Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts nominated for Ralph Lauren board of directors

Posted:
in General Discussion
Fashion brand Ralph Lauren has announced plans to nominate Angela Ahrendts, Apple's retail head, for a non-executive position on its board of directors.




Ahrendts will be up for election at Ralph Lauren's annual shareholders meeting, currently expected in August. Top-level executives -- including Lauren himself -- are treating her appointment as a done deal, suggesting they expect little if any resistance in voting.

The appointment will leave Ahrendts in her current full-time position at Apple, making her little more than an advisor in her added duties.

Ahrendts is no stranger to the fashion industry, having served as the CEO of Burberry until she joined Apple in 2014. That background is widely believed to be the reason for her hiring, since Apple announced the Apple Watch later that year and embarked on an international revamp of its retail aesthetics with fashion in mind.

That overhaul is still in progress, since the company has over 500 stores worldwide and many U.S. locations are a decade or more old. In some cases Apple has waited until it could move into larger spaces to accommodate growing traffic.

The last dedicated pop-up store for the Watch is set to close on May 13. Under Ahrendts, Apple launched several around the world in a bid to position the product as a fashion accessory.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 19
    robin huberrobin huber Posts: 3,949member
    Why is she taking on outside work when there is so much left undone at Apple? The stores are a mess. Very stylish, yes, but within that visually zen-like shell chaos reigns. In one corner a class is being conducted with the instructor shouting to be heard. Right next to that are a dozen people sitting on cubes waiting for or being helped by geniuses. Everywhere else team members are conversing loudly with customers while others loiter, waiting for their chance to get help. The din is mind numbing. I can’t wait to conclude my business and get out into the relative serenity of the mall. Driving customers out is not a good result. Sound deadening materials are needed badly to counteract all the hard reflective surfaces. A separate theatre is needed for classes. Some visual cues are needed for folks to understand where they should be for purpose for which they came. Come on Angela, do your homework before you go out to play with Ralph. 
    edited May 2018 wozwoz
  • Reply 2 of 19
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    Why is she taking on outside work when there is so much left undone at Apple? The stores are a mess. Very stylish, yes, but within that visually zen-like shell chaos reigns. In one corner a class is being conducted with the instructor shouting to be heard. Right next to that are a dozen people sitting on cubes waiting for or being helped by geniuses. Everywhere else team members are conversing loudly with customers while others loiter, waiting for their chance to get help. The din is mind numbing. I can’t wait to conclude my business and get out into the relative serenity of the mall. Driving customers out is not a good result. Sound deadening materials are needed badly to counteract all the hard reflective surfaces. A separate theatre is needed for classes. Some visual cues are needed for folks to understand where they should be for purpose for which they came. Come on Angela, do your homework before you go out to play with Ralph. 
    By this thinking no company would have a Board of Directors. Did you know that Tim Cook sits on the Board of Directors for Nike and the National Football Foundation, is a Trustee of Duke University? 
    Rayz2016
  • Reply 3 of 19
    canukstormcanukstorm Posts: 2,693member
    macxpress said:
    Why is she taking on outside work when there is so much left undone at Apple? The stores are a mess. Very stylish, yes, but within that visually zen-like shell chaos reigns. In one corner a class is being conducted with the instructor shouting to be heard. Right next to that are a dozen people sitting on cubes waiting for or being helped by geniuses. Everywhere else team members are conversing loudly with customers while others loiter, waiting for their chance to get help. The din is mind numbing. I can’t wait to conclude my business and get out into the relative serenity of the mall. Driving customers out is not a good result. Sound deadening materials are needed badly to counteract all the hard reflective surfaces. A separate theatre is needed for classes. Some visual cues are needed for folks to understand where they should be for purpose for which they came. Come on Angela, do your homework before you go out to play with Ralph. 
    By this thinking no company would have a Board of Directors. Did you know that Tim Cook sits on the Board of Directors for Nike and the National Football Foundation, is a Trustee of Duke University? 
    On top of that Eddy Cue sits on the Board of Directors for Ferrari.
  • Reply 4 of 19
    zonezone Posts: 71member
    I am not a big fan... she is a PC hire and nothing else. A monkey could run Apple Retail at the moment. She has done nothing to improve the situation like the above commenter stated. So many failures with the Retail management really. It's SAD!
    edited May 2018 wozwoz
  • Reply 5 of 19
    nunzynunzy Posts: 662member
    Just by buying Apple products, we are now all connected to Ralph Lauren .  Cool!
  • Reply 6 of 19
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    macxpress said:
    Why is she taking on outside work when there is so much left undone at Apple? The stores are a mess. Very stylish, yes, but within that visually zen-like shell chaos reigns. In one corner a class is being conducted with the instructor shouting to be heard. Right next to that are a dozen people sitting on cubes waiting for or being helped by geniuses. Everywhere else team members are conversing loudly with customers while others loiter, waiting for their chance to get help. The din is mind numbing. I can’t wait to conclude my business and get out into the relative serenity of the mall. Driving customers out is not a good result. Sound deadening materials are needed badly to counteract all the hard reflective surfaces. A separate theatre is needed for classes. Some visual cues are needed for folks to understand where they should be for purpose for which they came. Come on Angela, do your homework before you go out to play with Ralph. 
    By this thinking no company would have a Board of Directors. Did you know that Tim Cook sits on the Board of Directors for Nike and the National Football Foundation, is a Trustee of Duke University? 
    On top of that Eddy Cue sits on the Board of Directors for Ferrari.
    On top of that...the Board of Directors at Apple are also mostly CEO's of some other company. 

