Apple to Hire Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts as Senior Vice President of Retail and Online Stores

[Rogifan]

So this was purely a financial decision? Ok, I get it now.

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But, did Ron Johnson actually work out? He has since been a flop. And you could have put any idiot in charge of selling the iPod/iPhone/iPad and they would have "worked out" for Apple. However, that was a different Apple than now. As far as indications go, Apple may never have another iPod/iPhone/iPad. I guess Apple May have to veer towards the fashion biz.

I don't think he gets a fair rap when it comes to JCPenney. He had the right ideas he just wasn't given the time to implement them. And made the fatal mistake of changing pricing before the stores were redesigned. He was trying to make JCPenney a better place to shop.

 

[flux73]

I don't know enough about Ms. Ahrendts to be able to judge her qualification as SVP. I just hope that the hire was not just about her being a woman. All this criticism about Apple having only male executives is ridiculous. I couldn't care less if all of Apple's executives were African American lesbians, as long as they are great at running Apple.

But simply hiring a woman doesn't make a company more likely to succeed. Examples: Carly Fiorina and Meg Whitman. I'm encouraged so far by watching the TED Talk she gave - she definitely doesn't seem to fit the mold of Carly or Meg.

 

[kas23]

Didn't know Apple was having trouble selling the 5S...please enlighten us about all the people who were put off buying the new phone because of the way Burberry marketed it at their fashion show.

I never said anything about iPhone 5S sales, which are phenomenal. You need to read more carefully. I stated that the attempt to garner sales through the Burberry commercial was likely a failure.

The camera shots were stale and it didn't really expose (no pun intended) the iPhone 5S as the excellent camera phone it is. That video really could have been made by any iPhone. Did it display it's excellent zooming capability? What about slow motion? The new flash? These are the selling points for buying the iPhone 5S and it's future retail SVP missed on all counts.

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I don't think he gets a fair rap when it comes to JCPenney. He had the right ideas he just wasn't given the time to implement them. And made the fatal mistake of changing pricing before the stores were redesigned. He was trying to make JCPenney a better place to shop.

Perhaps he was trying to make it a better place to shop, but he went about changing the store completely wrong. He was completely out of touch with his customers buying habits and needs. Arrogantly (something he likely learned to be at Apple), he kicked the existing customers to the curb and changed the store overnight. This was a makeover that should have been done gradually. As a result, he did something not believed to be possible; he took an already struggling company and made its situation much worse.

 

[phooi]

I wonder if Tim read this article from WSJ magazine back in September or if she planted that line as part of the vetting process...

Despite the obvious parallels to Polo Ralph Lauren, another brand run by an American that uses an idealized British style updated with youthful insouciance to reach an international consumer, Ahrendts resists comparison to the preppy empire—or any other peer companies, for that matter.

“I don’t look at Gucci or Chanel or anyone,” she says a few days after our dinner, pouring herself the fifth or sixth Diet Coke of the day (“My blood runs brown,” she jokes). She’s sitting in her white-and-wenge office in the company’s new headquarters in a converted seven-story government building behind Parliament. Ahrendts is dressed, as she is most days, in head-to-toe Burberry Prorsum, the brand’s high-end label: a closely cut black jacket and slacks, with chunky bangles from the company’s jewelry line circling each wrist. “If I look to any company as a model, it’s Apple. They’re a brilliant design company working to create a lifestyle, and that’s the way I see us,” she says.​

It is a great profile for those who want to learn more about her (history, management style, achievements) before making any snap judgements on her ability to take over a job she hasn't started.

 

[kds1]

And you're basing this prediction on...?

Why not? What was it about Ron Johnson in 2000 that made you know he was going to work out for Apple?

As I seem to recall (I think from the Steve Jobs biography), Ron Johnson's work in creating the Apple Store was a co-effort alongside Jobs. They had an intense working relationship.

The way I see it, this SVP position will sink or swim dependent on the resulting working relationship between said SVP and the dynamic Ive-Federighi duo.

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It's my gut instinct. She's from the high end fashionista world. I just don't see her meshing well with Apple's culture. I live in New York, and have worked with and around these fashion industry types.

I could be wrong.

