Photo: RetailWire
Is the success of Ahrendts’ Apple store more fiction than fact?
Throughout Angela Ahrendts’ tenure at Apple, plenty of press was given to the idea that the former fashion world management icon had redefined the place of the Apple store as a “town square.” But a recent account by a former Apple employee suggests that the Ahrendts-era Apple store wasn’t all it was cracked up to be and that the golden years of the retail outlet ended before she joined the company.
The unnamed former Apple store manager, interviewed by ZDnet, said that it was in fact during Ron Johnson’s time heading Apple’s retail presence that a full focus on the customer allowed the operation to truly flourish. Under Ms. Ahrendts (after the brief, unsuccessful tenure of John Browett, described as “torment”), he said that sales targets rose, while store traffic and sales volumes waned, putting tremendous stress on store managers. Employees were no longer allowed to stay past their scheduled shifts or make other discretionary moves and policy exceptions to help customers, as had been customary during the Ron Johnson era. The former store manager went as far as to refer to Ms. Ahrendts’ tenure as “the Renaissance that never quite was.”
The comments come in the aftermath of Ms. Ahrendts’ announcement of her departure from the chain last month, which takes effect in April.
Ms. Ahrendts is being replaced by Deirdre O’Brien, who has served as Apple’s senior vice president of people since 2017, according to Apple Insider. Ms. O’Brien, who has spent more than 30 years at Apple, will also continue to manage the human resources responsibilities from her previous position.
After its string of hotly-anticipated, high-selling device introductions that lasted more than a decade, Apple may have reached a point of market saturation in categories including tablets and smartphones. It appears that many diehard Apple enthusiasts already having the devices they want and these days see less of a need to replace them.
Apple did, however, recently unveil two new upgraded models of popular devices, the iPad Air and iPad Mini, as reported on CNBC. And Apple is preparing to announce the introduction of a new streaming service next week.
- How Apple stores changed for the worse, according to a former employee – ZDNet
- What will Angela Ahrendts’ departure mean for Apple’s retail business? – RetailWire
- Apple unveils new iPad Air and iPad mini ahead of video streaming announcement – Apple Insider
- How Much Bigger Can Apple Get? – Forbes
- Apple unveils new iPad Air and iPad Mini – CNBC
Discussion Questions
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Relatively speaking, how big an impact have Ron Johnson and Angela Ahrendts had on the performance of Apple’s retail business? Did both executives do good work for the eras in which they served, or were there missteps?
Poll
BrainTrust
David Weinand
Chief Customer Officer, Incisiv
Dick Seesel
Principal, Retailing In Focus LLC
Ron Johnson worked closely with Steve Jobs to create the Apple store. I believe that Ron Johnson played a key role in the success of Apple stores, but this has been overshadowed by his short and unsuccessful career at J.C Penney. Angela Ahrendts is a very capable and effective retail executive – her tenure at Burberry provides ample evidence. However, I don’t believe she had a significant impact at Apple. She managed what was an already highly effective retail operation.
Ron Johnson was an incomparable influence on the lively and well-trafficked Apple Stores. Angela Ahrendts did a good job (what is visible to the customer) in continuing and expanding on the legacy. But Johnson should be given credit for the explosive growth and success of a retail chain that was supposed to be a computer company, and wound up teaching he rest of the world how to run a retail chain.
The fortunes of Apple’s stores are, in large part, linked to the fortunes of its products. Unfortunately, the latter part of Angela Ahrendts’ tenure coincided with a period of weaker innovation and sales. So it’s not necessarily surprising that performance softened.
That said, I do think much of Angela Ahrendts’ thinking was directionally correct. The expansion of training, classes, and events at Apple stores has proved popular. The store designs are stunning and engaging. And customer service remains strong. All of these things are why, in many locations, Apple shops are more crowded than surrounding outlets.
What was less well executed was the town hall type concept. Apple stores are simply not gathering places for people looking to hang out. That’s what Starbucks is for!
Ron Johnson gets the credit for building the Apple Store. I don’t see much improvement or change in the short time that Angela Ahrendts was in the position. That said, it is true that because of the constant changes in technology, customers today have too many choices, and whereas Apple products are still in demand by many, all technology companies have lost the excitement because we don’t have anything “new” anymore but rather just improvements. However, one must realize that after the development of all the devices available today, it’s hard to imagine something we don’t have and that we need.
I see continual integration between the devices, and eventually, it will only be the phone that comes with us and will have everything we need. That phone will easily connect via Bluetooth to a keyboard and large monitor. When that happens, we will see phones costing around $2500+, but it will be all you will need. How that will change the Apple store experience no one knows but most likely Apple will be smart to set up work stations, possibly add cafés, and will continue to make their stores a great place to hang out.
It’s hard to make a sweeping statement about Ms. Ahrendts’ impact based on one account of a store manager. To the article’s point, this biggest impact was likely made by Mr. Johnson as the Apple Store model was highly innovative from a technology and merchandising perspective when first opened. As retail migrated further from product-based to experience-based while Ms. Ahrendts was there, the stores certainly made great strides in providing opportunities for community and experiences and they are still one of the most profitable per square foot store footprints in the world, and that’s a KPI any retailer would want to lead in.
