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Apple Hires Former Levi's Senior VP for Retail Team

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Apple has hired Levi Strauss' former Senior Vice President Enrique Atienza, reports 9to5Mac. Atienza, who formerly handled Levi's Retail Americas and Global Store Operations, is said to be working as a retail director overseeing multiple regions on the West Coast of the United States.

apple_store_fifth_avenue.jpg
A source says that Atienza will be the director of all retail matters for many regions within the West Coast of the United States, and this role is one of the highest ranking retail positions inside of Apple. Several internal and external candidates were considered for the position, but the external Atienza is said to have been the best fit.
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While a Levi Strauss spokeswoman confirmed that Atienza had recently left the company, she declined to comment further on the departure. At Levi Strauss, Atienza was in charge of streamlining the company's global sales approach to create a better customer experience.

9to5Mac also notes that Steve Cano, formerly a retail manager, was promoted to Vice President of Retail Operations earlier in the year. Atienza will report to Cano, who reports directly to Tim Cook.

As Apple beefs up its retail team, the company is still searching for a new retail chief after John Browett was ousted last October as part of a major management restructuring. In August, The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple was only considering outside candidates for the position.

Apple's retail operations are more important than ever as the company enters into the fall months with a slew of products to reveal. Both the iPhone 5S and the low-cost iPhone 5C are expected to debut in September, with the fifth-generation iPad and the iPad mini coming slightly later in the year.

Article Link: Apple Hires Former Levi's Senior VP for Retail Team
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/08/21/apple-hires-former-levis-senior-vp-for-retail-team/
G

gatearray

macrumors 65816
Apr 24, 2010
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Perhaps the new iPhone will be riveted?

Seriously though, I had thankfully forgotten all about the Browett fiasco until it was mentioned in this article. <shudders>
 
3

3282868

macrumors 603
Jan 8, 2009
5,281
0
Nice to have a SVP* in Retail again, although disappointed that Paul Deneve, head of the Yves Saint Laurent fashion house joining Apple, isn't heading retail. Could been a better fit (pun intended) w/ design edge in line with Johnson's.

*SVP, VP, CP, PP, CCCP - whatever, it's all the same to me.
 
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Asclepio

Asclepio

macrumors 6502a
Jul 11, 2011
718
315
Stone-washed iPhone anyone? or iPhone 5(01) now available in a denim (colour) option, perhaps will be riveted?
 
Technarchy

Technarchy

macrumors 604
May 21, 2012
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We have a Levi's corporate store near me, and it's of my favorite shops. Always well laid out, clean, good staff.

Sounds like a good hire to me.
 
mrxak

mrxak

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Apr 16, 2004
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Levi's is an iconic, highly-regarded brand, though in recent years the company has struggled a bit. While I don't know much of Enrique Atienza, his experience at Levi's will no doubt be valuable to Apple, and I trust he'll be a good fit at Apple if he was a good fit at Levi's.
 
C

CFreymarc

Suspended
Sep 4, 2009
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AppleMark said:
New iPhone 5s & 5C, now available in a denim (colour) option.
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Very good move. Levi-Strauss has been experimenters with fashion centric wearable technologies over over two decades. They have financed many start-ups playing around placing microprocessors in clothing and wearable accessories with a fashion eye. Most only saw very limited distribution if only private beta testing.

Been told that Levi's corporate is very conscience of it's blue collar / working man image and is not interested in "geeking up the brand" as some have called embracing wearable technologies. Thus, they are avoiding being a fashion company turning into a technology featured company while keeping most of their customer base. IMO, about the only fashion company that successfully did this is Fossil.

Apple on the other hand is a technology company that became a fashion company. I'm sure this'll be a breath of fresh air for the him while also avoiding the commute from the Peninsula into the City. The commute from the Peninsula into Cupertino is not that bad and mostly a counter-commute.
 
12vElectronics

12vElectronics

macrumors 68040
Jul 19, 2013
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PBF said:
That's just crazy!

Apple is best at computers, iPhones, software, etc. Their decision to start selling jeans is plain stupid and ridiculous. I'm done with this company.

Android, here I come!
Click to expand...

:lol: Not a surprising statement considering some of the other stuff I've been reading!
 
Technarchy

Technarchy

macrumors 604
May 21, 2012
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mrxak said:
Levi's is an iconic, highly-regarded brand, though in recent years the company has struggled a bit. While I don't know much of Enrique Atienza, his experience at Levi's will no doubt be valuable to Apple, and I trust he'll be a good fit at Apple if he was a good fit at Levi's.
Click to expand...

Between American Eagle, Aeropostale, Ambercrombie, Hollister, PacSun, Gap, Express, Old Navy, Lucky, and lord knows how many others, a company like Levi's is going to feel pinched. I don't think it's an issue of making a quality product, but establishing value and capturing mind-share in a massively crowded market.

Either way, I like my local Levi's stores more than most other retailers.
 
chirpie

chirpie

macrumors 6502a
Jul 23, 2010
646
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My advice for new hires is that the people at the top aren't as smart as you think they are.

Generally they've got a strong work ethic and they eat and breathe their job, but there's nothing "magical" in their thought process.

I see this as just another calculated roll of the die.
 
Rogifan

Rogifan

macrumors Penryn
Nov 14, 2011
24,124
31,156
bedifferent said:
Nice to have a SVP in Retail again, although disappointed that Paul Deneve, head of the Yves Saint Laurent fashion house joining Apple, isn't heading retail. Could been a better fit (pun intended) w/ design edge in line with Johnson's.
Click to expand...

I don't think this guy is an SVP. :confused:
 
tbrand7

tbrand7

macrumors 6502
Feb 8, 2013
265
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New York
PBF said:
That's just crazy!

Apple is best at computers, iPhones, software, etc. Their decision to start selling jeans is plain stupid and ridiculous. I'm done with this company.

Android, here I come!
Click to expand...

Are you currently sober?
 
mrxak

mrxak

macrumors 68000
Apr 16, 2004
1,650
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Drifting through space in a broken escape pod
Technarchy said:
Between American Eagle, Aeropostale, Ambercrombie, Hollister, PacSun, Gap, Express, Old Navy, Lucky, and lord knows how many others, a company like Levi's is going to feel pinched. I don't think it's an issue of making a quality product, but establishing value and capturing mind-share in a massively crowded market.

Either way, I like my local Levi's stores more than most other retailers.
Click to expand...

There's been a few recent entrants that you didn't even mention that have really hit Levi's hard, copying many of Levi's traditional brand attributes, and they've had some issues trying to be everything to everyone (which is never a good idea when you're maintaining a brand). If they streamline a bit, they can probably regain their place. Even with all the new competition, though, they're a solid brand worn by pretty much everybody at some point in their lives.

But anyway, they're not hiring this guy for their marketing department. I expect his responsibilities will be mainly operational. But he's worked for another company that was very brand-focused, so he'll fit in well with Apple's culture.
 
Y

yeah

macrumors 6502a
Jul 12, 2011
978
291
PBF said:
That's just crazy!

Apple is best at computers, iPhones, software, etc. Their decision to start selling jeans is plain stupid and ridiculous. I'm done with this company.

Android, here I come!
Click to expand...

The new iJeans: Hiding unsightly erections, one nano-chip at a time. ;):D
 
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