Solomon et.al , 2012).
These are the potential market segments that Apple Inc. is likely to make profits.
Segmentation Variables
Geographic Country: Thailand , from the north to the South
Big cities: Bangkok. Chiang Mai. Hat Yai. Khon Kaen.
Nakhon Ratchasima. Nakhon Si Thammarat. Nonthaburi.
Pak Kret.
Demographic Age: 16 - 40
Gender: Unisex
Income: Affluent
Education: High school, college graduate, professionals
Psychographic Social class: White-collar worker
Lifestyle: Busy
Personality: Adore luxurious products

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Target segment in points:
 Average age between 16-40 years old.
 Higher income social group
 People are obsessed With Apple Products
 Use technology to feel empowered.
 Fashion conscious.
 Proud to be an apple user.

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Strategy of marketing plan
1. Product Positioning:
Positioning Apple iWatch in the market is basically analyzing the competitors in the particular
market segment with respect to its competitors. Developing a market strategy with the right mix
in order to attract these customers must be of the essence (Solomon et.al, 2012)
Analyzing the main competitors “Samsung “.
The category of smart watches is fairly new with electronic
companies launching devices in 2014 and many devices catering to
work with Android software. (Martin, 2015). The market share of
Android users remains high at 58.2 %. With strong competitor base
already established in the market for smart wearable watches with
Samsung
The highest advantage of Apple watch is its personalized setting experience that bring customer
closer to the product, however the significant difference in price range (Martin, 2015) between
Apple watch and the others may not compel customers towards them.
The competitive strategy for Apple watch with respect to placing itself in market is to provide a
more personalized experience to the market segment and since Apple is already considered as a
status symbol, the main focus is to market the product to brand loyal customers.
Since the product itself is a new category for Apple as an organization and its potential consumers,
the launch of it can pose many challenges to its approval in the market. Although we have
segmented this product within the consumers of medium to high income consumers, the sheer
high price of the product may not attract the choice to be within the medium income group with
many other consumers like LG and Motorola offering similar category product at competitive
price. Also the choice for this product is further minimized within its consumers to those already
using apple phones or consumers who plan to purchase the newest generation iPhones.

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2. Marketing Mix
In terms of providing the product or service to the customer, we
must to plan out the best set of characteristics to attract
customer and as noted by Solomon et.al (2012), a single
marketing activity does not work to attain the organizations
objective. Hence the independent attributes of product, price,
promotion and place sets the target to gain that objective
(Solomon et.al, 2012)
1) Product
Product classification
Apple Watch is a Consumer Product and is classified as Specialty Product. To illustrate,
Apple’s products have been seen as unique and desirable. Furthermore, the customers
are truly willing to purchase Apple Watch due to high-end electronic device and
fashionable smart watch.
Three levels of product
The Apple Company has designed the watch by keeping in mind the vast extend of
consumers and their options. With 3 variants of main choices customer can choose from
a casual, sporty and elegant look, the 2 different size options provided has been given the
customer the flexibility to wear his/her favorite shape, The vast variety of straps provided
makes this appeal to a whole lot of consumers seeking a much more fashionable
approach, with the option of interchanging straps.
Core benefits:
Apple Watch definitely has the basic functions as same as all other smart watch such as
timing, calling, texting and so on. Furthermore, Apple Watch also can capture images,
record videos in High Definition and other useful Applications.

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Actual product:
The Brand Name of Apple is really famous in the world. Furthermore, Apple Watch has
reached the standard of quality in US. Besides that, several high technological functions
have been applied in Apple Watch. Moreover, the great design of Apple Watch makes
customer more professional and fashionable.
Augmented product:
Apple Watch, like many other Apple’s products, has a Complimentary Support, which
provide technical support within the first 90 days after purchasing the product. The
customer who purchases the Apple Watch also receives Apple’s One Year Limited
Warranty. Finally, the service center is available in the world.
2) Price
Prices
The current prices of Apple Watch are high compared to the normal Thai living standard.
Pricing strategies
Market Skimming pricing strategy may not be effective in Vietnam because the number
of people who are willing to pay for the Apple Watch with a high price is not high. These
people are usually upper class only.
Product-mix pricing strategies
The Product line pricing strategies (based on different capacity) that Apple is using could
be useful. As a result, the customers have more options to buy depend on their financial
situation.
Price-adjustment strategies
Apple uses psychological pricing for Apple Watch. Thai people tend to think that the more
amount of price they paid, the more quality they gain.

