Apple chooses former Dixons exec for retail expansion

01 February 2012 - 08:54

John Browett, the man who was previously head of electronics retailer Dixons in the UK, has been picked up by tech firm Apple, in order to help it grow its presence in the world of commerce, both online and off.

Mr Browett had held his position as CEO of Dixons for just over four years and he cut his teeth by taking charge of safe shopping online for supermarket giant, Tesco.

Although he is no longer the big cheese since moving to Apple, Mr Browett will doubtlessly be pleased to join a company which looks like it will continue to post record sales figures for its popular devices like the iPhone and iPad for the foreseeable future.

Some are assuming that the acquisition of Mr Browett will be used to expand Apple's presence in Europe, since this is the area in which he has significant experience of the retail market.

The departure of Mr Browett from Dixons saw shares in the firm fall by almost five per cent this week, although a replacement has already been found in the form of Sebastian James.

Despite the slight dip in the value of Dixons, it is still a company that has managed to improve its fortunes in the past 12 months, after experiencing some problems.

It managed to see off competition in the form of US Best Buy in recent months and although there are no longer Dixons stores on the UK's high streets, you can still use its site for safe shopping online, as the brand remains valuable in the eyes of many British consumers.

We could now see more Apple Stores opening up across the UK and perhaps a revamped online portal for e-commerce, now that Mr Browett is on the team.

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