Can you point to changes made by Ron Johnson (after coming up with the original design of the Apple Store)? I'd say changes in retail are much harder to pin down than any changes in the products.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Angela Ahrendts is Now Simply Senior Vice President of Retail as Apple Drops 'Online Stores' From Her Title
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I was just being facetious. I shouldn't disparage against her. Apple clearly invested in her, which I'm not the one to Judge if this is a good or a bad decision.
Rejuvenation? Like how you are unable to get a Genius Bar appointment with one or two clicks in the past? Like now you have to physically go to and sign into a store (with about 5 "greeters" not knowing what is going on and mass confusion)?Like how you wait outside the store (since it is too crowded)?
What a complete and total disaster.
Johnson quit from the leading worldwide retailer in hopes of infecting a stodgy retailer with Apple-ly processes. They fought back and won the battle. JC Penny is losing the war but the manglement killed a disruptor.
K-Mart is closing stores.
Sears is nearing insolvency.
For those not connected with the back room activities, Sears Holding is selling all the underlying real estate from under all K-Mart stores. That includes entire shopping centres that have a K-Mart store in it. marcusmillichap.com is leading the charge.
K-Mart is closing stores.
Sears is nearing insolvency.
For those not connected with the back room activities, Sears Holding is selling all the underlying real estate from under all K-Mart stores. That includes entire shopping centres that have a K-Mart store in it. marcusmillichap.com is leading the charge.
I am with you there, here are 2 specific examples of things which bother me:
- I haven't been to a retail store for a while, but unless they have reversed course on the idea they had at some point to remove any single label with information and pricing for the product on display is rubbish to me. It might work for fashion items which are self explanatory and for which you want customers to pick what they like and then ask for the price, but when you have a number of similarly looking technology products with different specs it just confuses customers (I think when they look at a phone at the store many customer who are not Apple fans have no clue whether it is an iPhone 6S, a 7, or a Plus and what configurations are available at what prices).
- on the website, the decision they made to merge the online store with product pages might slightly streamline the experience to review and buy Apple's flagship products, but it makes it pretty confusing to buy accessories or non-Apple products.
Last edited:
I agree. It's nowhere near as easy to navigate now. The Watch layout is awful, the iPhone layout is awful etc. I've no idea who signed off on the site the way it is now. It used to be a joy to use.
I think they should drop her altogether. She ruined the company store in Cupertino and I hate that I can't book genius appointments from the App anymore, another negative change that was also spearheaded by her.
Scott Forstall also got his fair share of critisism when he was still around (including from me - I hated his design philosohy and found iOS apps pretty ugly under his direction). Phill Schiller also gets mocked for his marketing talk regularly.
And of course that is not to mention Tim Cook himself, who I am not making any judgement on here but has objectively recived a lot of criticism from people who haven't found him up to the task compared to what Steve Jobs would have done.
But yeah, if some people want to have a selective view of reality so that they can happily be offended by what they see, I guess no one can stop them.
Convergence and consideration for the customer experience will be demonstrated whe I can return an item bought in the store as if I ordered it on line and vice versa.
As it is, here in Switzerland, if you buy an item from the online store and drive 2 hours to the Glattzentrum location return it (East of Zurich), they give you a hard time. Drive into the Zurich store, they are respectful, accommodating and apologetic for the actions of the other store.
[doublepost=1475447672][/doublepost]
[doublepost=1475447846][/doublepost]
As it is, here in Switzerland, if you buy an item from the online store and drive 2 hours to the Glattzentrum location return it (East of Zurich), they give you a hard time. Drive into the Zurich store, they are respectful, accommodating and apologetic for the actions of the other store.
[doublepost=1475447672][/doublepost]
Why no genius appts from the app? Is there a special app for this? Thought the app was supposed to represent the non virtual storefront.
[doublepost=1475447846][/doublepost]
Lampert is a one man bezerker weapon of mass value and jobs destruction.
The online store went down hill pretty fast after Jobs passed.
I muted a lot of the sexist, racist accounts here and I must say it certainly makes the site a nicer place to visit. If you come here to relax and learn that is.
But yeah. She seems to be doing an okay job! I've bought a bunch of apple products and never had a problem with that process, or returns when necessary.
Re Jet black finish: obviously you have little idea of the lead time behind development and industrialization of such a coating and finish.
Unreal. Get over yourself.
The web site provides awesome white space, big pictures, sized for kindergartners, and lots of scrolling for those with lots of excess energy. It seems to me to be designed perfectly for Apple's new demographic.
Thanks for reminding us that every criticism of women is met with accusations of sexism by feminists like yourself.
The fact that she's there at all is a disappointment. The online store is incredibly poorly designed, and the service level at the stores, even though there are now MORE OF THEM has dropped dramatically since Ron Johnson left. No quickdrops, no appointments for days, sometimes WEEKS in advance (especially for Macs) and turnaround times that would make a Geek Squad bar embarrassed.
Ahrendts is the reason visiting an Apple store used to be a pleasant experience, and has turned into a chore.
Don't even get me started on the accessory selection gutting they do at the new concept stores.
Her strategies worked well for fashion, and she was good at what she did, but aren't suited for Apple at all.
Ahrendts is the reason visiting an Apple store used to be a pleasant experience, and has turned into a chore.
Don't even get me started on the accessory selection gutting they do at the new concept stores.
Her strategies worked well for fashion, and she was good at what she did, but aren't suited for Apple at all.
I'll just say this. People who are used to this kind of abuse have a sense about, and are able to pick up on, the motivation for it. People rarely acknowledge the source of their animus when it's rooted in prejudice so you have to infer it from their tone, actions, etc.
I think agree that we should be careful not to jump to conclusions too quickly but it's pretty apparent to me that her being a woman is a huge factor in the level of animus directed towards her.
I think agree that we should be careful not to jump to conclusions too quickly but it's pretty apparent to me that her being a woman is a huge factor in the level of animus directed towards her.
Last edited by a moderator:
What online store? It's a set of webpages with buy buttons and a checkout process. :^> /s
Jesus Christ...
Hey, you too! It's not a store! It's an.... Apple. Period. You now go to Apple.
-their headquarters?
No! To their... uhm... Customer experience places? ugh...
Also, I noticed your signature. Am I seeing correctly? The app doesn't have IAPs?
Glassed Silver:mac
Last edited:
The single idea of disintegrating the online store into the website itself is the worst thing this executive has done to Apple.
No, no, no, NO.
Don't bring Steve into this. This isn't Steve's era anymore, it's Tim's era, whether you like it or not.
[doublepost=1475450435][/doublepost]
You're right. The level of animus toward her is on a subconscious level. A view that has been socially constructed since the dawn of man.
They did get the iPod checkout though. Seems the only thing they kept from him. But unlike Apple they didn't get rid of the regular registers.
Somebody is a little testy. Chill no one gives a **** if she's a female or not