Apple hires Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts to lead retail efforts

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Comments

  • Reply 41 of 81
    maccherry wrote: »
    Ron Johnson had a proven record and look what happened to him at JC Penny.
    JCP was a sinking ship that no one will be able to rescue.
  • Reply 42 of 81
    xiao-zhi wrote: »
    For a good laugh, check out the CNBC report on this story.

    http://www.cnbc.com/id/101111899

    In the video, the read hair pundit states, basically, that:

    - Apple is leaving China
    - Moving manufacturing to the USA (Texas) with "100% automation"
    - This will result in significant restructuring of how Apple operates

    I wonder if anyone told Tim Cook he is moving all of Apple manufacturing to Texas?

    Too funny.

    I can only hope the red headed analyst did not realize how badly she misspoke! I am thinking she meant to say the Mac Pro line NOT every line.

    And nobody corrected her!! Seeing her all smiley and happy as she sipped from her styrofoam cup on TV after the faux pas was uttered was enough to make me want to feel embarrassed for her.
  • Reply 43 of 81
    xiao-zhi wrote: »
    For a good laugh, check out the CNBC report on this story.

    http://www.cnbc.com/id/101111899

    In the video, the read hair pundit states, basically, that:

    - Apple is leaving China
    - Moving manufacturing to the USA (Texas) with "100% automation"
    - This will result in significant restructuring of how Apple operates

    I wonder if anyone told Tim Cook he is moving all of Apple manufacturing to Texas?

    Too funny.

    What would a SVP of Retail from the fashion industry have to do with moving manufacturing to the U.S., automation or product quality control?
    Nothing!

    I can't believe these "journalists" just let that fly out there without any follow up questions.
  • Reply 44 of 81

    At last, a woman in the senior management :D

  • Reply 45 of 81
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by crazy_mac_lover View Post



    Good to have female in its management team.

    Agreed.

  • Reply 46 of 81

    What does it matter that she’s a woman? I’d fire her the same as Browlett if she can’t get the job done, and rightly so. I’d keep her on, the same as Browlett, if she can.

  • Reply 47 of 81
    feynmanfeynman Posts: 1,087member
    This would explain why Burberry got early access to the new iPhone 5S.
  • Reply 48 of 81

    Burberry is sadly known for being the clothing provider for chavs - the uneducated (and proud of it) noisy, in your face, downmarket but high spending, brand-obsessed, Samsung-loving, irritating, low life much despised in the UK. Sure, Burberry sell to a restricted range of unprofitable top-end upmarket people too, but I hope no check patterns enter the Apple design system...

     

    I'm not saying she's a bad hire, and her stewardship was in place at the time markets moved towards her products and she managed that effectively - but again, she seems to excite Tim Cook in the same way as John Browett did: profit centric. I would argue that Apple doesn't need more profit, it needs more soul; everything recently seems to be slightly behind where it could be just to maximise the revenues. Samsung may be the dirtiest, nastiest copyists out there, but I can understand why their products appeal to some people (I know, I have to go and wash my mouth out with soap now!) Apple just hasn't launched anything really exciting for ages. iOS7 is worrying, while the iP5S is basically an iP5 with a fingerprint sensor. The original iPhone was loaded with new, wonderful features. That magic has been lost it seems, and now they are chasing chavs? I hope not!

  • Reply 49 of 81
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SwissMac2 View Post

    I would argue that Apple doesn't need more profit, it needs more soul.

    Err.... what TF does that mean?

  • Reply 50 of 81

    Tim is smart. He knows his strengths and weaknesses. He's hiring these fashion specialists to gain back a little bit of Steve's vision of what will appeal to the people.

     

  • Reply 51 of 81

    Burberry is a pleasure to shop at.  The sales people really know there line much better than other clothing retailers I have seen.  The clothing is very beautiful to look at and remarkable to the touch.

  • Reply 52 of 81
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post

     

    Err.... what TF does that mean?


    Well, if you have to ask I guess you might never get it.

     

    Perhaps it'll help you if I say they need more people who think like Steve Jobs thought, and fewer who think how Tim Cook thinks if they are to return to launching products that touch people's souls.

     

    Who's the visionary at Apple these days? A series of excellent specialists need a visionary to guide them or they'll have the most organised expedition that never left base. At the moment Phil Schiller seems to be driving product specs, launching each new iPhone with just a single headline grabbing feature (classical marketing theory of maximising profits) while Tim Cook is driving the supply chain very well because he looks at the details, but seems not to see the big picture; Jony Ive is great at making things look pretty but isn't always the most practical if iOS7 is a guide, while the customer service is not as it used to be due to moving away from people to a computer operated call forwarding system which drives me potty as I remember when I could get through to a real person without having to wait for 3 to 4 minutes of computer messages and choices first.

     

    It's all become very focussed on profits when Apple already are the world's most profitable company; is that all the Apple ethos has become? Where is the zen thinking? Where is the combination of art with science? Where is the science fiction coming to life in your hand?

  • Reply 53 of 81
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    maccherry wrote: »
    Ron Johnson had a proven record and look what happened to him at JC Penny.

    He wasnt given enough time and he made changes too soon.
    swissmac2 wrote: »
    Well, if you have to ask I guess you might never get it.

    Perhaps it'll help you if I say they need more people who think like Steve Jobs thought, and fewer who think how Tim Cook thinks if they are to return to launching products that touch people's souls.

