Angela Ahrendts was working in London as CEO of Burberry in 2014 before Apple CEO Tim Cook lured her to the technology company to help reimagine Apple’s online and physical stores. The 57-year-old Indiana native is a mother of three and, as senior vice president of retail, Apple’s top female executive. She’s in Chicago to open the company’s new glass-walled flagship store along the Chicago River on Friday
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: Why did you choose Chicago as one of the first locations to have the new Town Square concept, with a freestanding pavilion?
A: We’ve had the store on North Michigan Avenue since 2003. It was one of the first flagships that we’d opened. It was very innovative in its time. That was 13 years ago. Apple is a lot bigger. A lot of things have changed. We wanted to really reinvest in Chicago and the Midwest. The team actually went and sat with the mayor’s office. The mayor’s office said it was really looking for opportunities to turn the riverfront back on again. And so with that, the team set out and found this incredible plaza. We’re still on Michigan Avenue.
Q: What are some of the details in the new store?
A: It was designed in partnership with Jony Ive and Foster + Partners — the same team that did Apple Park (in Cupertino, Calif.). We totally redid the entire plaza, putting stairs on the inside and outside. We’ve never done this before. The pavilion is totally glass, all the way around. From Michigan Avenue, you can see all the way through it to the river. The reason for all the stairs is that we wanted it to be so transparent, it looks like the pavilion becomes one with the plaza. We are the live version of Apple Music, we are the live version of that app store. There are tens of thousands of app developers in Chicago, they now have a place to come and show the city what they’ve done, even help teach the city.
A: What other details can you provide?
A: As part of the launch, we’ve created what we call the Chicago Series. It’s a set of five programs, each with a different area of focus, that highlights our intersection between technology and liberal arts. It’s over the course of four weeks. Every one of the programs is co-created with local nonprofits. And they each focus on a theme or project designed to make a positive impact on the city. We’ve never done this before.
We have a program called “Accelerate Your Startup Idea” with (tech incubator) 1871. It’s to inspire any of the participants to develop a startup business concept that will positively impact the city of Chicago. And then we provide them with additional solutions to help turn their idea into a business. We are working with (artist) Theaster Gates, we’re working with (photo app) VSCO.
Q: What about inside? The current stores are already places where people regularly gather.
A: We’ve always done a lot of the basic courses, they’ve mostly geared around technology. We said, What are the four or five things that people mostly do on their products? And that the next generation will need as well? We said, How do we evolve our the curriculum so every few months there’s a new program to help you to the next level. We’re doing that with photography, we’re leaning into music, we’re leaning into art and design. We’re leaning into app development. We announced a new position, called creative pro in the store. One for photography, art and design, music and app development.
Q: We’ve heard some big names will be attending the new store’s opening. Will Tim Cook be one of them?
A: We’re finalizing all the RSVPs now. It was less about the big people. It’s for the city of Chicago, that’s why we’re doing this, so most everyone we’ve invited are businesses, politicians, up-and-coming young artists, app developers that are in our ecosystem, photographers. It’s a wide-ranging group of interesting people.
Q: What about critics who look at your sales and say the stores are great, but Apple is going to have to work something else out, namely exciting customers with new products. Are you working on any new products?
A: I think we have a lot of products in the pipeline that we can’t wait for.
Q: What kind of goals have you set for yourself and the company with this new bricks-and-mortar retail experience?
A: You know it’s funny. We look at it in terms of total retail, we don’t break it down. I don’t think it’s healthy for retailers today to just micro everything by channel. That’s not how the customer shops and behaves. So we look at total retail. What drives traffic? What builds loyalty? What inspires consumers to go further with their products?
The No. 1 role of every company is to build loyalty. No different than our beautiful products. These big (stores), we are being very selective about where we put them. So Chicago is one of the top 10 stores in the world, you would expect Apple to have an incredible presence there. The original purpose for starting retail (at Apple) was the mission to enrich lives. That’s in the DNA of what retail is. The job is to enrich lives, you do that and the rest will follow.
Q: Do you have plans for other Chicago-area stores?
A: We have about 100 (stores worldwide) that have the new store design. We are absolutely putting Chicago-type locations in the top cities in the world. And at the same, yes, we are investing in what we call our classic stores and as leases expire, we are looking to replace as many as we possibly can every single year. So as they come up across the state, we’re looking case-by-case. We’ve been doing about 30 a year for the last couple of years.
Q: In light of the Harvey Weinstein revelations and the #MeToo movement, what is the expectation you have for your male colleague executives to take the lead in curbing sexual harassment in the workplace?
A: Zero tolerance. And I think every one of us has to be strong. On any type of assault or discrimination I think we’ve come a long way. It’s not just women, it’s anybody. That is core to Apple’s values — it’s one of the reasons I came here. The onus is on every one of us, to thyself be true.
Q: What’s your perspective on the work/life balance? How do you manage those pressures?
A: To me it’s all about the choices that we make. We are all in different life phases. You’re young, you’re single, you’re mobile. I always encourage them to take that time to see the world, go to other Apple stores. But then you’re in another life phase where you have children and settle down, etc. So there’s tremendous opportunity for you, but you do have priorities. Your spouse is a priority, your children are a priority and of course your work is a priority, but you gotta keep them in that order. They have to keep them in that order, because some day their kids will fly the nest and I would like them to live happily ever after with their partner.
crshropshire@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @corilyns
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