Apple Names John Browett as New Senior Vice President of Retail

browettApple 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.

Top Rated Comments

moose.boy Avatar
159 months ago
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.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
peterdevries Avatar
159 months ago
I wonder if they will make him work on fake Apple Stores first, to see if he can be trusted.. :D

Tim Cook: Hi John, welcome at Apple. Here's our plan for a new store in Ulan Bator. Please take a look at it and tell us what you think.

John Browett: :confused:
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jowl Avatar
159 months ago
What? Dixons are terrible over here. And not getting any better. In fact they taken the currys name in the UK
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
orbital~debris Avatar
159 months ago
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.)
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Anaemik Avatar
159 months ago
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"







Needless to say, I haven't been back.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Anaemik Avatar
159 months ago
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.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
maxresdefault

Apple to Launch New iPad Pro and iPad Air Models in May

Thursday March 28, 2024 11:07 am PDT by
Apple will introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman previously suggested the new iPads would come out in March, and then April, but the timeline has been pushed back once again. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple is working on updates to both the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. The iPad Pro models will...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

Apple Releases Revised Versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 With Updated Build Number

Wednesday March 27, 2024 5:59 am PDT by
Apple on late Tuesday released revised versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 with an updated build number of 21E237, according to MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The updates previously had a build number of 21E236. The revised updates are available for all iPhone and iPad models that are compatible with iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, but they can only be installed via the Finder app on macOS...
applephilschiller

Apple's Phil Schiller Works 80 Hours a Week Overseeing App Store

Wednesday March 27, 2024 2:03 pm PDT by
With the App Store and app ecosystem undergoing major changes in the European Union, The Wall Street Journal today shared a profile on App Store chief Phil Schiller, who is responsible for the App Store. Though Schiller transitioned from marketing chief to "Apple Fellow" in 2020 to take a step back from Apple and spend more time on personal projects and friends, he is reportedly working...