At the end of the day Apple has enormous resources to reinvent itself. As a dyed in the wool aficionado since my first black Powerbook, I would say the feel of the store is more a glorified fix-it store than a chance to be swept up in the magic of what you can do. Besides design and creativity, that takes a lot of training to not only be efficient but engaging. I didn’t find any of that during Ahrendts short stint.
I agree. The geniuses are no longer all that smart (it’s never good when I’m proving to them that they’re wrong in their “diagnosis”), and the store is a big showroom, more than it is an experience center. I don’t use Macs anymore but seem married to iPhones and iPads. Still, my first experience at the Apple store (with a brand new MacBook problem) was far superior to anything I’ve experienced in the past 2-3 years.
Apple was and remains an iconic brand regardless of any of the leadership changes. What is now commonly called the “town square,” the Apple Store is one of the more innovative and experiential concepts that originated back in 2001. The products are showcased in a setting that is comfortable, clean, and you are supported by Apple brand ambassadors. The concept works, and the stores today are as big of an attraction there is in the malls, strip malls, and standalone city locations. Whether the retail team was led by Ron Johnson, or Angela Ahrendts, the brand simply resonates and is dominating the scene.
Angela Ahrendts with her deep fashion and luxury experience, was brought in to elevate the brand even more. Apple is indeed a luxury commodity, and under Ahrendts, the stores focused more on the experiential side of retail, yet things did not change as dramatically as everyone expected. The challenge for Ahrendts surfaced when the sales of iPhones and other devices decreased. Customers are satisfied with their devices and holding onto them longer, which requires the Apple retail leadership team to rethink some of their strategies.
Perhaps it was time for some new blood, and bold ideas, as Apple seeks creative ways to drive more services revenue. The market it taking a wait and see approach, as Deirdre O’Brien takes the helm.
It is interesting to hear an insider’s view of Apple stores. Apple often basks in the glow of all the positive accolades it gets from consumers and pundits. I think Ron Johnson should get the most credit for the success of Apple stores, as he was the catalyst. And as Neil Saunders pointed out, Angela Ahrendts tenure coincided with an era when Apple’s product innovation appeared to lose steam.
While Apple stores are not perfect, they are still way better than most retail stores in terms of customer experience and, most importantly, customer traffic. The Apple store is aways the most busy, no matter what mall I go to.
The future of Apple hinges on innovation. As one of the most innovative companies for the past 30 years, they are due for another industry changing innovation. What will it be?
I said it when Ahrendts’ departure was announced, and I’ll say it again: The head of the Apple Store is only as good as the product available to sell. Was the early success of the store based on Ron Johnson’s genius, or really based on explosive demand for innovative products like iPhone and iPad introduced during his tenure? And was Angela Ahrendts to blame as much as flat demand and lack of product development?
The Apple Store is still a textbook example of experiential retail, and often the busiest store in the mall. It’s a great formula, well-executed, but it can only grow if Apple puts a jolt into its new product pipeline. When was the last time you saw a line outside the Apple Store awaiting a new model introduction?
I had such high hopes for Ms. Ahrendts. At the time she was hired, a video of Burberry and digital was trending and she was pitch perfect.
Apple is not Burberry. Despite the trappings of luxury, Apple makes its money selling phones. And those require service, having sold many millions of phones resulted in a torrent of folks into stores not set up for the masses. As a result, store phone sales suffered and so did Apple retail.
Johnson got Apple from A to B. Ahrendts didn’t get it from B to C. Just like Johnson at JCP, Ahrendts at Apple wasn’t a good fit. Maybe they are both geniuses, but retail reality closed in.
As we like to say, “retail ain’t for sissies.”
I don’t believe you can compare the three leaders at all as they worked during entirely different eras of retail and technology.
I was lucky enough to work for Apple Retail during the latter part of Ron Johnson’s era and I have to say he was one of the smartest, nicest, and most creative leaders the industry has ever seen. My interview with him convinced me to take a store manager role after being a VP, and I was never sorry. Ron had the whole package: visionary, the highest of taste levels, attention to minute detail, and legendary people skills. I never heard a bad word said about him, and he had a great relationship with Steve Jobs despite being an entirely different type of leader.
That said, the world of retail, mall traffic, the Asian economy, the laptop, tablet and cell phone businesses are entirely different today than they were in Johnson’s era. Comparing the challenges Ahrendts faced to what Johnson faced in the early days is impossible. Despite those changes, it’s hard to find anyone doing it as well as Apple today in many categories.
As one who shops regularly at Apple Stores, this description sounds entirely accurate. For the past year, invasive activity by store help has increased continually — clearly they were being managed to tight metrics and strict controls were put in place.
It has, in fact, seriously eroded the Apple Store environment. Perhaps the truth of the decay is imposition of a “bait & switch” very similar to content marketing. In this approach, a big broad, welcoming idea is put out — but the minute you enter the store you become prey for the sharks who want to strip you of money. (Yes, that’s exaggerated. But for the purpose of making the point.)
Anyone in retail who thinks customers will not sense the bait and switch is living in an unreal world. Honest treatment of customers will return better profits.
Didn’t Ron Johnson develop the Apple Store (or at least it developed under his leadership)? It’s hard to imagine a much bigger impact than that; but, at the same time of course it presents an impossible hurdle (for a successor) to surpass.