Chances are you don’t know who Enrique Atienza is. Until recently, he was Senior Vice President, Retail Americas and Global Store Operations at Levi’s, the blue jean company. Apple just hired him according to 9to5Mac, and he’s going to be put in charge of Apple’s U.S. stores.
He’ll officially start in October.
Why Enrique? That’s a good question. We’d like to propose a theory that Apple is trying as hard as they can to transform themselves from being seen as a technology company to being seen as a fashion company. In other words, Apple doesn’t want to be compared to Samsung. Apple wants to be compared to clothing brands. Does my iPhone match my shoes? Does my MacBook match my sweater? Does my iPad fit inside my new rucksack from Ralph Lauren?
It sounds funny, but this will make a lot more sense when Apple eventually comes out with a watch. Why do you think every smart watch has thus far failed? They were designed by engineers, and engineers often lack any fashion sense whatsoever. An engineer will know how to get four days of battery life out of a wrist strapped computer, but picking an outfit to wear to dinner?
No chance.
