What Tim might be Cook-ing up on his Christmas wish list
With Apple’s recent purchase of Topsy, Tim Cook is clearly enjoying a touch of retail therapy in the lead up to Christmas. The Capitalist thought it would be fun to try to second guess what else might be on Cook’s list.
1 Snapchat – Topsy is one of Apple’s first forays into social media, so why not also pick up Snapchat, the social media darling of the moment? Its chief executive Evan Spiegel turned down Facebook’s $3bn offer last month; maybe Cook could be the one to woo him with a few more billion.
2 Puma – Back in January Apple filed for patents relating to “smart shoes”. There were rumours Apple’s plan was to create shoes with sensors to alert the user when the shoes need replacing. Well, whatever the plan is, having a stake in a shoe company under its belt would surely be wise. Puma has issued profit warnings this year, so it might welcome a call from Cook.
3 BAE’s shipbuilding assets – Google has been beavering away, building secret barges for the past year – we know it has one in San Francisco Bay and one in Portland, Maine (floating retail stores, apparently). Apple surely doesn’t want to be left behind? Meanwhile, BAE has ended British shipbuilding by stopping production of ships in Portsmouth. If Apple stepped in and bought the (i)Docks, it could start production and save UK shipbuilding in one fell swoop. OK, so even we don’t think that is likely, but it would be great fun.