    I honestly don't get Robin's complaints. Apple Retail stores are very popular places and always have been. Apple has been moving into larger buildings and mall bays to try and fix some of these space constraints. Unless Apple starts building their own standalone buildings which would be extremely expensive I don't really see how any of the complaints could go away. The fact that people are actually coming to those trainings and other sessions proves that it is a success. Its still one of the best retail experiences you can get. In an era where most retail stores are struggling to survive, Apple is still thriving. Sears, BonTon, Toys R Us, JCP, etc could only dream of having the apparent issues Apple has with retail so Apple must be doing something right. 

    Is there room for improvement? Absolutely! There's always room for improvement, but someone sitting on the board of another company isn't going to stop improvements from happening. These are very talented people who are able to do more than one thing at a time and still be successful. 
  • Reply 7 of 19
    wozwozwozwoz Posts: 263member
    I am sure she knows more about clothing than computers.
  • Reply 8 of 19
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,408member
    zone said:
    I am not a big fan... she is a PC hire and nothing else. A monkey could run Apple Retail at the moment. She has done nothing to improve the situation like the above commenter stated. So many failures with the Retail management really. It's SAD!
    She’s one of the most successful business people in the world. I bet you didn’t complain when John Browett failed his way through his short tenure. 
  • Reply 9 of 19
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,408member

    wozwoz said:
    I am sure she knows more about clothing than computers.
    Yes, she was massively successful as Burberry’s CEO for years, unlike Ron Johnson who left Apple to go fail at J.C. Penny. John Browett also left Apple and went into clothing retail. But hey, she’s a woman so she only knows about clothing, right? /eyeroll
    macxpress
  • Reply 10 of 19
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member

    wozwoz said:
    I am sure she knows more about clothing than computers.
    Yes, she was massively successful as Burberry’s CEO for years, unlike Ron Johnson who left Apple to go fail at J.C. Penny. John Browett also left Apple and went into clothing retail. But hey, she’s a woman so she only knows about clothing, right? /eyeroll
    Honestly, I don't think she needs to know about computers to do her job. She needs experience in retail, running entire retail store lines, etc and thats exactly what she has. She probably one of the best I the business IMO and Apple is lucky to have her. If we had a geek in charge of Apple Retail it would be a massive clusterf&$!. I can't really think of a better person to have in charge of Apple Retail and the stuff that she's done is really nice. 

