François in ALBON

Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, on the time Steve Jobs came to him for advice before launching Apple Stores: He recalls that Jobs personally reached out when planning Apple's retail strategy. "I happened to know Steve Jobs and when he started the shops, he came to us to ask advice." Jobs had a specific vision in mind. He wanted Apple stores positioned near Louis Vuitton boutiques, treating technology with the same retail philosophy as luxury goods. Arnault continues: "You can see many of his shops are not far from Louis Vuitton because he told me 'I would like advice and I would like to see if we can put Apple shops in the same area.'" The reaction from the industry was brutal. Even Michael Dell, one of the most powerful voices in tech at the time, publicly dismissed the idea. "Everybody thought it's completely crazy to sell Apple products in a shop because at that time he was selling the Apple products only through wholesaler like for instance Dell. And I remember at the time Michael Dell saying it's completely crazy, it will never work." But Jobs ignored the critics. For Arnault, this is the perfect illustration of a principle he deeply believes in: "That's an example of contrarian thinking, you know, that that is working." The lesson? When everyone in your industry agrees something "will never work," that's often exactly where the biggest opportunity lies.