Apple recruits one of the watch industry’s most important sales execs

Apple has snagged Patrick Pruniaux, TAG Heuer’s sales and retail VP

We have remained quite confused over Apple’s decision to hire people out of the watch industry for their wearable department. This appears to be slightly unusual considering that the company is working on its own smartwatch at the moment. But now we have got some latest information which tells us that the fruit company has snagged Patrick Pruniaux, TAG Heuer‘s sales and retail VP, as part of a broader campaign to poach talent from watchmakers. CNBC says that they have known from sources that Pruniaux is going to work on the iWatch. It is clear by now that Apple is happy to get its hands on someone who would know to market the iWatch to a larger audience.

According to LVMH group head Jean-Claude Biver, it is a good thing that Patrick is leaving for Apple because the California firm isn’t a “direct competitor” to LVMH’s luxury-oriented TAG Heuer, Hublot and Zenith brands. However, it could also happen that Apple ends up marketing the iWatch more as a conventional watch rather than the phone accessory it is meant to be.

source: cnbc