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Type of market
Apple Watch is in Monopolistic competition market. To illustrate, besides Apple Watch
there are several smart watches in the world such as Samsung Gear, Moto 360 and LG
watch.
Price elasticity of demand
Apple Watch has inelastic demand. This means that even if the price for an Apple Watch
increased steadily, the demand will not change much. The reason is that Apple Watch is
a specialty product that has high quality and attracts a large number of Apple’s loyal
customers.
Current price
Although the exact pricing of the Apple watch is not yet been disclosed as on Jan 1st week
2015, it is estimated to be 550 $ with the basic edition and spring up to 3500 $ with its
high end collection that is gold plated according to Allsopp (2015). This being said, the
Apple watch will be the most expensive smart watch compared to any of its competitors.

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New-product pricing strategies
Apple used Market Skimming Pricing for Apple Watch. In other words, Apple initially sold
Apple Watch with high prices. This strategy could have been done because of the high
quality of the products. Moreover, the large number of Apple’s customers who wanted
to quickly obtain the new smart watch version. Furthermore, the brand name value is
high.
Product-mix pricing strategies
Apple applies Product line pricing strategy for Apple Watch. This means that Apple set
different prices for different models of Apple Watch.
Price-adjustment strategies
Apple uses psychological pricing for Apple Watch. In other words, customers will pay
more price for Apple Watch if its quality and usability is pretty good to compare with its
competitors (Kolter et.al., 2009)
Competitors’ prices and pricing strategies
Apple Watch has a few competitors from different companies in the smart watched
market such as Samsung Gear, Moto 360 and LG watch. The competitors’ prices are
around the same as Apple Watch due to them also applies an almost similar pricing
strategy.
3) Promotion
Promotion is about letting the potential consumers make aware of the product in order
to motivate them to purchase the product or service (Solomon et.al, 2012)
Promotion of any apple product is a big task and the Apple watch unveiling done at an
international scale by Tim cook CEO of Apple Company in USA earlier in September
2014(Times, 2014). Apple uses social media to gain attention of consumers and their
much detailed video available on YouTube shows every minute specification of the watch.

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The key takeaways from their promotion strategy are that the company shows the value
added by product to the lives of individuals by making the product accessible, relevant
and personal choice of consumers. It also focuses in embracing individuality and that main
focus of the watch is to inculcate a much healthier lifestyle with features such as fitness
tracker.
Advertising
Apple’s advertising objectives for Apple Watch are both informative and persuasive. The
advertisements inform customers of Apple Watch new features and persuade them that
it is the most amazing smart Watch.
Apple’s advertising message for Apple Watch is that the Apple Watch can perform much
better than competitors with more advanced technology. The creative concept for Apple
Watch advertising involves the demonstration of its features. Apple also uses different
types of message execution, which are slice of life, lifestyle, mood and image, technical
expertise. Finally, Apple chooses many different media to deliver its advertising campaign
for Apple Watch. The most notable media are the Internet and television.
Sales promotion
Apple does not really focus much on sales promotion. The only sales promotion tool that
Apple uses is point-of-purchase promotion, which includes demonstration of the products
in the reseller stores.
Personal Selling
Apple does not use personal selling.
Public relations
Apple has been using Public Relations to promote the Apple Watch. Apple mostly uses
press relations.
Direct/ online marketing
Apple does online marketing

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4) Place
This part of marketing mix focuses on making the product available to customer at desired
location at the right time. It mainly focuses on the supply chain of the product. (Solomon
et.al, 2012)
Apart from Apple store and general retailers selling the product, attention must be given
to easy and quick availability of the product with its accessories in the online market for
Thai consumers.
Marketing Channels
Apple uses indirect marketing channel to sell Apple Watch. The intermediaries are many
resellers worldwide.
Channel organization
Apple implements Vertical Marketing System in a form of Contractual Marketing System.
Different smaller companies sign contracts with Apple to establish Apple Reseller shops
to sell Apple’s products.
Marketing Intermediaries
Apple hires industrial distributors to establish Apple Premium Reseller stores and
manufacturer’s agencies for other Apple products’ selling locations. The Apple Watch is
sold via both industrial distributors and manufacturer’s agencies.
Apple uses Selective Distribution strategy to choose the number of its intermediaries.
Only a selective number of distributors can sell Apple’s products include the Apple Watch.

