“When Angela Ahrendts steps down from Apple as senior Vice President, Retail, in April 2019, she will have completed five years at the helm of all of the company’s stores —both physical and online,” William Gallagher writes for AppleInsider. “While Apple does also earn money from services and other business activities, the alterations that she’s made in the stores are central to the rise of the company into being the world’s most profitable firm.”
“These Apple Stores have been lauded as retail successes since their very beginnings, and externally they had appeared to be doing well even before Ahrendts joined. Yet in practice, the years before her arrival were marked with problems,” Gallagher writes. “Her official predecessor only lasted nine months in the job before being replaced by Tim Cook who acted as a caretaker head of retail alongside his duties as CEO.”
“Ahrendts seemed happier to make her changes more subtly and less visibly,” Gallagher writes. “She appeared to predominantly build up Apple’s internal systems for running and developing retail before she moved to launch the Today at Apple idea of turning stores into meeting places.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Good luck in your greatly expanded duties, Deirdre O’Brien!
SEE ALSO:
Apple CEO Cook thanks Angela Ahrendts in company-wide memo to employees – February 6, 2019
Apple names third retail chief in seven years – February 6, 2019
Apple’s Angela Ahrendts to depart in April; Deirdre O’Brien named senior vice president of Retail + People – February 5, 2019
Just seems like the marketing + sales people are now running Apple (in line with SJ’s lament about other tech giants). Still hoping for return of Scott Forstall.
Sorry, Apple today is NOT being run by marketing people. Besides Ahrendts there isn’t a single marketing person among Apple’s SVPs and Cook is an engineeer. Schiller head of marketing is actually a biologist.
Apple today is being run by back room bean counters and product is being led by Jony Ive a non tech designer who seems to have lost interest in computing devices and more interested in furniture, watch bands and door handles, and hanging around with fashion designers.
Apple marketing and product development was led by Steve Jobs and his genius is sorely missed. Jobs was a master marketeer (think 1984, Think Different etc campaigns) and entrepreneur who wanted to make and push visionary products. A true marketing and product person cares first and foremost ‘product ‘ and customers.
Today Apple’s back room bean counters are near oblivious to many customers needs (re: pricing, small phone, Macs, repair service etc) that they are second guessing and groping around. Now Cook for example has hired marketing talent like Tor Myhren to report directly to him instead of Marketing Chief Schiller, likewise TV guys report to him instead of Cue etc. i.e there seems to be confused overlap command. To me it seems like backroom people groping around trying to figure things out.
An example on how horrible Apple marketing is was the recent Mac 35th Anniversary where besides a single tweet from Cook no Anniversary video, no ads, not even cheap web ads, no store promotions, no comment or interview from Ahrendts or Schiller head of Retail and Marketing! Zero marketing. Nada.
What a joke. Angela took more away from the store experience than she added. What a total waste of millions in salary for a fashion poser. Gone, good…
I couldn’t agree more I think the Apple retail experience is worse than ever both online and in the store.
I can’t even bring myself to go into an Apple store any longer. They seem to hire anyone today far from the genius experience. The online experience to me is worse than ever too much squirreling too much clicking I personally think she’s done a terrible job.
Well, she was mostly a vanity hire by Cook.
This is part of the reason Apple threw so much money at her.
I’m sure that she has some skills that would benefit some other company, I just question whether that translates into what Apple needs at this time, or if she would have simply ended up as another out-of-touch elitist, incapable of giving ‘regular people’ reliable computing tools in which they delight and flushing SJ’s legacy down the crapper.
I mean, not that Phil Schiller isn’t doing his best Ballmer impersonation, atm. Btw, the new Macbook Pro’s are too damn thin. This is why Apple is currently having keyboard and heating problems.
Anyway, wishing Angie well. As long as its far away from Apple.
Angela looks too much like her Dad, Angelo. Make up makes the difference.