With Ron Johnson now out at Apple, the search is on for Apple's next VP of retail
When Apple first announced plans to get into the retail business years ago, no one thought they had the slightest chance of turning a profit. Not only had other computer companies failed in similar efforts, but Apple’s retail plans included placing stores in high-rent locations. Further, Apple had absolutely zero experience in the retail world. In short, many thought that Apple’s retail initiative was bound to fail spectacularly.
But like most things Apple undertook under the charge of Steve Jobs, Apple retail stores have flourished over the past few years. These days, Apple Stores make more money per square foot than any other retailer in the world. And the man largely responsible for Apple’s retail success was Ron Johnson, Apple’s former Senior Vice President of Retail who had previously done a great job of completely overhauling Target’s retail stores.
A few months back, Johnson announced his plans to leave Apple in November to take the CEO position at JC Penney.
Apple has been looking for a replacement for Johnson for some time now and it has yet to fill the position. Last week a rumor began to spread that Apple had replaced Johnson with Steve Cano, a long time Apple employee who rose through the ranks as an Apple Store manager in Palo Alto all the way up to a retail position at Apple headquarters.
As reports of Cano’s rumored hire began to spread, Apple clarified matters by issue a statement which said: “The search for a replacement for Ron Johnson continues, and Apple has nothing to announce about this subject at this time.”
We’re not saying that Cano won’t ultimately get the position, but Apple is reportedly interested in attracting a candidate with international retail experience which leads us to believe the search will continue on until a viable candidate is found.
