Retail Chief John Browett Receives First Disbursement of Signing Bonus Apple Stock

[Shaun, UK]

Originally Posted by Truss Wrod

Agreed. I couldn't do his job. But I'm not after his job. And I'll bet he couldn't do mine.

But what do you think is going to happen when you put Swiss Tony (http://tinyurl.com/8jwefq3) in charge of a Bugatti dealership?

Buying a Mac is very much like making love to a beautiful woman. Admire the gorgeous lines, the slender body, the elegant looks and sigh with a rye smile at how much it's going to cost you in the end.

[TrentS]

How much of that money should actually go to the poor, overworked assembly line workers at FoxConn, who no doubt deserve better pay for what they contribute to the bottom line of Apple products?! For some exec to just waltz in and be paid 63 million for what others would be happy with 1.5 million in anual salary, is just criminal in my book.

I'm sorry, but you cannot justify this kind of pay to anyone, no matter what company they work for. I've always said, if top exec's get outlandish compensation for what they do, everybody else from top to bottom of that company should also be compensated accordingly.

[Rocketman]

I don't know him personally or professionally so I will withhold judgment on his status within a cult of personality. However the three computer stores he was associated with before was a matter of residing over a dying sales process, dying industry, and dying product category. Even the current President of the USA can manage decline.

The only metric of import here is how he plugs into an existing successful business model and from what I read, he is charged with expanding to far more international locations.

There is a lot of detail involved in retail besides the operation of a running store. Just getting a store up and running is a hurculean task all in itself. I suspect that is his main focus at Apple.

Can't he just get his RSU's inside an IRA or something so he can defer the taxes? 40% to the tax man is wacky.

Rocketman

[Gasu E.]

Originally Posted by Snowshiro

People seem to have this ridiculous notion that Apple is still some small, touchy-feely company that wants to give its customers a big hug and sent them chocolates on their birthdays.

Seriously?-- you didn't get your chocolates?

[TrentS]

Originally Posted by PVisitors

I bet this guy thinks its Christmas every day after securing a job with nice $5m stock dividends at one of the largest companies on planet and arguably /the/ best tech company when the only thing on his CV is being a greedy profiteering snake who drove the likes of PC World and Currys into the ground.

Seriously what did the Apple board see in him?

What happens is, the board of directors hires someone like this, earmarking his contract with astronomical compensating stock options ( which is hard for the regular laymen to interpret the dollar equivalent ), in hopes that they too will in return be patted on the back by someone else, in their large ring of "aristocratic exclusive snob club". I just call it what it is - executive piracy; criminal in my book.

[ictiosapiens]

Originally Posted by TrentS

How much of that money should actually go to the poor, overworked assembly line workers at FoxConn, who no doubt deserve better pay for what they contribute to the bottom line of Apple products?! For some exec to just waltz in and be paid 63 million for what others would be happy with 1.5 million in anual salary, is just criminal in my book.

I'm sorry, but you cannot justify this kind of pay to anyone, no matter what company they work for. I've always said, if top exec's get outlandish compensation for what they do, everybody else from top to bottom of that company should also be compensated accordingly.

Agreed. I can understand an entrepreneur who creates jobs making a fortune, but an executive? They always go on about getting the very best talent, any talented executive would take a job like this for a tenth of the salary and do a fantastic job if the incentives are smartly designed. At the end, it's not like there's any risk involved for the executive. When you risk, by all means, win big.

[macchiato2009]

Most retail employees were proud to have Ron Johnson as a boss

now i cannot say the same for Browett

i've never heard any single positive thing about him...

[Long]

It seems much of this discussion could be traced back to the notion Steve Jobs and the Apple board chose Tim Cook for a reason, knowing his background and role in the company to date. Jobs is even quoted as saying Tim Cook is not a product guy.

We can argue (in hindsight) whether or not it was a good move, but it was certainly a move made for a clear reason, not out of pure ignorance.

[hamkor04]

it that only me or someone doesn't like this guy At ALL.
I donno his face soooo customer not friendly

[pubby9]

Originally Posted by Schtumple

I cannot express how much I hate that this guy still has a job at Apple. Or any job for that matter, his overly simplistic business ideas are the epitome of upper management who have no idea how retail actually works.

