iMore’s Chuong Nguyen quotes Ahrendts’ email to Apple staff:

“Looking forward to the future, I feel our greatest opportunity will be continuing to focus on and evolve the consumer journey online and in our stores,” Ahrendts said. “Although technology is rapidly changing how customers shop, they will still want to feel surprised and delighted by the personalized Apple experience we provide at every turn.”

Ask a long-time Apple retail employee: the phrase “surprise and delight” has been the mission statement for Apple retail since the mid-2000s at least. So this seems to be more a tone of sticking to their guns rather than shaking things up. And why not?

(An early version of this said “As a long-time Apple retail employee…” To be clear, I have never worked for Apple in any capacity. Well, other than unpaid booster. An Apple retail employee told me years ago that “To surprise and delight our customers” was their mission statement.)