Apple's retail boss changes the playbook, steers stores into ultra-luxe turf

San Francisco

ANGELA Ahrendts, Apple's senior vice-president of retail, got a private demonstration of the fancy wireless speaker, the Phantom, and its sound quality seven weeks ago. On the spot, she said she wanted the space podlike device, which starts at US$1,990, to be sold in Apple's retail stores.

Quentin Sannié, the co-founder of Devialet, the French audio company that makes the white and chrome speaker, said of Ms Ahrendts: "She moved incredibly fast, from our first meeting to figuring out how the Phantom would be displayed."