When Fashion goes Tech – Why Burberry’s Angela Ahrendt is the right ‘techie’ for Apple
The biggest news to hit the technology press comes straight from the fashion world. Burberry’s powerhouse CEO Angela Ahrendt has decided to leave her job and head up the retail efforts of Apple.
Some might scratch their heads and wonder why someone so high up in fashion would leave all the glamour for a job in tech. But a closer look at Burberry’s business model suggests that Angela has always been a driver of innovation. Technology is also something she’s very good at and she understands its value – especially when it comes to selling billions of pounds’ worth of goods.
Thanks to Angela’s leadership, Burberry has led the way in terms of using the digital world to engage with customers through slick online marketing and social media tools. The campaigns were so brilliant that purchasing a Burberry raincoat online felt just as exciting and glamorous as entering the company’s fabulous store on Regent Street. Before long more and more people were browsing and buying Burberry from their phones, tablets and computers – until suddenly Burberry’s store sales started to lag behind their online and social media-driven efforts.
The success at Burberry highlights just how important it is to deliver a seamless e-commerce and mobile experience. A recent report from Venda reveals that 98% of UK’s top 50 retailers are failing to offer responsive websites that work across desktop, mobile, and tablet devices – even though a third of shoppers try to make purchases online.
Unlike many other brands, Burberry quickly grasped the reality that we had entered a revolutionary period of shopping and people wanted to be able to shop at any time of day. Not only did the company understand the need for a new business model, it also seemed comfortable with embracing technology and innovation. With Angela’s help, Burberry also made it easy for consumers to engage with technology too.
Some of her great and most memorable digital campaigns include the creation of a website dedicated to Burberry’s trench coats, a series of successful webcast catwalks, and the use of the new iPhone 5S to shoot the spring/summer 2014 show. Ahrendts also worked with Google for a brand campaign named Burberry Kisses –which allowed fans to send a virtual kiss to anyone in the world via email.
Apple took notice of all this success and decided that Angela would be the right woman to boost their sales. She clearly ‘gets’ technology and we expect her to do a brilliant job for Apple – and to do it in style.