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Angela Ahrendts Departing Apple in April, Deirdre O'Brien to Oversee Retail and People
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I like Craig Federighi, he seems to be an honest and nice guy with a sense of humor.
Thank the lord. I didn't think she understood the company. Granted she understood fashion retail, but not consumer tech retail. The online store now resembles a fashion website. It's difficult to navigate and search - all in the name of gloss.
Cook: Dixons man and then Burberry woman for Retail. Maybe he will get it right next time. Or maybe he needs to go next!
Cook: Dixons man and then Burberry woman for Retail. Maybe he will get it right next time. Or maybe he needs to go next!
Well said. For someone with a fashion background, such a simple etiquette faux pas was quite jarring to see.
It may seem that was the case based on what gets reported in annual proxy filings. But in reality it wasn't the case.
Mr. Cook has received around $600 million in compensation (from Apple) in the 7-1/2 years since he became CEO. Ms. Ahrendts has received around $200 million in compensation in the 4-1/2 years since she joined Apple.
Angela Made a ton of money for herself doing nothing. Apple drank her Kool-aid.
A person like her who was a former CEO of a known company and made more money than Tim when she moved to Apple she must something else going on. The only thing I know for sure is that Apple Store is not doing well and she probably don't want to be associated with it when everything so south.
Elaborate on the fact the Apple store isn’t do well.
It seems to me the Apple store is doing very well.
You have no idea how he is behind closed doors. Nor does anyone know how Angela is behind closed doors.
That’s totally because it is. It’s all hollow, shiny veneer. It’s not about “connecting” with people. It’s only about numbers and checking off a list of things to bring up in the conversation so that the employee has good numbers.
I hate Apple store culture.
They sell perception, not durable goods.
At Burberry she sold the perception of exclusivity. That means high dollar, low volume. You can't sell a perception of exclusivity when everyone has one of your product.
When Apple was a much smaller company (before iPod and iPhone) many Mac owners felt that feeling of exclusivity. They felt like they were in a their own little club and Apple treated them that way. But that time is long gone now.
Given that she has nothing lined up, it seems odd (the timing). I think she was pushed out. The Apple stores are a mess.I bet Ahrendts felt she had accomplished what she set out to do. It was a very creative overhaul. She probably had the time of her life. Now we seem to be moving much more into optimization of operations. (Sustainment, maintenance, optimization.) That may be less attractive.
Most people nowadays change positions every 3-5 yrs. She’s probably ready for a new challenge. Given her comment about missing fashion, maybe this creative freedom reenergized her and she’s ready to go back to the field she enjoys most. And given the optimization of operations stage, O’Brien sounds like a great person to take over. And given all the additional people operations around the training and Today at Apple stuff, her people focus is a natural fit as well.
Looks like once again, people here like to automatically assume the worst of whatever is happening at Apple. Sad, but hardly surprising.
On a side note, how come no one ever gets outraged at Apple only selling leather cases.
I loved the Apple smartcase for my iPad 2. It was made out of some type of synthetic material. Worked great and no animals were harmed in the process.
Adults don't want Apple stores to be "Town Centers" where people hang out and cause congestion along with a negative shopping experience of longer lines and wait times. IT'S a STORE! Shop, buy (or not) then LEAVE. Goodbye Angela.
She was brought in around when the Apple Watch was about to be released and was also tasked with improving employee morale.
Given the watch shifting more towards health and away from fashion, perhaps Apple’s original intent for hiring her is no longer applicable
I'd be curious to see an organizational chart of the retail Apple division below the head executive. I can see how the head honcho might order redesigns and/or location of the stores and possibly set direction for store repair policies performed by "geniuses", but the hiring of lower level retail employees and managers likely has little to do with Ahrendts or other multi-million dollar executives. The chief of retail could have a positive (or negative) influence over repair and warrantee policies, which these days - with all the QC problems with recent Macs and iPads - could use considerable attention. I'm just amazed at how much money the chief executives at Apple actually make, especially when one notes that the everyday retail employees make less than $20/hour: https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Apple/salaries?job_category=retail . Might all that executive pay might be invested into higher pay for retail employee salaries and better training?
No, only the customers are on the losing end for having had to endure her pretentious ideas of 'town squares' and fashionista sensibilities.
I've mentioned before that I wish Bill Gates could be hired as a CEO at Apple to effect significant change. Since he is now 63 years old, perhaps I'd amend that idea to his being taken on in an advisory capacity. Will never happen, but it would be interesting, and he developed a close, though competitive, relationship with Jobs over the years. Microsoft and the computer / tech industry has changed so much since his retirement - I could be tilting at windmills.What Apple needs:
Not the person, obviously. The mentality.
It‘s sad to read that some mistake premium for fashion and vice versa. Apple used to be a premium brand, focusing on the few but maturing them, leaving no fear for users to upgrade or think about costs. Remember when iOS was still different between iPod touch and iPhone? You had to pay for the iOS update, and boy did people pay gladly because they knew they weren‘t beta testers. Same with hardware. Now, it‘s just a mess. Bugs here, engineering issues there and only when the the recoil is too strong, good old QA is reinstated for a single iOS 12 update or an official quality program for an otherwise public engineering fault.
Ahrendts had nothing to do with that except maybe add a tier too much to bear on the Apple tax for the average joe, if that was her at all.
Only good thing out of this not so impressive quarter for Apple is that they now have to listen to user demand to fill the gaps. iPad mini 5 is a good move, making many pilots happy. And average joes like me who really love the 7.9 inch form factor which basically even fits into some jackets‘ pockets.
Ahrendts had nothing to do with that except maybe add a tier too much to bear on the Apple tax for the average joe, if that was her at all.
Only good thing out of this not so impressive quarter for Apple is that they now have to listen to user demand to fill the gaps. iPad mini 5 is a good move, making many pilots happy. And average joes like me who really love the 7.9 inch form factor which basically even fits into some jackets‘ pockets.
The hiring of a fashion executive to lead retail sales was illustrative of Apple's focus upon luxury mobile devices the last several years. I have no idea what direction the "Vice President of People" will bring to the position, or what new directions that might represent.