In her latest video to retail store employees, Apple Senior Vice President of Retail and Online Stores Angela Ahrendts discusses upcoming deeper integration of business sales across Apple Retail Stores as well as new back to school sales tactics for the Apple Watch. Currently, sales to small and medium-sized businesses via Apple Stores are mostly handled by a small group of specialized employees. Ahrendts says that she wants all employees to “own” business sales in order to provide a better experience to business customers.
“We want to make sure that were not building two separate teams,” Ahrendts said, according to Apple retail employees who have viewed the video. “Business is the biggest growth driver for Apple Retail over the course of the next three to four years,” she added. This deeper integration of business sales into Apple retail is yet another move toward Ahrendts’s “One Apple” approach of integrating all of Apple’s retail channels. Earlier this month, Apple embedded its online store into its main Apple.com website, while the company is preparing to do the same for its appointment services this week.
Besides talking about improvements to business sales, showing off the Apple Watch in store, and stating that a “global solution is coming shortly” for promoting Apple Music in stores, Ahrendts used her own personal experience with her children to introduce a new Apple Watch sales tactic. Ahrendts told employees that the Apple Watch is “the greatest back to school item this year” as it can be used in the classroom without a teacher seeing, unlike with a larger iPhone. “I don’t think the teachers have caught on to the Watch yet,” Ahrendts said, adding that retail staff should tell students to “jump on it before the teachers do.”
The Apple Watch has thus far seen mixed reactions from schools and teachers. Some articles on the topic have noted that the device could obviously be used to pass notes in class or even to cheat on exams. For example, some universities have banned the wearing of Apple Watches during exams, while other schools such as Penn State University are researching how the device can actually be beneficial during class time. Nonetheless, Ahrendts’s point appears to have convenience for students at its core, rather than using the device for malicious reasons.
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I think banning tech of any kind is silly. We use it in real life how is that different than using it on a test. Education is behind the real life times. They probably felt the same way when paper was invented. Oh no people can pass notes. My father who teaches at a University encourages the use of technology. He just makes the test harder to where if you dont know the info there is a slim chance you will pass if you tired looking up everything.
I remember being in middle school around 2005-2007 with all the math teachers saying “you won’t be able to carry a calculator with you around forever, you know!” Boy were they wrong.
You obviously don’t work in education, and haven’t put a lot of thought into it. I have been for sixteen years. We do a lot of open book tests. But sometimes you have to know if they’ve mastered the material. In our industry, one bad judgment can cost a company millions and a tarnished reputation. Which is why our final exam requires 100 percent or fail. Fortunately, they can use the tools of the trade. I a room with outside contact.
this will be great until students are literally never allowed to wear their gift.
While the message might not be meant to be malicious, its a slight on teachers the way she put it… I’m married to a teacher that owns an Apple Watch, btw.
I don’t know but I always get the feel Angela is not the right for the job and should be replaced.
Why?
I get that feeling from when I look at her and I always trust my feelings. Yes, I don’t know her but lets see what she does next.
She’s not right for the job nor for the company like Apple. Sorry Angela.
You’re right, you don’t know.` Ahrendts has the abilities to be Apple’s CEO, having her head the retail division is a major coup for Apple.
I might have agreed with you. Her stint at Burberry is impressive. But after this? Not to mention she’s way too deep into marketing and not production and delivery. Look what happened when an engineer left as Adobe’s CEO and a marketing drone took over? Chaos.
probably latent sexism. that’s probably why you get that feel.
“I get that feeling from when I look at her and I always trust my feelings.”
What you describe is, quite literally, prejudice.
What a weird headline.
Worst Apple rollout ever…this is what happens when you hire an outsider that does not understand Apple culture
What rollout? And what culture?
What?
Apple’s rollout problems are supply not meeting demand, a production issue not a retail issue.
Rollout was not a problem. They had no idea how well it would sell. And a big black eye would be the result of having massive amounts of inventory not moving. Just look at how people often criticize Apples competitors. Microsoft had to write down almost a billion dollars on the first Surface. We’re coming up on version 4 and it’s barely able to be called a success. And at the school in which I work, the IT geeks are trying to replace the iPad with Surface Pros for in-class instruction, and it’s failing miserably.
Okay, how the author translates her comments as not being malicious in the context of cheating or otherwise using the watch in class in ways students shouldn’t be encouraged to is not plainly evident.
Her comments are, charitably, not clear. Uncharitably, they’re a hot mess. Her main point is the watch is/should be a huge back to school item, but how she communicates that idea is piss poor and somehow throwing teachers under the proverbial bus–but why?
Others have suggested she’s not right for the job, and I think the suspicion may be because Apples message is usually practiced and refined. Ahrendts messaging is, typically, vague and unclear as in this most current example. She may be concise in the boardroom and have her shit together, but this comment, like many others (not to mention the entire debacle that was the Apple Watch roll-out) is neither practiced, concise, nor refined. It’s a communications stew which barely makes its point.
Apple Watch roll-out was a disappointment. Angela has been the leading insider selling Apple stock left and right, obviously she does not believe this company herself. How can she lead this company?
I agree. If Jobs were still around, he would have fired her for screwing up the Apple Watch launch in the Apple Stores. Her and the Beats boys were awful hires by Cook.
You have a source for that claim? I’m not doubting you, just want to see it.
Only Apple Watches are banned? Other smart watches are okay? I didn’t know that. Those other smart watches must be pretty lame and useless then, huh?
I actually used the Gen1 Pebble for two years in college and not a single professor ever was the wiser. Evernote was able to be perpetually displayed since the display is e-ink instead of Oled. I never was able to put a bunch of notes on it, but if I had a particularly difficult time (generally it was finance) I could keep a couple of lines on there.
How else do fanshonistas get ahead? Hard work? Intelligence? Right.