 

[flux73]

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It's my gut instinct. She's from the high end fashionista world. I just don't see her meshing well with Apple's culture. I live in New York, and have worked with and around these fashion industry types.

I could be wrong.

I would agree except that I watched her TED Talk and to be honest, she really doesn't strike me as the fashonista type, a la Anna Wintour.

I could be wrong too, but for now, I'll give Tim Cook the benefit of the doubt that he made the right choice based on qualification, not because of her gender.

 

[KPOM]

I don't know enough about Ms. Ahrendts to be able to judge her qualification as SVP. I just hope that the hire was not just about her being a woman. All this criticism about Apple having only male executives is ridiculous. I couldn't care less if all of Apple's executives were African American lesbians, as long as they are great at running Apple.

But simply hiring a woman doesn't make a company more likely to succeed. Examples: Carly Fiorina and Meg Whitman. I'm encouraged so far by watching the TED Talk she gave - she definitely doesn't seem to fit the mold of Carly or Meg.

I don't think this was an affirmative action hire at all, though given that Apple has only 1 woman on the board and currently none on the executive team, it may not be a bad thing that she is a woman.

Sales at Burberry tripled and their stock price quadrupled in the 7 years she has been the CEO. Their stock fell 5% today on the news that she's leaving. Clearly she has been a success at Burberry, and she has brought the company into the social media era, and into China with a vengeance.

It's always difficult to tell if a new executive will be a cultural fit, but that's probably why they took their time with the search.

 

[lolkthxbai]

She looks hot. Chris blew up my "um"/"uh"-counter.

 

[KPOM]

According to the Wall Street Journal, Ahrendts was also considering taking the CEO role at JC Penney. Apparently, she and Apple came to terms months ago but Burberry needed the time to find a successor.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles...2448489128?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Ugghhh, gaudy and tacky in my opinion....

No matter, it's still a product marketed exclusively to wealthy people as a true luxury watch. (My point).

 

[emseven]

Does it matter? Are are you people going to demand Affirmative Action as part of the Apple hiring process now?

I could care less if she was female or not, or if she was heterosexual or not, or if she was white or black. The only thing that matters is if she can do the job. Let's reserve judgement until she can at least prove herself (or not).

Oh wow, that's special. I defend her against a slew of sexist complaints then observe (in a delighted fashion) that Apple Executives now have a woman in place and you go on some eye-rolling tirade. :slow clap:

 

[macred]

yum. finally, retail SVP

This is a brilliant move on Apples part. She understands marketing to an affluent female customer base.

The small demure iPhone already has a vast following among women. She'll be able to expand this base even further.

When it comes to marketing, no other company in the tech sector does it as well as Apple.

 

[IbisDoc]

When I've shopped at Burberry retail stores, I've never been required to walk around for 20 minutes looking for someone to help me purchase a product, never been to a store without any sign of a cash register, never been to a store with all of the employees hitting on underage females instead of assisting purchasing customers. Never had a Burberry retail shopping experience in which I had to beg someone to just "please let me pay you money" so I could actually get out of the damn store.

I wonder what her thoughts are about the current state of the WOAT shopping experience, also known as the Apple retail store.

 

[SlCKB0Y]

No matter, it's still a product marketed exclusively to wealthy people as a true luxury watch. (My point).

I wouldn't consider them to be. If you talking about Patek Philippe I'd agree. Price-wise Breitling are priced to compete with brands like Omega and Rolex (both of which I prefer greatly to Breitling).

 

[flounder021]

I wonder if she'll last. Retail VP is the Defense Against the Dark Arts position at apple.

THIS x10 hahahaha thank you.

 

[noisycats]

She was hired only because she made Burberry a hit in the all to coveted Asian markets. Period.
Apple needs to crack China like a boss and miss thang is the one to make Apple a staple of their consumer diet.

Bwahahahahhh!

Only?? Why minimize that effort/success?

What have you done this decade?

 

[whtrbt7]

This is a major turning point for Apple by hiring someone in the Lifestyle/Fashion world which they already were going after for the last decade. Johnson understood that Apple needed high-end retail and Apple currently has the highest grossing sales per cubic foot for their current retail spaces. I'm actually surprised that they were able to get Ahrendts for the position since I didn't really see her leaving her post to take up a position at Apple which is still a traditional silicon valley tech company. It's a highly unusual move that pretty much turns heads.

