Tim Cook: New Apple Retail Chief Is The Best Man “By Far” To Finish What Ron Johnson Started

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Apple’s decision to hire John Browett as its Senior Vice President of Retail has come under fire from a small but vocal minority of Apple fans who believe he may not be the right man for the job. Brits in particular, who are familiar with the Dixons stores in the U.K. that Browett used to control, are concerned he is not a suitable replacement for Ron Johnson.

But Apple CEO Tim Cook has no doubts about the company’s decision, and has labeled Browett the best man for the role “by far.”

Apple fan Tony Hart was “surprised” by the company’s decision to hire John Browett, he reveals on his blog, “as Dixons have far from a healthy reputation in the U.K.” So Hart decided to email Cook and “ask for reassurance” on the company’s decision.

I saw this news that you’ve recently hired John Browett as Senior VP of retail. Now, I don’t know John or his career in the least, but as a UK consumers I am familiar with Dixons and the DSG group that owns them and other similar stores. They have a spectacularly bad reputation and are considered to be one of the worst retailers in the UK in any market… I wanted to voice my concerns on reading the news.

While Hart’s description is a little harsh, as a Brit myself, I can confirm that it is accurate. But to Hart’s surprise, Cook replied, reassuring him that Browett was “the best by far”:

Tony,

I talked to many people and John was the best by far. I think you will be as pleased as I am. His role isn’t to bring Dixons to Apple, [it’s] to bring Apple to an even higher level of customer service and satisfaction.

Tim

Dixons may not be the U.K.’s most exemplary retailer, but as MacRumors notes, Browett is considered to be “a rising star.” Before his time as the chief of Dixons Group, Browett hold executive roles at Tesco PLC, a hugely successful British supermarket chain, including CEO of its website, Tesco.com.

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