Apple's former retail chief -- a Brit who previously ran Dixons -- lasted just six months at the Cupertino company, and has now explained his swift departure by saying he didn't fit in, The Independent reports.
Speaking at the Retail Week Live conference, John Browett said, "The issue was that I just didn't fit within the way they ran the business. For me, it was one of those shopping things where you're ejected for fit rather than complacency." Nevertheless, he was full of praise for his former employer.
"Apple is a truly fantastic business," Browett said. "The people are great. They've got great products. It's got a great culture. And I loved working there -- it's a fantastic business."
He went on to describe his experience at Apple as "probably the best thing that ever happened to me." He also said he learnt humility and became a "much kinder person." Must be something in the water over in Cupertino.
Browett lasted just six months in his role. He was hired to replace Ron Johnson, who took over retail giant JC Penney. Browett's tenure was plagued with reports of budget cuts and sackings. He left in the same reshuffle that saw former iOS software chief Scott Forstall given the boot.
But Browett isn't out on the street, cap in hand. He's now the chief executive of ladies fashion/jewellery vendor Monsoon Accessorize, which has a retail empire twice the size of Apple's. Yeah, but it doesn't sell iPads does it?
Apple's stock has fallen 37 per cent since its record high a few months ago. CEO Tim Cook recently reassured shareholders, and hinted the company has some pretty exciting new doohickies up its sleeve. A watch, telly, or budget blower, perhaps?
What do you think of Apple's shops? How do arch rival Samsung's stack up? And should there be more Brits high up in Apple's corporate hierarchy? Let me know in the comments, or on our Facebook page.
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Comments 15
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anonymous 16 March, 2013 10:52
Apple will have to do lot of hard work to beat Samsung now. Even LG is way ahead of apple
Come on Tim c**k get that finger out of ur a** and do something about it
Kieran Sampson 16 March, 2013 11:45
Great people at Apple with a great culture? Odious arrogant people who oppress competition more like it.
anonymous 16 March, 2013 11:51
Of course LG is ahead of Apple. The original iPhone looked too similar to the LG's Prada phone already available then.
http://techcrunch.com/2007/02/12/lg-says-apple-copied-prada-phone/
anonymous 16 March, 2013 13:09
Apple changed the mobile phone industry who cared about tablet computers until apple can along the true is apple is the blue print nobody has done it like them. Samsung HTC and other companies are great companies but let's be honest there not apple. It's all most like Pepsi and Coke, Pepsi tastes great but Coke is not Coke.
misterk1973 16 March, 2013 13:59
Anon 13:09 What the f are babbling about? Bizarre... Apple have a standard, though they are not IMHO innovators. I remember the Motorola A1000 a touchscreen phone with the ability to have sat nav way before the iPhone. And I agree LG's Prada was a design classic way before the iPhone. Even the cool kids hate Apple now. Apple is the new Facebook, there for the socially needy show offs. Not cool.
anonymous 16 March, 2013 14:26
Fixed it for you.
Apple changed the mobile phone industry. Who cared about tablet computers until apple came along? The truth is, Apple made the blue print and nobody has done it like them. Samsung, HTC and others are great companies but let's be honest they are not apple. It's all most like Pepsi and Coke, Pepsi tastes great but it's not Coke.
Obviously the Apple grammar app needs work
misterk1973 16 March, 2013 15:24
@ Anon 14:26 Ha ha ha, touché sir, touché....
anonymous 16 March, 2013 16:48
Apple didn't invent any of these concepts it created the market for them. That's innovation which some companies can only dream of. LG and Samsung simply follow the markets with their versions that's all they do. Everyone's watching Apple to see what's next and again they will jump aboard the new market too. Personally I don't see my iPhone 5 as behind any phone as its just what suits me and my needs. I love tech but I don't need lots of features which just ain't useable half the time.
imaginarynumber 16 March, 2013 17:32
@anonymous 16 March, 2013 13:09
Well I guess that your lack of knowledge regarding the mobile phone industry mirrors your lack of historical knowledge of the cola industry. Apple did not invent smartphones or tablets, Coke was not the first cola...
anonymous 16 March, 2013 17:36
I think Apple has internally been in turmoil since the death of jobs. Even the appointment of John Browett was very odd and it is no surprise that he didn't fit in.
As a company they have a hard task of providing what people will want on a new version of iOS/iPhone as they can now only play catch up.
The question is what can Apple offer the consumer? Why pay more for less?
imaginarynumber 16 March, 2013 17:56
@anonymous 16 March, 2013 17:36
Whilst there is something very cultish about Apple, verging on Scientology (IMO) I am grateful to them for boosting the development of the multitouch. Other than that, they have lived off the hard work of other firms for far too long and may have indeed crippled/stifled the development of smartphones through their bully boy court room tactics.
The apple distortion field is starting to fade, even their public Orwellian mouth pieces (the press) are starting to question if big brother really exists. The latest hero devices from samsung, nokia and sony (and perhaps Blackberry) are making the iphone look very staid. Increasingly the iphone is the phone that your granny loves. They are becoming the Daily Mail of the tech world
mch 17 March, 2013 02:33
guys apple invented all this cool stuff , like smartphones,computers,touchscreen, mp3 players, screens, obs they didn't.......
I got it they invented rounded edges with a screen on that makes phonecalls
anonymous 17 March, 2013 12:15
Apple stores used to be a pinnacle of modern sash when it came to visual merchandising but it's just become bland and is about time some apple stores under go a huge refurbishment as it's said Google are bringing physical stores to the world.
anonymous 18 March, 2013 10:12
Try to run an Apple Store like a Currys/PC world megastore and you'll get the same results. Uninterested, uneducated staff. Thing is there are no (bar black Friday) sales or clearance items at an Apple store, so it's not an (ahem) apples-for-apples comparison. For Jobs it was never about the selling of kit, it was about drawing people in to buy in to the Apple experience. It just so happened to be a knock-on effect that people would spend lots of their hard earned there among all the people surfing the Internet for free. So cutting hours and cutting staff was Browett's Ratner's moment.
anonymous 22 March, 2013 22:55
You people should stick your personal opinions about Apple where the sun will never shine. At the end of the day, whether they make poor products or best products in the world, half of u people will still queue up outside the Apple stores to buy it.
The proof is in the amount of cash the Apple is raking in, whilst other companies desperately seek
loans to survive.