    Its really no different from the store manager of an Apple Retail store. I don't think Apple really cares how much a particular person knows about computers in general, but rather their experience in running a retail store, how they treat customers and employees. How they solve problems within the store and provide the best customer service they can, etc. When I interviewed for a Mac Genius position waaaayyyy back in around 2006'ish it had very little to do with how much do you know about the Mac or iPod, iLife, etc and more about how do you treat customers, provide good service, etc. 
    edited May 2018 fastasleep
  • Reply 11 of 19
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    zone said:
    I am not a big fan... she is a PC hire and nothing else. A monkey could run Apple Retail at the moment. She has done nothing to improve the situation like the above commenter stated. So many failures with the Retail management really. It's SAD!
    She’s one of the most successful business people in the world. I bet you didn’t complain when John Browett failed his way through his short tenure. 
    Well, Browett may have failed dismally at Apple, but at least he was a man. 

    ¯\_(ツ)_/¯




    fastasleep
  • Reply 12 of 19
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member

    macxpress said:

    wozwoz said:
    I am sure she knows more about clothing than computers.
    Yes, she was massively successful as Burberry’s CEO for years, unlike Ron Johnson who left Apple to go fail at J.C. Penny. John Browett also left Apple and went into clothing retail. But hey, she’s a woman so she only knows about clothing, right? /eyeroll
    Honestly, I don't think she needs to know about computers to do her job. She needs experience in retail, running entire retail store lines, etc and thats exactly what she has. She probably one of the best I the business IMO and Apple is lucky to have her. If we had a geek in charge of Apple Retail it would be a massive clusterf&$!. I can't really think of a better person to have in charge of Apple Retail and the stuff that she's done is really nice. 

    Its really no different from the store manager of an Apple Retail store. I don't think Apple really cares how much a particular person knows about computers in general, but rather their experience in running a retail store, how they treat customers and employees. How they solve problems within the store and provide the best customer service they can, etc. When I interviewed for a Mac Genius position waaaayyyy back in around 2006'ish it had very little to do with how much do you know about the Mac or iPod, iLife, etc and more about how do you treat customers, provide good service, etc. 
    Excellent post. 

    I’d be happy for Ahrendts to take the top job if there was ever a need. (She’s a bit older than Cook so I imagine they’d retire at the same time).  The only problem I have with her is that she has one of those surnames I need to check before typing. 

    fastasleep
  • Reply 13 of 19
    zonezone Posts: 71member
    zone said:
    I am not a big fan... she is a PC hire and nothing else. A monkey could run Apple Retail at the moment. She has done nothing to improve the situation like the above commenter stated. So many failures with the Retail management really. It's SAD!
    She’s one of the most successful business people in the world. I bet you didn’t complain when John Browett failed his way through his short tenure. 
    Your right, she is one of the most successful PC hires in business all the way through. You don't know anything about Apple Retail?? I don't think you understand how EASY it is to run an already successful retail biz like Apple. It's plug and play. She has unlimited resources and the ball is already rolling down the hill. Apple has always been a customer friendly business BUT it's not as customer friendly as it used to be. Steve gets all the credit for Apple retail, not her. So to prove my point on the ease of this position "Ron Johnson who left Apple to go fail at J.C. Penny" (he is a fail as well) is that again ALMOST anyone with a brain could do this job. Go somewhere where you really have to show talent and you will see a fall just like Ron. She has made things fancier in fancier places because there is more money to do things with an already proven concept (again steves idea). No risk! Some of this credit needs to go to the architects who come up with these stores (again not her). Ya, that looks nice, let's go with that...  If she was somewhere else small you wouldn't even know her name. Her success is her ability to position herself in already successful companies and nothing more. 

