John Browett to head up Apple’s retail business
Browett will oversee the continued expansion of Apple retail stores around the world. Of the company’s 40 new locations this year, 30 will be abroad, with China playing an increasingly important role.
LONDON, UK – Apple has announced that John Browett is to head up its worldwide retail operations, poaching the 48-year-old chief executive from Dixons, the UK’s biggest consumer-electronics retailer, to runs its 361 stores around the globe.
The appointment of Browett, who will start at Apple in April as senior vice president, ends seven months of searching for an executive to oversee the California-based firm’s international expansion, Bloomberg reported.
It marks the first external senior-executive appointment by Tim Cook, who replaced Steve Jobs as Apple’s chief executive last year.
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Browett, who is British, has been chief executive of Dixons, a high street electronics firm, since 2007, having previously held a number of executive positions at Tesco, the UK’s biggest supermarket chain.
He is widely credited with building up Tesco’s online operations between 2000 and 2004, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Shares in Dixon, which have lost more than 30 percent of their value over the past year, dropped by a further 10 percent when trading opened today, reflecting Browett’s success in helping the company survive one the most challenging periods for UK retailers, according to the Guardian.
Browett will be based at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, and replaces Ron Johnson, who parted company with the firm last year to become chief executive of JC Penney.
He will oversee the continued expansion of Apple retail stores around the world. Of the company’s 40 new locations this year, 30 will be abroad, with an increasing emphasis put on opening up outlets in China, Bloomberg reported.
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