Something tells me that Apple's products are about to get a little more high end and a little pricier. While Burberry products are currently pretty desirable, a lot of times I feel that they lack the value proposition that Apple has had for the last decade. Overall, Apple to top what they are currently grossing, they need to increase their sales quantities at slightly elevated costs while allowing retail the ability to service customers and earning on the service side as well. The biggest problem with Apple's current image is that they have terrific customer service but they don't sell as many value added services as they do devices. If Ahrendts is able to bring higher "class" materials to the product line as well as increase pricing and service propositions, I think she'll be very successful.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

I wouldn't consider them to be. If you talking about Patek Philippe I'd agree. Price-wise Breitling are priced to compete with brands like Omega and Rolex (both of which I prefer greatly to Breitling).

Don't know how they are marketed in Aus. but in the U.S. they are only advertised in publications with very high income & net worth readers. At any rate they are several thousand dollars, so not exactly a middle class item. Whether you prefer Breitling to Patek or I prefer BMW 7 series to a Panamera is irrelevant. Point is they are all true luxury objects, where Apple products are just expensive but affordable products for a larger market, not really luxury at all.

 

[sidewinder3000]

isn't this a downgrade for her? From CEO of burberry to a Vice President!

Seriously?

Burberry is a great company, and Angela Ahrendts helped their renaissance the past 8 years. But Apple, right now, is one of the most admired & talked about companies in the HISTORY OF CORPORATIONS. They recently had the largest market cap EVER, and are worth more than Google + Microsoft COMBINED. More than the entire 1977 US Stock Market. More than all retail sales of ELECTRICITY in America. Twice the entire US RETAIL CLOTHING business. More than every team in the NFL. COMBINED. TIMES 10. (Click here for a ridic list of other things “Apple is bigger than” http://thingsappleisworthmorethan.tumblr.com )

Looking just at retail, Apple has 415 "brick & mortar” stores worldwide, compared with Burberry’s 206. Pound for pound, Apple retail stores are the most profitable in the HISTORY OF AMERICAN BUSINESS at over $6000/sq. ft. (more than double what Tiffany’s makes–selling diamonds). Apple’s RETAIL DIVISION alone made 50% more PROFIT ($4.9 billion) than Burberry’s ENTIRE CORPORATION took in in REVENUES last year ($3.2 billion). It would take the Burberry worldwide about 9 years (9 x $561 million) to equal the profit that Apple’s retail stores made last year.

And to put all the above retail numbers in perspective, “retail” isn't even Apple’s main business, bringing in only a FRACTION (8%) of what the rest of the company makes ($18.8bn of the company’s $156.5bn total revenues)! Taken as a corporation, Apple makes more PROFIT in a single quarter ($6.9 billion profit in Q3 2013) than Burberry’s entire REVENUE for 2 years (approx. $6.4 billion revenue the last 2 years). Looking just at profit, it would take Burberry 33 YEARS to make as much profit as Apple made last year ($18.8 billion). In other words, Apple’s pond dwarves Burberry’s ocean.

As a marketer, she’s joining a brand that was voted Marketer of the Decade from 2000-2010, and one that just recently supplanted Coca-Cola (the reigning champion for a few dozen years) as the number #1 brand in the world. When Apple releases a new version of a product that’s been out for 5 years, tens of thousands of people worldwide camp in line, sometimes for days, to be the first to won one. The value of their brand & customer evangelism is almost beyond calculation.

Last year she made about $27 million. The previous Apple VP of Retail, John Browett, made about 57 million last year, and he’s sort of a stiff compared to Ms. Ahrendts. She should do even better (no less than twice her previously ridiculous salary).

Right now, Apple is the ’27 Yankees + Manchester United (last 26 years) + New England Patriots (Bill Belichek era ONLY) + 60’s Celtics/80’s Lakers/90’s Bulls of business/marketing. Burberry is last year's Notre Dame team.

She is absolutely getting a promotion.

 

[KPOM]

[MOD NOTE]
Lets stop with the sexist remarks. Discuss the hiring, her credentials or anything else in the news story. Its degrading to start bringing her looks into the discussion, and its off topic.