    By the way, no one cares about RL anymore. Who even wears their clothing? An old tired brand that young people don't give two blanks about... will fade off into the sunset and become irrelevant. 
    edited May 2018
  • Reply 14 of 19
    lukeilukei Posts: 379member
    zone said:
    I am not a big fan... she is a PC hire and nothing else. A monkey could run Apple Retail at the moment. She has done nothing to improve the situation like the above commenter stated. So many failures with the Retail management really. It's SAD!
    Did you actually go into an Apple store when the class clown John Browett was running the show?
  • Reply 15 of 19
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    Why is she taking on outside work when there is so much left undone at Apple? The stores are a mess. Very stylish, yes, but within that visually zen-like shell chaos reigns. In one corner a class is being conducted with the instructor shouting to be heard. Right next to that are a dozen people sitting on cubes waiting for or being helped by geniuses. Everywhere else team members are conversing loudly with customers while others loiter, waiting for their chance to get help. The din is mind numbing. I can’t wait to conclude my business and get out into the relative serenity of the mall. Driving customers out is not a good result. Sound deadening materials are needed badly to counteract all the hard reflective surfaces. A separate theatre is needed for classes. Some visual cues are needed for folks to understand where they should be for purpose for which they came. Come on Angela, do your homework before you go out to play with Ralph. 
    Are you expecting her to lift a hammer and drive in some nails?  

    She delegates people.  She's the vision and initiations the direction.  I'm sure her job is demanding, but why aren't you harping about Tim Cook sitting on the board of other companies?  Doesn't Tim have way too much work at Apple to do??  Well?
    fastasleep
  • Reply 16 of 19
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    zone said:
    zone said:
    I am not a big fan... she is a PC hire and nothing else. A monkey could run Apple Retail at the moment. She has done nothing to improve the situation like the above commenter stated. So many failures with the Retail management really. It's SAD!
    She’s one of the most successful business people in the world. I bet you didn’t complain when John Browett failed his way through his short tenure. 
    Your right, she is one of the most successful PC hires in business all the way through. You don't know anything about Apple Retail?? I don't think you understand how EASY it is to run an already successful retail biz like Apple. It's plug and play. She has unlimited resources and the ball is already rolling down the hill. Apple has always been a customer friendly business BUT it's not as customer friendly as it used to be. Steve gets all the credit for Apple retail, not her. So to prove my point on the ease of this position "Ron Johnson who left Apple to go fail at J.C. Penny" (he is a fail as well) is that again ALMOST anyone with a brain could do this job. Go somewhere where you really have to show talent and you will see a fall just like Ron. She has made things fancier in fancier places because there is more money to do things with an already proven concept (again steves idea). No risk! Some of this credit needs to go to the architects who come up with these stores (again not her). Ya, that looks nice, let's go with that...  If she was somewhere else small you wouldn't even know her name. Her success is her ability to position herself in already successful companies and nothing more. 

