Apple hires Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts to lead retail

Apple has poached high-profile Burberry chief executive Angela Ahrendts as it seeks to look for new ways to attract consumers about its products.

Ahrendts will lead the Apple retail and online stores' 'strategic direction, expansion, and operation'.

Chief Executive Tim Cook has given Ahrendts the task of bolstering iPad and iPhone sales, and returning some lustre to a brand that has not launched any major new device in almost four years.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, one of her main challenges will be to boost Apple's sales in China, its second-largest market.

Ahrendts is the first woman to join Apple's executive team in nearly a decade and will take on an expanded role, overseeing its 363 stores and online teams.

Cook, in an email to employees announcing the appointment, described Ahrendts as 'wicked smart'.

He said he knew he wanted to hire the 53-year-old executive from Indiana after first meeting with her in January, the report added.