When I've shopped at Burberry retail stores, I've never been required to walk around for 20 minutes looking for someone to help me purchase a product, never been to a store without any sign of a cash register, never been to a store with all of the employees hitting on underage females instead of assisting purchasing customers. Never had a Burberry retail shopping experience in which I had to beg someone to just "please let me pay you money" so I could actually get out of the damn store.

I wonder what her thoughts are about the current state of the WOAT shopping experience, also known as the Apple retail store.

True. My guess is that she'll try to improve the overall experience. Browett just wanted to cost-cut. Johnson did a great job getting started, but I can completely see why they went elsewhere rather than hire him back (assuming he would have taken the job if offered). They are in need of some new ideas and Ahrendts is full of them.

 

[RenoG]

She'll do good I think.
Oh and having SVP at apple on your résumé will line your qualifications in diamonds.

 

[Solomani]

someday Apple will no longer make computers. It will just be another consumer electronics company.
Hiring fashion execs for a computer company is the start.

You seem to know little about how big corporations run. They did not hire her to be one of Apple's hundreds-strong engineering crew. They hired her to be in charge of retail sales.

Apple's technical side is not diminished or weakened simply because they hired an 'expert' in brand selling to the consumer masses.

 

[3N16MA]

I think Apple did a great job with this move. Ahrendts seems to be very forward thinking when it comes to retail and how to get a message across to the consumer. She also seems to want consumer feedback and allows that feedback to come through many social platforms.

You don't need someone who is the most computer savvy to run the retail side of things. You need someone who knows how to connect with old and new customers and is able to clearly present a product. Someone that strives for the best customer service and retail experience.


Just take a look at Burberry's 121 Regent Street store to see what she is capable of.

 

[betabeta]

This is a perfect fit, and one amazing hire to run Apple retail, her style and attitude is Apple.

If you got 15min. listen to this talk she gave:
"The Power of Human Energy" at TEDxHollywood it was posted earlier or search google.

I think Steve would have approved, in fact I think Tim may have just found his future replacement, and I'm saying that just listening to this, I knew about her before Apple hired her.

I can see her giving emotional heart felt product announcements almost as cool as Steve did.

 

[prowlmedia]

Meanwhile, I and many other millions do want a 5"-6" phone in their pocket - because they are far more useful for web, email, maps & GPS, ebooks, photo viewing, movies etc. than either the small, skinny iPhone screen or the tablet/laptop in your bag in the luggage rack on the other side of the aisle. If you're only going to have one device with mobile internet capability then they're a great compromise between phone and tablet.

If you haven't noticed that Samsung is doing very nicely selling S4s and Notes, or can't see the difference between a slim, versatile pocket computer with a 5-6" display and a 20-year old thick-as-a-brick telephone with a 1" alphanumeric display then you're the one that needs their eyes tested.

Nobody's saying that you can't have your small-screen iPhone if you're mainly concerned with calls, texts and mobile-optimized websites - and there's probably room for an "iPhone nano" for people who just want communications and music. Apple offer a choice of sizes for every other product, so why not the iPhone?

ANS: because every time Apple produce a new iOS screen size, all the apps need updating to support it. Although iOS is superior in many ways, it seems totally reliant on apps supporting specific hard-coded screen resolutions, whereas Android and every other current OS has long been able to cope with the concept of resolution-independent applications and variable DPI (OS X can't seem to hack variable DPI either).

Sure I see your point, The trade off between Resolution / screen size and battery life is always going to be an issue. Perhaps they will come out with a 5" phone but it won't be until they can almost eliminate any bezel I am sure. Apple like to keep things small it seems.

iOS7 allows for a lot more Res independent stuff, but android still has massive issues. you still have to assign screen sizes for apps and games etc. It's a complete painin the ass, which is why my games only support Nexus and S3/4, apart form the fact I make nothing on Droid anyways.

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We spent 20 years getting smaller phones because useless space was removed from phones. Phones are now getting bigger because the size of the phone actually is a feature that people use (years ago large phones didn't offer any benefit over smaller phones at all).

Well no, the components got smaller. And you'll find that the bigger phones at the time had better antennas.