Influential Apple Japan exec departs

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Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Apple Computer on Tuesday confirmed that Vice President of Marketing Yoshiaki Sakito, one of its top executives in Japan, has stepped down.



Sakito has been credited with leading a successful marketing push for the iPod in Japan.



According to the Associated Press, Sakito resigned Monday after he reached reached an agreement Apple, though details of the agreement are unclear.



However, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japan's top business daily, reported in its Tuesday's editions that Sakito plans to start setting up a venture business.



The report said that Apple's Japan operations will have a major change in its leadership at a time when competition in music players may heat up as rivals, such as Sony Corp., plan a big push in portable players.



As Apple searches for a successor, Phil Schiller, the company's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, will oversee Sakito's role in an interim position, according to the AP.



Sakito was said to be "the most visible executive" in the iPod's Japan push, and the Nikkei said his departure highlights divisions with the managerial ranks.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 6
    bergermeisterbergermeister Posts: 6,784member
    Ahhh.... hopefully this will mean something will change for the better here in Japan. Apple Japan, in a word, sucks, so maybe some fresh blood is on the way to fix things.
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  • Reply 2 of 6
    When I was in Japan last month I saw iPod everywhere and quite a few people had them too. The Apple store in Shibuya was pretty cool too (no Apple store where I live )
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  • Reply 3 of 6
    bergermeisterbergermeister Posts: 6,784member
    The physical Apple stores are run by Apple USA, not Apple Japan. The stores are really nice, which I hope is making Apple Japan work a little harder.
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  • Reply 4 of 6
    wilcowilco Posts: 985member
    Holy guacamole!
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  • Reply 5 of 6
    jdwjdw Posts: 1,472member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Bergermeister

    Apple Japan, in a word, sucks



    Partly, because they are under the thumb of Cupertino and partly because their Japanese management lacks a zeal for selling their own products. Sure iPods are found all over Japan, but it's certainly NOT due to Apple advertising (which is almost non-existent). And the TV ads that work in the US don't have the same appeal to the Japanese consumer. Even so, cell phone makers are all the rage here in Japan right now pitching their inferior hardware and music store solutions.



    While I myself would NEVER even in a thousand years want to listen to music on a cell phone, the fact is that the nutty, money-spending younger Japanese generation wants that. So if Apple ever does consider releasing a cell phone music player of its own, Japan would be a good test bed for it.
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  • Reply 6 of 6
    bergermeisterbergermeister Posts: 6,784member
    Their management doesn't know their own products!



    I mentioned once to the manager of the Apple Store Japan that I owned a MacPlus. His response: "Is that an Apple product?"
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