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.
New Retail Chief Angela Ahrendts Appears on Apple's Leadership Page
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I'm not sure how you think this refutes my point. Are you saying that Sculley used an effective strategy that simply became no longer effective? Because I have to strongly disagree. He mis-managed Apple because he didn't have the tools for that industry. My point is that being a successful decision maker in one industry does not mean that you can move to a new industry and be successful. Sculley was a great CEO at Pepsi and sucked at Apple.
Last edited:
The Matrix, reloaded?
----------
I didn't say anything about Sculley's strategy, or his success, or lack thereof. I am simply saying that the point about him taking a "soft drink" approach to Apple's product line that was so utterly different than the Jobs approach is difficult to support by the facts. Jobs pared down Apple's product line when it suited his purposes, then expanded it again, when that suited his purposes. I also would not make the argument that this initial paring down was directly connected to Apple's resurgence. What really mattered was filling those matrix boxes with appealing products.
----------
It has always seemed to me that the people who are the most convinced that they can't be fooled, are in fact, the easiest people to fool.
a lovely face in this cage full of lions, i wish her luck 
i'm pretty sure it won't be easy for her, considering some guys around her at the VP level
i'm pretty sure it won't be easy for her, considering some guys around her at the VP level
----------
What's the point though? I don't think he needs a title change for people to know how important he is.
Clearly the most qualified person for that job
Absolutely. What I'm saying is for a company to embrace diversity, they don't need their board to a mini united nations, they need to simply get the best person for the job. Diversity will come on its own.
Fair enough. Then let me propose another case study that is much less complex and open to interpretation and more on point.
Ron Johnson, hugely successful with Apple stores takes his ideas to Penney's where they totally fail because retail clothing is nothing like technology retail. His approach fails because what seems logical to him given his experience leads him astray. The same could be said of John Browett when he came on board, although that was a train wreck that almost everyone saw coming a mile away.
I sincerely hope that Angela is able to make positive changes, because I believe it is inherently risky to bring someone to a new industry and expect them to make good decisions.
Couldn't agree more. I think this has more to do with apple trying to meet a census and putting a somewhat established woman in a executive roll. I don't see her lasting long at all.
I think we've discussed this before. In the cases of both Johnson and Browett, we don't entirely know why they were fired from their new companies, but I think it has less to do with the businesses being different than their respective boards of directors hitting the panic button when they attempted to do precisely what they were hired to do. Johnson came to Apple from Target and Mervyns, so I think it's tough to support the argument that he was simply incompatible with JCP because he didn't have experience with clothing retailing. If anything it argues that he should not have succeeded at Apple.
We don't know if either of them would have succeeded had they been able to implement fully. I don't for a minute buy the argument that "almost everyone saw it coming." In both cases, the companies had to know precisely why they were hired, even if they haven't explained it to you and me.
There was an Indian-American though. Satjiv S. Chahil was at Apple from 1988 to 1997... he was SVP world wide marketing and communications (now occupied by Phil Schiller) and part of the Apple executive management.
.
You need to look closer at Apple's leadership page.
ALL the people on that page are Executives... and ALL of them are Vice Presidents.
That includes Jony Ive.
she really has beautiful eyes
The woman is gorgeous.
----------
Dropping by an Apple store sucks! Purchasing something as simple as a cable is a big hassle. Further the stores are cramped and they try to do things in the store that would be better done in a separate room. On top of all of that what was ever wrong with having a check out line in the first place.
I look at it this way, I make it a point to minimize my time spent in malls and stores in general. The idea is to hit the place get, what you want/need and get the hell out as quickly as possible. Apple stores suck in this regard. Organization is terrible, finding so,done to take your money is a joke and the stores are often crowded to the point of not being able to move about without a struggle with star crossed idiots.
----------
This however is a common myth supported in academia and other circles. That is once you have your business management degree you can run any business in the world. It is also a thought held by many in the executive ranks, especially in the USA. This is frankly why so many American companies have so many issues with sustaining themselves and innovation. If you as a manager don't have a clue about the technology you are about to manage you have zero chance of success.
In this case I don't think we have to worry, Angela seems to be a good fit for the job and seems to have a good handle on technology and marketing.
So contrary to appearances, Ron Johnson must have failed at Apple, since his prior experience in retail had nothing to do with technology.
Except that Johnson was incredibly successful at Target with the same basic strategy that he tried to use at Penney's and the same basic strategy that he used at Apple. Sometimes forces outside of your control (like a chicken ***** board of directors at Penney's) come into play.
Johnson was attempting a swan dive into a thimble at JCP. He was trying to completely remake the company, all at once, and with no margin for error, due to the company's poor financial situation from the outset. The real question is why he was hired for such a radical makeover if the board wasn't going to have the stomach for it, or whether Johnson just tried to do too much too quickly. I have heard it told both ways.
I sit on an anonymous market research panel and interestingly I just got asked today to complete an online survey about the Apple website. Never been asked about anything Apple related in the past. I wonder if the new lady is trying to get a handle on what customers think of the Apple online store.
Reminds me of Glenn Close. Here they are:
Attachments
And the Natick store is a very good one. They are very busy there, much busier than the one at Legacy Place in Dedham. I have found them to be very helpful and if they can't answer the question or don't know how to do what you want, they find the person that can.
I came in around 10:30AM and there were very few customers in the store, that's what made it more aggravating to be passed around three times (not including the greeter) to resolve a simple issue like a lightning cable. I did like the fact that they give one-on-one service out in the cafeteria.