    By the way, no one cares about RL anymore. Who even wears their clothing? An old tired brand that young people don't give two blanks about... will fade off into the sunset and become irrelevant. 
    This post is so comical! So its so easy to run Apple Retail, one of the most successful retail chains out there. Yes, anyone could do it! You're the retail expert I see. You realize that when John Browlett came to Apple to run Retail, he really fucked it up and it didn't very long for that to happen. Luckily, Apple realized what was happening and quickly axed him for Angela who came in and steered the ship back into the right direction is and has been going strong ever since. 
    fastasleep
  • Reply 17 of 19
    LoneStar88LoneStar88 Posts: 325member
    Why is she taking on outside work when there is so much left undone at Apple? The stores are a mess. Very stylish, yes, but within that visually zen-like shell chaos reigns. In one corner a class is being conducted with the instructor shouting to be heard. Right next to that are a dozen people sitting on cubes waiting for or being helped by geniuses. Everywhere else team members are conversing loudly with customers while others loiter, waiting for their chance to get help. The din is mind numbing. I can’t wait to conclude my business and get out into the relative serenity of the mall. Driving customers out is not a good result. Sound deadening materials are needed badly to counteract all the hard reflective surfaces. A separate theatre is needed for classes. Some visual cues are needed for folks to understand where they should be for purpose for which they came. Come on Angela, do your homework before you go out to play with Ralph. 
    Have you submitted your CV yet to be her advisor? Your input would be soooooo valuable!
    fastasleep
  • Reply 18 of 19
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,408member
    zone said:
    zone said:
    I am not a big fan... she is a PC hire and nothing else. A monkey could run Apple Retail at the moment. She has done nothing to improve the situation like the above commenter stated. So many failures with the Retail management really. It's SAD!
    She’s one of the most successful business people in the world. I bet you didn’t complain when John Browett failed his way through his short tenure. 
    Your right, she is one of the most successful PC hires in business all the way through. You don't know anything about Apple Retail?? I don't think you understand how EASY it is to run an already successful retail biz like Apple. It's plug and play. She has unlimited resources and the ball is already rolling down the hill. Apple has always been a customer friendly business BUT it's not as customer friendly as it used to be. Steve gets all the credit for Apple retail, not her. So to prove my point on the ease of this position "Ron Johnson who left Apple to go fail at J.C. Penny" (he is a fail as well) is that again ALMOST anyone with a brain could do this job. Go somewhere where you really have to show talent and you will see a fall just like Ron. She has made things fancier in fancier places because there is more money to do things with an already proven concept (again steves idea). No risk! Some of this credit needs to go to the architects who come up with these stores (again not her). Ya, that looks nice, let's go with that...  If she was somewhere else small you wouldn't even know her name. Her success is her ability to position herself in already successful companies and nothing more. 

    By the way, no one cares about RL anymore. Who even wears their clothing? An old tired brand that young people don't give two blanks about... will fade off into the sunset and become irrelevant. 
    Do YOU know anything about Apple Retail? Ron Johnson was in charge of heading the design and development of Apple stores and hugely responsible for the massive growth that followed it! Why would you say Steve gets "all the credit"? For hiring Johnson?

    After he left for JC Penny, Browett came into this "EASY" "plug and play" job as you describe it and was a massive failure. It all played out as a complete disaster. But hey, anyone can do this job, it's so easy, right?

    I'm guessing all women "PC hires" in your book. That tells me pretty much all I need to know about you.


  • Reply 19 of 19
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    zone said:
    zone said:
    I am not a big fan... she is a PC hire and nothing else. A monkey could run Apple Retail at the moment. She has done nothing to improve the situation like the above commenter stated. So many failures with the Retail management really. It's SAD!
    She’s one of the most successful business people in the world. I bet you didn’t complain when John Browett failed his way through his short tenure. 
    Your right, she is one of the most successful PC hires in business all the way through. You don't know anything about Apple Retail?? I don't think you understand how EASY it is to run an already successful retail biz like Apple. It's plug and play. She has unlimited resources and the ball is already rolling down the hill. Apple has always been a customer friendly business BUT it's not as customer friendly as it used to be. Steve gets all the credit for Apple retail, not her. So to prove my point on the ease of this position "Ron Johnson who left Apple to go fail at J.C. Penny" (he is a fail as well) is that again ALMOST anyone with a brain could do this job. Go somewhere where you really have to show talent and you will see a fall just like Ron. She has made things fancier in fancier places because there is more money to do things with an already proven concept (again steves idea). No risk! Some of this credit needs to go to the architects who come up with these stores (again not her). Ya, that looks nice, let's go with that...  If she was somewhere else small you wouldn't even know her name. Her success is her ability to position herself in already successful companies and nothing more. 

    By the way, no one cares about RL anymore. Who even wears their clothing? An old tired brand that young people don't give two blanks about... will fade off into the sunset and become irrelevant. 
    If you sign up to a business writing class then I’m confident you’ll be able to demonstrate your ignorance in half as many words. 
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