    Who's the visionary at Apple these days? A series of excellent specialists need a visionary to guide them or they'll have the most organised expedition that never left base. At the moment Phil Schiller seems to be driving product specs, launching each new iPhone with just a single headline grabbing feature (classical marketing theory of maximising profits) while Tim Cook is driving the supply chain very well because he looks at the details, but seems not to see the big picture; Jony Ive is great at making things look pretty but isn't always the most practical if iOS7 is a guide, while the customer service is not as it used to be due to moving away from people to a computer operated call forwarding system which drives me potty as I remember when I could get through to a real person without having to wait for 3 to 4 minutes of computer messages and choices first.

    It's all become very focussed on profits when Apple already are the world's most profitable company; is that all the Apple ethos has become? Where is the zen thinking? Where is the combination of art with science? Where is the science fiction coming to life in your hand?

    Hot damn. Fingerprint tech. There isn't a need for a single visionary at Apple. The leadership team can collectively drive that vision.
  • Reply 54 of 81
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jungmark View Post



    Hot damn. Fingerprint tech. There isn't a need for a single visionary at Apple. The leadership team can collectively drive that vision.

     

    You know the definition of a camel being a horse that was designed by a committee, don't you? 

  • Reply 55 of 81
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    swissmac2 wrote: »
    You know the definition of a camel being a horse that was designed by a committee, don't you? 

    Do you really think jobs designed everything and took no input?
  • Reply 56 of 81
    blah64blah64 Posts: 993member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SidricTheViking View Post

    This TEDx talk will give an idea of what to expect. Is that an iPad mini I see? There's a lot of Tim Cook's presentation style here, too, I think.

    http://youtu.be/mZNlN31hS78

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum View Post

    Thanks for the link...
    Very impressive!

    Yes, thank you Sidrc. Impressive indeed.

    People, if you want to know why she was hired for this position, watch this 13 minute TEDx talk. THEN come back here and discuss.

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DanielSW View Post

    I agree. It was a good presentation. It was as if she was ”auditioning" for Apple.


    I was thinking the same thing at a couple points in the talk. I believe offers like this and moves like this often take place over months-long periods; we as the general public peons just don't know about it until the end. So with that in mind, it's quite possible that she had already been made the offer back in April, but hadn't decided, or didn't want to publicly announce her decision to move to Apple.

    She is clearly uncomfortable speaking in this environment, you can hear it in her voice. She's out of her element. But if the talk is any indication of the "real" her, she gets the connection between people, their emotions, style, energy, etc. IMHO, this is a hire Steve Jobs would have made, or at least the kind of holistic personality that he would want in this position.

    I'm optimistic.
  • Reply 57 of 81
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member
    swissmac2 wrote: »
    Burberry is sadly known for being the clothing provider for chavs - the uneducated (and proud of it) noisy, in your face, downmarket but high spending, brand-obsessed, Samsung-loving, irritating, low life much despised in the UK. Sure, Burberry sell to a restricted range of unprofitable top-end upmarket people too, but I hope no check patterns enter the Apple design system...

    I'm not saying she's a bad hire, and her stewardship was in place at the time markets moved towards her products and she managed that effectively - but again, she seems to excite Tim Cook in the same way as John Browett did: profit centric. I would argue that Apple doesn't need more profit, it needs more soul; everything recently seems to be slightly behind where it could be just to maximise the revenues. Samsung may be the dirtiest, nastiest copyists out there, but I can understand why their products appeal to some people (I know, I have to go and wash my mouth out with soap now!) Apple just hasn't launched anything really exciting for ages. iOS7 is worrying, while the iP5S is basically an iP5 with a fingerprint sensor. The original iPhone was loaded with new, wonderful features. That magic has been lost it seems, and now they are chasing chavs? I hope not!

    Burberry never chased "chavs". It's the fashion of choice for the upper middle classes, in particularly the country elite. Then some "chavs" - rather a criminal or entrepreneurial class in the cities - copied them. Saying it is for chavs is like saying that BMW is for rappers. It's some but not much of the truth.

    And it's not for the poor. They are wearing track suits if they can be bothered leaving their pyjamas.
  • Reply 58 of 81
    welshdogwelshdog Posts: 1,897member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by dnd0ps View Post

     

    First female SVP! That might silence all the feminists out there


    Yes because loud feminists are the biggest problem facing Apple and humankind these days.

  • Reply 59 of 81
    quinneyquinney Posts: 2,528member
    She's going to have to learn to relax in front of crowds if she is going to do product release presentations for Apple.
  • Reply 60 of 81
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    I researched Brovett's background when he was appointed and checked the website of his former company where great emphasis was made on measuring and improving customers satisfaction and care. He seemed an ideal fit for Apple's philosophy.

    Then, when he took over at Apple stores, forgot about customer satisfaction and he started to try cost cutting and upset staff from top to bottom at the expense of customer care - strange that he so misunderstood his mission.

    Not from what I saw. Dixons was known for having messy stores, dirty stores, and carried cheap, often junky items. I was in those stores several times when I went to London over the last few years. I can attest that they were nothing like Apple's stores, and the experience wasn't exactly first class. I don't know what you read, but the business commenting on him at the time was that they were confused as to why Apple thought him to be a good fit.

    Perhaps your error is that you looked up some guy named Brovett, instead of Browett.

    This however, is a great fit.
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