Since when is $84 billion not an impressive quarter?
Apple was always about the price, it still is. Apple was about premium products, it still is.
Apple had hardware and software issues in the past under jobs, and Apple still does, on occasion.
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Angela Ahrendts Departing Apple in April, Deirdre O'Brien to Oversee Retail and People
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Apple was always about the price, it still is. Apple was about premium products, it still is.
Apple had hardware and software issues in the past under jobs, and Apple still does, on occasion.
Honestly should made perfect sense.. they wasn’t going to bring in the CEO of Abercrombie.
They did become the first trillion dollar company with her in her position.
I think she did a great job. The today at Apple. The designs of the new Apple stores.
I don’t think she was ever meant to be long term.
They did become the first trillion dollar company with her in her position.
I think she did a great job. The today at Apple. The designs of the new Apple stores.
I don’t think she was ever meant to be long term.
The stores look the same to me today as they did 10 years ago.
Except, going there is more of a hassle than ever. You either get bombarded by fake overly-enthusiastic employees, or it's impossible to find someone to check out when you just run in to grab something.
Except, going there is more of a hassle than ever. You either get bombarded by fake overly-enthusiastic employees, or it's impossible to find someone to check out when you just run in to grab something.
Hope this means that apple stores will finally get proper sales register desk, instead of having to queue up next to a possible sales rep who happens to not be a sales rep, then be pointed towards a sales rep, then have said sales rep walk off with their current customer some where else in the store leaving me standing next to a tree wondering if I should stay where I am or follow them, and then the sales rep missing me and talking to some other customer who happened to have walked by.
I think she's a good executive and leader (I mean obviously or she wouldn't have made it as far as she has) but just not for a tech company, much less Apple. Her presence on stage at keynotes and during interviews always seemed a little, I don't know, condescending? I guess that makes sense given her former roles in the fashion industry because I imagine you sort of have to adopt that personality.
Oh well. Hopefully this new woman Deirdre will breathe some new life into Apple's exec team.
Oh well. Hopefully this new woman Deirdre will breathe some new life into Apple's exec team.
The few times that I went to the store for service, I didn't like it when a staff comes up to you and take your info and have to wait somewhere on the floor. The staff then have to look for you and then take you to another spot to then take care of your issue. If this was Angela's idea of doing things this way, then I am not sad to see her go. There should have been an area designated for repairs or service and some random spot inside the store. It seems 5 years is a very short stay at Apple.
This really hits the nail on the head for me. At some point over the last 4-5 years, going to the Apple Store (any Apple Store) changed from being a fun experience to a chore. I'm not really sure what factors led to that, but it's a problem for Apple if most people feel the same way.
What might have sold products more Apple products:
1) Putting money into her salary and subsequent staff & store redecorating efforts?
2) Offsetting said unspent money into product price reductions?
3) Putting said money instead into product improvements (reduced bugs/improved quality...introducing a laptop option for those who don't prioritize thinness first and foremost...an SE-sized phone)
I didn’t either, and Tim was paying her 10M!
What a waste, glad she is going. Over paid elite just enjoying the high life
Very insensitive comments here. Someone just lost their job and now needs a new one.
You have no idea the problems 100 million dollars come with
You have no idea the problems 100 million dollars come with
The store closest to me was closed for over a year and opened with entirely new staff. I think that was the point of the long closure, an excuse to fire all the long term employees and hire new staff for less pay.
She completely destroyed Apple retail, turned it into a customer hostile nightmare.
And I have to mention that the Burberry actually bounce back in this few years after she departed... hmm
Seriously? You think that TC has done more to carry Apple forward than Steve Jobs?
What has Tim done from the ground up that has been wildly successful?
Apple Watch? I love mine, but it’s hardly ‘made’ the company.
Apple TV? LOL
Apple Car?
HomePod?
Perfecting Siri? (Every time I ask my wife, “Are you serious?” my phone chimes in, “I can help you with that.”
China was a bust until they lowered the price on the most recent phones. He’s paying France a half-Billion dollars in back taxes.
All the stuff that drives the company is still riding the coat tails of Steve.
Let's give the Tim Cook vs. Steve Jobs debate some perspective. Read Chapter 28 of the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson. It explains the significance of Cook's contribution to Apple's backroom business operations when he joined Apple, and how that made him an ideal candidate (in Job's mind) for CEO.
