“Since departing Burberry for Apple’s retail empire, the tech-savvy executive has been largely hidden from view,” Ainsley O’Connell reports for Fast Company. “Instead, CEO Tim Cook does the talking.”
“Today was no different. Without any advance notice, Ahrendts appeared in the back of Apple’s latest store,” O’Connell reports. “For a brief quarter-hour at lunchtime, Ahrendts smiled for the cameras and took in the bustling crowds. Then, once again, she was gone.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote last September:
Cook’s best hire to date. Plus, if he, God forbid, ever got hit by a bus, she could slide right into the CEO position. Of that, we have no doubt. Ahrendts’ track record is stellar. Having two world-class CEOs in the executive suite should give Apple shareholders a strong sense of security. Just as Jobs had Cook, Cook has Ahrendts.
Low profile, low accomplishment, high compensation.
I’m not sure exactly how are you measuring her accomplishment and what is your metric.
According to available data, Apple stores are still raking in the highest per-square-meter (foot) revenue in retail (or any other sector), the chain keeps growing, both at home and overseas, and after a brief Browett period where customer satisfaction took a dive, that has again returned to its former high.
So, once again, exactly how is Ahrendts failing?
She’s a high-level executive and she doesn’t have a penis. If you’ve spent any significant time reading the comments section of this site, you’ll notice there’s an obvious and tangible hatred for women in positions of power.
Ah, no… in this case, you can’t play the sex card.
After the obscene 2013 signing bonus followed by being the highest paid female executive in the USA in 2014 with a compensation of $86.2 million, Ahrendts has done precious little to justify it.
I’ll leave it to you to provide all the breakthrough accomplishments that Angela has brought Apple the last year. Here are my observations of what is a huge disappointment in retail:
Forcing appointments for genius bar.
Amateurish internal videos instead of personal appearances to connect to her team?
Maintaining residence in London instead of Cupertino and spending more effort on social media lifestyle blogs and internal self-promotion instead of fully training her employees.
Overpriced stores with inadequate stock of Apple products and very poor displays for Apple accessories.
Ugly blue shirts to contrast the fancy architecture.
Hermes watch bands at prices nobody in his right mind can justify for what is truly not an attractive wristpiece.
Very poor promotion of products and events at Apple stores … it seems Apple is lazy since they can just rely on MDN to do their advertising for them.
… we could go on, but you get the point. Ahrendts is an empty suit, penis or not. Thanks for nothing Angela.
The simple fact that you call her “the highest paid female executive” implies sexism. Why don’t you compare her to other executives, rather than to other “female executives” ?
Okay, so focus on sex all you want. Where is the performance?
I still hear no explanation why Ahrendts takes in more than women CEOs, and multiple times more compensation than other more productive executives of any sex.
Looks like Cook just piled on the cash because he thought a fashionista would bring her Rolodex of Burberry customers and their cash to Apple. He was wrong, Apple already had the fashion-conscious crowd for whom price is no object. And he already had Sir Jony to court the high-end British designer crowd. What Apple is an executive who is fluent in Mandarin or anyone who knows squat about India. So call her critics as sexist as you want, this bleach blonde hasn’t exactly set expansion markets on fire.
To the outside observer, Ahrendts does nothing but increase the diversity score and empty Apple coffers. Performance and impact are no better than any other executive — male or female — paid 1/100 as much as she has been gifted.
I have to agree with Mike.
She has NOT significantly grown sales of Apple’s retail segment. Yes, there has been growth, but both unit sales and dollar sales are not better than could have been done without her. Her leadership, if it really exists, is not evident anywhere.
Yes, she is better than her predecessor, but that is ONLY because he was so bad that Apple retail personnel were threatening to quit en mass. It would be tough to not be better than he was.
Can you name three of her leadership actions/initiatives that were specifically driven by her that significantly and measurably enhanced Apple’s retail position for the better? Can you even name one?
Male or female, I don’t give a damn. Apple has paid a LOT of money to have her. Their return on their investment has been abysmal.
From the outside looking in it seems as though the only thing she can sell is herself, and she’s extremely good at that. (By the way, I’ve known dozens of men just like that. I don’t hold any of them in high regard either.)
The other day I had this weird thought, and I started hoping that she’s well. Healthy and all. Glad to see her out for a change.
15 minutes!
She really has her heart in it…….NOT!
Didn’t she just recently say she didn’t quite understand the “culture” of Apple fans and stores? She didn’t understand how we expect the Store to be so different from others. In fact she failed to understand how the Apple store thrived while others went bankrupt. With her as CEO expect Apples demise to accelerate.
MDN’s take make me feel queasy and sick inside.
A terrible hire if you ask me. Ineffectual and clueless.
I have no clue what MDN’s take is all about. The gist of the article is about her low profile. So I suppose that means we measure results. The result that I SUPPOSE is hers is the new store concept. I’ve said before that the Germantown, TN store has been remodeled and relocated to a posh part of town and the store is downright pretentious – and that’s not considering the haughty attitudes of some of the geniuses working there. I’m a plain IT guy and I don’t feel comfortable in the new store. I’ve mentioned it to a couple of folks at work and their response has been “Thank God for the Apple Store on my phone.” So in my view that result isn’t so stellar. If u like a company charging quite a bit for a computer and then spending the money on oppulence, it’s up your alley. To me it’s more and in my face bragging and I don’t like it. Maybe it draws the upper class folks. But I’d venture to bet I spend more on numerous devices than they spend except in the case of the Apple Watch Edition. But as I think about that, I think if I were buying a frigging $10,000 watch, the seller most definitely better be bringing a selection to my home where I am comfortable and can make my selection in that environment. If I’ve missed something that Ahrendts has done, apologies upfront. But if THIS is her contribution, God help us if she is ever the CEO.
As an IT guy, if you’re working with other businesses, you need to get in touch with the Business folks at the local store. They’re who you should deal with.
I would like to hear and see more of her. She might be Apple’s best kept secret.
I would like to see her leave permanently along with Cook, Cue, and Ive.