Apple announced this morning that John Browett will be joining Apple as their new Senior Vice President of Retail. Browett will be leaving his current position as CEO of Dixons Retail.
Apple® today announced that John Browett will join the company as senior vice president of Retail, reporting to Apple CEO Tim Cook. Browett comes to Apple from European technology retailer Dixons Retail, where he has been CEO since 2007. Beginning in April, he will be responsible for Apple’s retail strategy and the continued expansion of Apple retail stores around the world.
“Our retail stores are all about customer service, and John shares that commitment like no one else we’ve met,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We are thrilled to have him join our team and bring his incredible retail experience to Apple.”
Prior to the role of CEO of Dixons Retail, Browett held executive positions at Tesco plc including CEO of Tesco.com, and previously advised retail and consumer goods clients at Boston Consulting Group. B rowett holds a degree in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University and an MBA from Wharton Business School.
Browett replaces Ron Johnson who left Apple for J.C. Penny in November. Johnson has been credited as being the driving force behind Apple's massive success in their retail initiative.
Dixons Retail is one of the largest consumer retailers in Europe with over 40,000 employees. Dixons has already announced that Browett's role will be filled internally by Sebastian James. Browett officially makes the transition to Apple in April.
Thursday October 3, 2024 2:22 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today released iOS 18.0.1 and iPadOS 18.0.1, the first updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that debuted earlier in September. iOS 18.0.1 and iPadOS 18.0.1 come two weeks after the launch of iOS 18. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. According to Apple's release notes, the...
Thursday October 3, 2024 2:27 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.0.1, the first update for the macOS Sequoia operating system. The 15.0.1 update comes a week after Apple first released macOS Sequoia 15. Mac users can download the macOS Sequoia update by using the Software Update section of System Settings. According to Apple's release notes, macOS Sequoia 15.0.1 fixes a bug that could cause the Messages app...
Friday October 4, 2024 12:04 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Now that it's been two weeks since the iPhone 16 models were released, we've been able to spend enough time with the new devices to share a more in-depth review on their performance, battery life, feature set, and more. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've been testing the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, but the gap between the Pro models and the standard iPhone 16...
Amazon is hosting another Prime Day event this year, called Amazon Prime Big Deal Days and offering shoppers the first chance to save on holiday shopping from a major retailer. Similar to the first Prime Day, it will last for two days (October 8-9) and you can already find a large selection of early deals across Amazon's storefront, covering savings on tech, clothing, video games, groceries, and...
It's hard to believe we're already into October with the iPhone 16 launch behind us, but there's lots more still to come from Apple this year on both the hardware and software fronts. We're still expecting a number of Mac and perhaps some iPad updates in the very near future, while Apple Intelligence features are set to begin rolling out with iOS 18.1 and related operating system updates....
Friday September 27, 2024 6:14 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple is set to release iOS 18.1 in October, bringing the first set of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update marks a significant step forward in Apple's AI integration, offering a new Siri contextually-aware experience and a range of additional capabilities powered by on-device machine learning and large language models. There are a couple of handy new...
Tuesday October 1, 2024 2:09 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple is working on a new iPad mini that will "potentially" be released "by the end of 2024," according to a report today from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Last month, Gurman reported that Apple had "new iPads in the works," including an upgraded version of the iPad mini. At the time, he said the device was "on deck for Apple's October event" alongside the first M4 Macs. The wording in his...
Sunday October 6, 2024 6:40 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple will announce several new M4 Mac models around the end of October, with the company planning to launch at least some of them as soon as Friday, November 1, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman said that Apple will launch a new M4 version of its low-end 14-inch MacBook Pro, as well as higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models...
This really doesn't bode well. Hopefully this guy is leaving Dixons due to frustration with them, rather than seeing the writing is on the wall for current technology vendors.
Dixons retails closed their Dixons brand stores in the UK, a number of their Currys and PC World stores merged.
The shopping experience is frustrating - you can get accosted by 5 different members of staff as you browse the store - all asking 'are you ok there ? ' - staff are not very knowledgeable, products are poorly displayed, shelf labels are often missing, pricing differs in store and on the website, they are very eager to push warranties and technical support packages. They also have a lot of cheap crap sold at higher prices.