Here's an interesting outtake:
Titles and talents aren't necessarily synonymous. Jobs and Cook had different skill sets, but both had the same awareness of Apple's supply chain challenges. Jobs didn't have the patience or diplomacy to work with suppliers. Cook did. Jobs wanted Apple's manufacturing operations to be like Dell's lean just-in-time approach. Cook knew how to make that possible.
The bio reveals that Jobs was a lousy [edit: unconventional] CEO but was a visionary product manager. As CEO, Jobs focused on that aspect, whereas Cook depends on others for that, just as Jobs had depended on him for things Jobs was inept at. This throws water on both sides of the Cook vs. Jobs camps, and may reveal a compromise that would satisfy both sides:
Apple needs a product czar to ensure that Job's brand-defining principles aren't compromised, and to be the spokesperson for User-centric topics. Cook, and his successors, should focus on the company's solvency and limit CEO public appearances to financial matters. Cook should not be MC-ing developer conferences and announcing new products. Apple needs a believable, inspiring product ambassador who embodies Jobs's spirit.
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She came onboard just before the original Apple Watch launch. What a disaster that was!
I remember thinking this is technology not fashion sales - quite different.
In her 5 years of reign she has not improved anything I can see but made a lot of money.
Can’t say I will miss her.
I remember thinking this is technology not fashion sales - quite different.
In her 5 years of reign she has not improved anything I can see but made a lot of money.
Can’t say I will miss her.
Well judging by posts here on MacRumours this news is going to make many people happy…
Yes, yes it is. I could never figure out why Apple hired her in the first place. Her previous job was to take insanely marked up made-in-China fashions and make them palatable to the masses. Oh... wait a minute...
Say what you will, but I made several trips to Apple stores and Microsoft stores in my area the past few months, and the Microsoft store experience was vastly better than the Apple store experience. I am saying this as a long time Apple fan. I was so impressed I bought a Surface Studio.
No. Plenty of people do. Here are some quotes about his looks/attire/voice from recent posts that came up from a quick forum search.
"'Always doing too many things' -- yeah, like sleeping at work and over-eating."
"His colorful shirts and Eddy Cue are also a bad fit."
"Nothing a good diet can't fix."
"dude sounds like Mr. Magoo"
Whether these criticisms are appropriate or not is a different question, but it isn't just a gender issue. I can't speak for everyone's motivations, but you can certainly dislike someone's presentation style for reasons completely separate from gender.
I agree strongly with your point on transforming Apple into a fashion statement. IMO, this is the core problem with Apple today. From pricing to “perceived appearances.” To be fair however, I feel Apple started down the slippery slope when it went from Apple Computer to Apple Inc. Steve’s departure reinforced the “gaget” mentality with Tim. Core principles started to slip. Sloppy software, hardware, indecision, lack of innovation.
All consequences of prioritizing perceived fashion and appearance. I won’t miss her. Tim should be next.
I believe Apple put itself in a dilemma. On one side it has a quickly growing user population, on the other side it tries to paint itself as a semi-luxury brand, which normally means it is not affordable for most people. The growing population requires more and bigger retailer stores and more service people, which Apple has failed to fulfill in the last decade. Those Apple stores in my area look almost identical to what they were ten years ago, but definitely much more crowded. Every time when I stepped in it was overcrowded and I had to suffer noise. How can you buy a luxury product in a farmers market-like place?
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By most counts, Jobs wasn’t as much a lousy CEO as he was simply a lousy person, but the one thing he epitomized was visionary, which is why so many were willing to put up with his other gaping faults. From that perspective, Jobs was a GREAT CEO, as he saw the future and surrounded himself with people to take him there. I personally think that Cook is a lousy CEO, but an amazing senior VP who was exceedingly competent at logistics and processes.
IMO, the reason that Jobs liked Cook so much, and relied on him so heavily, is that they worked well together in complementary roles. That should have been the FIRST indication that Cook was not good CEO material. Chances are, a person would could truly take visionary charge to be a creative “Product Czar” as you well stated would likely have butted heads terribly with Jobs over even small things.
Cook is doing everything he can to attempt to capitalize Apple and make the company profitable. Jobs did everything he could to create things that people would desire. Clearly Jobs was a one-in-a-billion individual. As opposed to most companies which strive to identify needs and meet them, Jobs actually created a company that created an awareness of “needs” that most people never thought they’d have.
JMHO.
