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Browett seen as bad for Apple thanks to Dixons’ poor reputation

Dixons Retail CEO John Browett is set to take over for Apple's former retail …

Currys Digital is one of Dixons Retail's chains in the UK.
Currys Digital is one of Dixons Retail's chains in the UK.

John Browett, CEO of Dixons Retail, whom Apple plans to appoint as its senior vice president of its retail operations in April, may be a poor choice to succeed Apple's former SVP Ron Johnson if customer service, clean stores, and great products are still priorities for the company. Numerous readers have let Ars know that they feel Dixons' stores are messy, staffed with clueless salespeople, and sell low-quality goods. Because of this, some consumers worry that the new hire may be a harbinger of bad things to come for Apple's otherwise highly respected retail stores.

Apple CEO Tim Cook praised Browett for his commitment to customer service in a statement earlier today. "We are thrilled to have him join our team and bring his incredible retail experience to Apple," Cook said. Dixons' website claims the company has "become a bit customer obsessed lately."

But that seems to go against the description given to us by several readers about the customer service at Dixons stores—branded Curry's and PC World in the UK—which they described as "shite" and "the epitome of appalling service."

"I've bought a few items from Dixons, and it's never been a good retail experience," reader Arron Claydon, who hails from London, told Ars via e-mail. He recently bought a netbook for his mother, which turned into an unpleasant ordeal.

"The sales staff jump on you straight away, even if you are just looking, and are very pushy," Claydon said. "Once you have checked the stock with them, they then try to sell you all of the other rubbish like extended warranties, cases, and even cloud storage. After you have refused this they then just pass you to the till and move on to the next customer."

More than one person described Dixons as the "absolute antithesis" of an Apple Store, which makes Browett seem like an odd choice to take over for Johnson.

"If you want a dingy shop full of distracting always-on demonstration units, staffed by surly ignoramuses who only want to sell you an extended warranty, then Dixons was the place to go," Phillip Storry, a systems administrator from London, told Ars. "Which probably explains why Dixons has been having real troubles of late—consumers are now wise to them, and shop elsewhere."

Our own Peter Bright confirmed that he, too, believes Dixons is no model for Apple, describing the company as the absolute worst chain of electronics retailers. "The staff is unhelpful, the prices absurd, and the store design is hideous."

That poor reputation is supported by recent reports in the UK media, particularly from the UK magazine Which? The magazine, published by the Consumers' Association and is analogous to Consumer Reports in the US, reported throughout 2011 that Currys and PC World stores have unknowledgeable staff, substandard repair services, and repeatedly fail to honor legal obligations to consumers under the UK's Sale of Goods Act. A 2010 survey of over 14,000 consumers rated Currys and PC World as the worst retail shops in the country.

More confusing still is that Browett has served as CEO of Dixons since 2007, where the stock price plummeted from a high of about 27.40p down to a low of about 9.40p in early January 2012. The stock has recovered somewhat in recent weeks, closing at 14.84p  on Tuesday, but that still represents a nearly 50 percent decline for the stock since Browett took over.

Given that Browett oversaw a major decline in both Dixons' stock price and its reputation among consumers, we have to admit the prospects don't seem good. Johnson left some huge shoes to fill given Apple's incredible retail success, and from what we know about the current state of Dixons, we're not sure yet if Browett is ready to fill them.

Channel Ars Technica