They have a new store concept - Currys PC World Black - where they are blatantly trying to emulate an Apple store - but it is screamingly obvious you are still in a PC World despite the lighting, benches, and smug staff.
I really hope since 2007 he's made Dixons a different place to shop than it used to be (I don't frequent their stores) prior to that:
Pushy, seemingly commission-based sales staff more interested in huddling in groups or being sleazy, rude and patronising. Trying to sell anything that's out of date or fashionable as if it will suit the customers needs perfectly. Horribly cramped retail environments with everything locked down and alarmed so you can't pick items up to try them out. Unreasonably inflated prices that aren't helping to pay for a modern shopping experience with innovative features, or great customer service. And so on
I hope Tim Cook and his team haven't been bamboozled!
(I'm sure they haven't, it just seems like such a mismatch in retail philosophies and I hope John Browett fully subscribes to the Apple way of retailing.)
An excerpt of the conversation I had with a salesperson the last time I stepped foot inside a Dixons (at Heathrow Terminal 4):
"How can I help you today Sir?"
"Well, I have this camera here, and the battery is dead, so I "
"So what you'll needing then is a new battery. No problem. We have just want you want right here. That'll be £45. Do you want to pay by cash, credit card, or blood?"
"Um, well actually I was thinking more about getting a char ."
"Ahh so what you'll be wanting then in which case sir is our universal international battery charger that comes complete with an international power adapter. That'll be just £60 to you. Now if you'll just give me your direct debit details so we can randomly remove funds from your bank account twice a month for the rest of your life ."
"Well, ah, actually I already have the international adapter thing so really all I need is the charger please."
"I see. And you bought that from us did you sir?"
"Um no, sorry. I got it somewhere else."
"Somewhere else. Well sir, we strongly recommend our own international adapters to go with any goods we sell. I can do that for you today at just £15. Would you like the 5 year protection plan to go with that for £349.99?"
"Actually, I honestly think I'll be fine with the adapter I already have. If it's not too much trouble can I just get the charger by itself please?"
"This is most unprecedented sir. Obviously we can't be held responsible if your current adapter turns out to be faulty and explodes on the plane burning you and 300 other people to a crisp and leaving your relatives with nothing to bury when they finally scrape you off the ocean floor. But, the customer is always right I suppose. DEEPAK, CAN YOU GRAB A CRAPTEL XV694a FROM THE BACK ROOM FOR THIS GENTLEMAN? NO INTERNATIONAL ADAPTER"
"Sorry, did you say *no* international adapter?"
"THAT'S WHAT THE GENTLEMAN WANTS"
"Did you tell him about the risk of death by horrific burning?"
"YES, THE GENTLEMAN IS ADAMANT"
"This is most unprecedented."
"QUITE. I HAVE ALREADY EXPLAINED THIS TO THE GENTLEMAN. HE SEEMS HAPPY TO RISK THE LIVES OF HIS FELLOW PASSENGERS. IF YOU SEE REPORTS OF A PLANE EXPLODING OVER THE ATLANTIC ON THE NEWS TONIGHT, AT LEAST YOU'LL KNOW WHOSE FAULT IT IS. PLEASE FETCH THE CHARGER FOR THE GENTLEMAN. If you'd like to accompany me to the desk sir then we can clean you out and have you on your way in no time"
This forum is delusional (as is often the case these days).
Yeah, we're all just here to hate because we have nothing better to do. It's not because we have decades of direct experience of the retail establishments that this guy can cite as his track record or anything like that. All we want to do is baselessly bash him for the hell of it because we're overflowing with unbridled misanthropy and an irratioanal hate for all things Apple.
I have never heard of Dixon's
Yet you still assume that we're all looking on this news negatively because it's an inherent flaw in our personalities rather than our real world experience being reflected in our comments. OK.
Apple announced this morning that John Browett will be joining Apple as their new Senior Vice President of Retail. Browett will be leaving his current position as CEO of Dixons Retail.
