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Why Tim Cook appointed Angela Ahrendts head of retail – in one 4-minute video

Watch this four-minute video, and you’ll understand exactly why Tim Cook hired former Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts to head up Apple’s retail operations – and it’s not because of all the iDevices that appear in it (though the love-clutching of her iPhone doesn’t hurt).

In the video, a promo for Burberry’s partnership with Salesforce, she maps out her vision of the stores of the future, “blurring the lines between physical and digital.”

Ahrendts talks of the store of the future making you “feel like you’re walking into the website,” of mobile-first and using innovations like chip-enabled products and “magical trays” to play video content as you pick up a product. Today’s customers, she says, “speak social” and the onus is on retailers to “change everything” to deliver “the ultimate in customer service.”

Swap the clothing and accessories for technology, and it’s a video that could have been made for Apple. Apple may have gotten it horribly wrong with her predecessor, but this time it’s not hard to see why Cook described Ahrendts as “the best person in the world for this role.”

Via Fortune

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Comments

  1. Dieter von Bödefeld - 10 years ago

    She definitivly is skating where the puck will be

    • Ben Lovejoy - 10 years ago

      Indeed, and with Apple’s resources, there’s no reason she can’t implement some of her ideas a lot faster than she could have done at Burberry, which I’m guessing is part of the reason she took the job.

  2. Luis Gutierrez - 10 years ago

    I had no idea who she was before she was hired at Apple but after reading up on her and what she achieved at Burberry I can honestly say that she is a fantastic leader capable of understanding the consumer and the brand. She reached across the world for new customers and redefined their shopping experience with a brand that was digital first, retail space second. Apple will benefit from her experience, even more so since Apple proved everyone in 2013 that they are willing to change things. I cannot wait for the redefined Apple Retail experience.

  3. tgilles1 - 10 years ago

    The challenge will be to see if Apple’s IT infrastructure for on-line will mesh well with her idea’s. She was able to goto a 3rd party that fit this idea. With Apple, not so sure they’d give her that flexibility.

    • Ben Lovejoy - 10 years ago

      You don’t hire someone like this with big ideas unless you intend to let her implement them

      • blahblih - 10 years ago

        Not sure one can criticize?

        Let’s try again. This is a promo video for her, not Burberry. She wants attention.

        Everyone criticized Apple for those stupid airplane ads. The focus on people confuses whatever it is ur doing/selling. Apple was about the hero… the device. Their commercials focus on the device and often lack people. There’s a simplicity and focus on the device that works.

        So yes, I’m criticizing it and rightfully so.

      • Ben Lovejoy - 10 years ago

        Actually, it was a promo video for Salesforce :-)

  4. RP - 10 years ago

    wow, seems like she is what Apple needs. Perfect fit.

  5. Rogifan (@rogifan) - 10 years ago

    I’m curious if she will be allowed to be a media star. So far, outside of Cook, it seems Jony Ive is the only SVP allowed to have a public persona, give interviews, do outside projects etc. Though Eddy Cue was allowed to join Ferrari’s board….

  6. Dave Healey (@healeydave) - 10 years ago

    The OP is spot on and so far Ahrendts is looking to be possibly Apples best hire in recent times!

  7. Now you’re thinking with your noggin, Cook.

  8. blahblih - 10 years ago

    Really? This isn’t what Jobs was about. The video seems all about her. And saying Burberry was the first at x and blah blah. I’m not seeing it. All I see is a person who wants attention. That shit doesn’t work in tech.

    We’ll see what happens but it’s not clear she’ll transfer well.

    • Ben Lovejoy - 10 years ago

      I’d say that kind of innovative thinking is exactly what Jobs was all about. I’m not sure one can criticize promotion in a promo video.

  9. Joe Currin - 10 years ago

    I love the song, anyone know what it is?

  10. Charlie Franklin - 10 years ago

    This woman knows exactly what it’s all about, just the way Steve did. The customer is king and everything has to focus on giving the customer what they want, even if they don’t know they want it yet. A good example is the video screen showing the item and how it’s made etc. I bet most customers didn’t know they wanted it, but once they have experienced it, they will want it for every product.

    She has the vision to take Apple well forward. It would not surprise me if some years off in the future she becomes CEO of Apple.

  11. Dies Weijschede - 10 years ago

    Yeah, that’s it.

Author

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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