Increase in non-device sales
Citing sources and Mr. Kupbens’s LinkedIn page, Ad Age is reporting that the Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) VP-marketing and digital commerce has decided to leave the airline and move to Cupertino, CA where he will report to former Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts who was named senior VP-sales and online retail last October by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in a position created by its CEO Tim Cook.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) saw sales of the company’s non-hardware products of $4.4 billion, up 19% according to its Q1 filing with the SEC recently and is looking to boost sales even further. Kupbens, who did not respond to calls from The Atlantic, joined Delta in 2010 after leaving Target. While at Target, Mr. Kupbens was instrumental in developing the retailer’s mobile e-commerce sales.
“Love brands”
Look around you right now and count the iPads and the iPhones you see, and while there are people who are firmly in the Android camp, there is no denying the fact that people still love Apple and its products. No matter where you are in the world, if you’re in public, you will invariably see numerous Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) devices each day, devices that often cost considerably more than their Android counterparts.
At the 2013 Ad Age Digital Conference, Kupbens talked of “love brands,” and suggested that a consumer must limit their love to five brands. He quickly joked that that rarely includes Delta or other airlines:
“I used to work at Target and when you went to a cocktail party and you told people that you worked at Target, you know what they’d say?” he asked. “‘I love Target! I’ll give you a big hug!’ You know what people say when you tell them at a cocktail party that you work at Delta? ‘I hate you! You lost my bag! You had me on the tarmac for seven hours. I’m going to kill you!’ It’s different when you work for a love brand.”
Neither Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) nor Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) have responded to questions by the media about Mr. Kupbens reported move as of this writing.
via: AdAge
