We believe strong customer stickiness and a brand image synonymous with innovation has enabled Apple to grab mobile phone market share despite heightened competitive pressure.

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The company focuses on the youth fashion market, which is fiercely competitive and under pressure.

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The true measure of Microsoft's market power lies in the lack of competitive pressure to fix the flaws in its products.

ECONOMIST: Securing the knowledge

But sales from its UK supermarkets were under pressure from "an increasingly competitive market" and rose by just 0.7%.

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Perhaps most importantly, intense pressure from heavily subsidized Chinese manufacturers is driving a surprisingly competitive solar market, forcing Solyndra to get costs down faster than the start-up firm could achieve.

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Small economies need trade to specialise, but the pressure of selling into a big domestic market helps companies in large economies remain competitive even without a lot of competition from imports.

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"The K6 family has undergone a lot of competitive pressure against Celeron, " said Mario Morales, director of semiconductor research with market researcher International Data Corp.

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