Profile: John Browett, senior vice-president of retail, Apple

John Browett has the opportunity to define a golden era in his career over the coming months. From a Justin Bieber concert to the first day of Wimbledon, few events draw as long and fervent a queue as the familiar lines of shoppers who eagerly wait outside Apple’s high-profile stores on ‘iPhone day’. The release of the iPhone 5 today, as well as the latest iPods, will doubtless create unprecedented levels of demand.

But Browett, Apple’s senior vice-president of retail, has not enjoyed the smoothest of starts at the world’s most highly valued company.

After a surprise move there in April, Browett – who was credited with turning around struggling Dixons by focusing on service rather than price – did manage to immediately engender loyalty by giving store staff a pay rise.

However, it then emerged that some staff had expressed disquiet about employees’ hours allegedly being cut, resulting in understaffing in some shops. The changes fuelled speculation that job losses were on the cards.

Apple eventually backtracked. Browett sent out the message to staff that “we messed up” and the retailer described the changes in store as a “mistake”.

Browett will have put the controversy behind him as he prepares to handle rammed stores and demanding customers for the latest product launch.

When it comes to dealing with tricky herds, Browett appears well placed. He read zoology at Cambridge University before studying for an MBA at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Business School.

After working at Boston Consulting,  Browett made his name at Tesco. He joined the UK’s largest retailer in 1998 as group strategy director and, in the nine years he spent with the grocery giant, he carved out a strong reputation for being calm and determined.

After spearheading strong growth in non-food, online, mobile and overseas, Browett’s credentials earned him the role of chief executive of Dixons  (DSGi) in 2007.

A former Dixons colleague says: “He’s incredibly intelligent and he can formulate exceptionally complex and long-term models in his mind.”

At Dixons, Browett implemented a renewal and transformation strategy and his focus on service is thought to have played a part in winning him the prestigious position at the top of Apple’s retail tree.

The former colleague says: “He had a rocky start [at Dixons] when he was making a lot of changes and experimenting. He sometimes goes quicker than he should. By the time he’d left though he’d seen off Best Buy, Comet was a shadow of the competition it once was, and the supermarkets were having a tougher time [in electricals].  I’d describe him as a Marmite-type person. There are people who absolutely love him, and some who see his faults. He was the best boss I had by some distance.”

While at Dixons he transformed the retailer’s reputation for service. The introduction of the Knowhow service, including a strong installation and after-care package, gave Dixons a credibility and passion for product that echoes that of Apple.

While his appointment at Apple may have raised eyebrows, those in the know see his strengths. Apple clearly did too – he received a £36m ‘golden hello’ on joining the US giant.

Browett has made a quick start at getting around the business. Of the 361 global Apple stores he is in charge of, he claims to have visited 75 across 10 countries so far.

He undoubtedly has a tough task ahead of him – not least to appease the hive of obsessives who analyse the brand’s every move. But Browett will be confident he can keep service and profitability at Apple’s core.