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Marketing activities to launch the Apple watch in Thailand:
1) Objectives
Corporate Objectives
 To achieve the largest market share in the smart swatches industry of Thailand.
 To build long-term business relationship with the local distributors.
 To provide the consumers the best offer with high quality and reasonable prices.
Financial Objectives
 To increase earnings per share by 25%.
 To increase the operating cash flows by 37.5%.
 To increase the company’s profitability levels.
 To provide a Return on Investment of 15% by the end of 2015.
Marketing Objectives
 To enlarge the market segment for Apple Watch after 4 months.
 To overthrow Samsung Gear and establish Apple Watch as the market leader
after 4 months.
 To gain 15% market share from smart swatches business by the end of 2015.
 To increase the customer’s awareness by 30% by the end of this year.
2) Marketing mechanism.
Advertising:
There should be a local version of Apple Watch advertisement appearing usually on Thai
television channel such as Channel 3, Modernine TV and Thai Public Broadcasting Service.
This should take the Thai lifestyles and values into consideration. The advertisement should
also be on local daily newspapers (Bangkok Post, Chiang Rai Times, and Thai Rath etc.) to
widen the effect.

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Sales Promotion
 Apple could use some consumer promotion tools to increase the Apple Watch sales.
 Apple Inc. should apply Advertising specialties. To illustrate, when customers
purchase Apple Watch, the stores should give them some gifts (helmets, umbrellas,
etc), which contain the logo of Apple Inc. to spread out the fame.
 Apple Watch also can apply coupons (decrease 10%) for other products of Apple
Inc. such as iPod, iPad and iMac to increase to purchasing power of customers.
 These methods also have positive influence in terms of Thai customer’s attitude
toward the Apple Watch brand.
Public Relations
Apple could continue using its current Public Relations strategy for Apple Watch in Thailand.
Furthermore, social networks such as Facebook and Twitter are also effective to advertise
Apple Watch for customers.
3) Marketing activities.
1) Launch event
"Sometimes an event can provide an environment that is unique to the product use,"
Dickinson says. "It can be quite powerful."
Developing a new product in a new category is a formidable task, but actually launching
the product when it's ready for the market can also be one of the most stressful times for
a business owner. New products can earn about half their sales and profits far earlier in
the product life cycle than many business owners realize.

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To launch Apple Watch and take the proper attention we can conduct a launch event to
introduce Apple Watch to the Thai society, with the introduction of the Apple Watch, I
expect wearables to grow exponentially as an electronics category in Thailand.
2) Web Ads
Web ads or banner ads can be one of the most famous
and cheaper in order to target the large populations,
these ads can be refined to give some added results if
done correctly. Look for localized sites, such as minor
league sports teams, local news sites, or any other site
whose traffic would generally be limited to local
guests.
3) Television Ads
Television advertising has long been one of the most powerful yet
most expensive advertising mediums available. There are still
a lot of opportunities out there to gain customers. Because
of these recent changes, television stations and cable
companies have done a lot to continue to provide their
advertisers with responses. Many local news stations push
Tim Cook introduce the Apple Watch

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their own websites that can work in conjunction with a television commercial. This
provides us with branding opportunities through traditional commercials and an online
presence on a local station–backed website. Cable companies offer numerous
sponsorship spots and demographic-specific channels at astoundingly low rates.
I prefer to hire one of celebrity to be the main actor of the television campaign like Dome
Pakorn.
(Dome Pakorn Thai Actor)
4) Radio Ads
Like television, radio has taken some hits as far as its effectiveness
due to recent technological advances. MP3s, satellite radio, and
Internet stations have taken some of local radio’s listeners, but
it is still a good way to generate results. Radio operates in a very
similar way to television. Spots are priced based on ratings, and
frequency is key.

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5) Social Media Ads
Social media advertising has come a long way in a
relatively short period of time. When Facebook
launched its first advertising option in May 2005,
no one could have predicted that social media
advertising revenue would be estimated to reach
$8.4 billion in 2015, just ten years later.
Social media advertising helps businesses find new potential clients by using users’ own
shared information to identify interest. Rather than reactively targeting users who search
a certain term, social media advertising proactively targets relevant users before they
even begin their search.
Social networks are a good option for advertisers because of the advanced targeting
options, reliable conversion tracking, and prevalence on mobile devices.

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Conclusion
The marketing analysis of the product, starting from the external environment analysis, its consumer
analysis, the competitor’s analysis, customer’s perception of the product in comparison and having
identified the marketing mix of the product, I have suggested some measures that can be made within
the product that will help us enhance our market share and help diversify the product.
Some of the challenges mentioned in the report with the product related to late entry in market, high
price of product, proportion of market that can be expected to use the new product and challenges
related to compatibility, however the product might be able to overcome these challenges with its
superior functional characteristic and applications, but effort must be made to make the product to
be used by the masses that can lead people to gain confidence in Apple products and become loyal
customers in the future.

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