The Future of Apple Retail

Neil Cybert lays out the future of Apple retail. From it’s origin, to when it was in limbo under John Browett (this is when I worked there), to Angela Ahrendts and the future. I personally didn’t realize everything Angela did.

Ahrendts’ five-year tenure at Apple was massively misunderstood. One of her not-so-publicized achievements was modernizing Apple’s retail backend so that Apple’s website, online store, and in-store experience weren’t disconnected.

And I love this quote. Even though I worked there during it’s rough period, I still enjoyed working there and I made some great friends. The culture was a healthy one. I wouldn’t want that to change.

By choosing Deirdre O’Brien to be Ahrendts’ successor, Apple gave a pretty clear signal that it wanted to keep employee culture and morale at the center of its near-term retail strategy. Instead of new objectives in terms of the backend or store expansion plans, forward changes to retail operations would be more focused.

And then the pandemic. In recent weeks, there have been a number of developments in the retail space. Apple and Target announced a partnership that will bring mini Apple stores to 17 Targets. Last week, Disney announced it will close 20% of its stores. What does that mean for Apple? Neil Cybart has a few suggestions or ideas.

From Above Avalon