Dixons Apparently Sucks

Ben Rooney, writing for the WSJ:

Presumably Mr. Browett interviews really, really well, and perhaps Apple CEO Tim Cook has yet to visit a PC World or Currys (Dixon’s face of retail in the U.K.), but the two retail experiences are poles apart.

Apple stores are the epitome of tasteful design, with no visible cash registers, highly trained staff and an exacting attention to visual appeal; think gleaming white counters, bleached wood floors, minimal and tasteful signage.

Currys and PC World are more in the “stack ‘em high, sell ‘em cheap” end of retail, with all of the associated aesthetic appeal of that school of selling: garish purples, violent yellows, stacks of products, cluttered, aggressive, frenetic.

You can argue that Target (Ron Johnson’s gig prior to his Apple stint) isn’t much like an Apple Store either, but at least Target is tasteful, places value on design, and strives for a pleasant shopping experience. Those are values shared with Apple. Dixons and PC World seemingly share no values with Apple.

I’m not implying that Browett was hired to or intends to Dixons-ify the Apple Store experience — just pointing out that it’s a curious hire, also given how rarely Apple hires executives from outside the company.

★ Thursday, 2 February 2012