Agreed this moron needs to get fired

[mikover]

I felt compelled to log in to this site when I saw that man's face staring out in disbelief that he was even invited for an interview at Apple.

John Browett was one of the people running Dixons here in the UK.

That business was and remains a laughing stock within UK retail circles.

What really galls me is that I am paying top dollar for Apple products and I don't mind doing that if they are simply brilliant products. However I do not believe that I should be paying so much of my very hard earned cash to then have that money ($58m over 5 years for goodness sake!) paid to this nonentity who somehow blagged his way through an interview at Cupertino and is now in charge (shiver) of the whole retail chain across the world.

He has already left his greasy fingerprints all over his first Dixonite escapade at Apple and this will just be the first of a great many.

These are challenging times for Apple for all sorts of reasons and they need the best possible people leading them. This man is most certainly not one of them.

I do actually shiver when I recall my visits to Dixons / PC World et al in previous years. This man should have been sent back across the Atlantic in a rowing boat without an oar after his 2 minute interview with Cook and his team.

I predict he will not be claiming that $58m in 5 years time.

[Bluefusion]

Disgusting. Just disgusting.

It's not just that he doesn't deserve the money for the terrible job he's done... it's that he is a woefully incompetent executive, has done nothing positive for the stores yet, and has demonstrated fireable offenses in his short time at Apple. Yet they reward him for the mess he made, and pressure him to stay on.

The Stores are falling apart. Fortunately, Apple's so big now that it really doesn't matter in the long run -- they're not going bankrupt or anything. They're just sliding.

I own shares, and Apple's been good to me. I just wish we (the shareholders) could force this clown out of the company and out of this country ASAP. You guys across the pond can keep Dixons!

(I wrote a letter to Tim Cook about Jim early on, but obviously that's not going to make a difference...)

[TrentS]

Originally Posted by Bluefusion

Disgusting. Just disgusting.

It's not just that he doesn't deserve the money for the terrible job he's done... it's that he is a woefully incompetent executive, has done nothing positive for the stores yet, and has demonstrated fireable offenses in his short time at Apple. Yet they reward him for the mess he made, and pressure him to stay on.

The Stores are falling apart. Fortunately, Apple's so big now that it really doesn't matter in the long run -- they're not going bankrupt or anything. They're just sliding.

I own shares, and Apple's been good to me. I just wish we (the shareholders) could force this clown out of the company and out of this country ASAP. You guys across the pond can keep Dixons!

(I wrote a letter to Tim Cook about Jim early on, but obviously that's not going to make a difference...)

Jim? Who's Jim?

[Glideslope]

John Browett

Tim's first Big Error. He will be gone at the end of 2014.

[avidos]

he's already cut hours, frozen recruitment and at the last meeting where Ron got applause after his little cameos this guy got silence (repeated across all the stores I know of)

am I worried about my job.....yes

[AZREOSpecialist]

Retail layoffs + PR disaster = signing bonus

Where do I get this job?

[Schtumple]

Originally Posted by Snowshiro

He's EXACTLY an Apple person, even if you can't see yet what Apple has become.

That's the crappy part. But I wasn't "making things up", PC World, Curries and Dixons had mass layoffs of staff (several of my friends worked there when this happened), go into a store now, atypically it's excessively understaffed, and nobody goes in the stores anymore because you won't get served.

[Bluefusion]

Originally Posted by TrentS

Jim? Who's Jim?

LOL, I have no idea :P

Jim, Tim... ehhhhh...

[Fishticks]

John Browett feels a little snappier !

[ascylto]

I have for years been a Mac fanatic. I live in the UK. My nearest Apple Store is a very short distance away at a shopping mall which also has John Lewis and Dixons. Dixons is just a laugh ... of course ignorant people will still buy their cameras, tellies and computers from them and pay for the after-market warranties from a demoralised and ignorant staff. The Apple Store is no longer the friendly place for buying over-priced but beautiful products.

There was a TV programme some time ago about the company John Lewis ... I may have the figures wrong but they make no difference to my point, John Lewis boss was shown the massive amounts earned by the CEOs of other companies; figures way in excess of what he earned. His reply? He responded by saying he had a very nice lifestyle indeed on his £500,000 salary and that it was enough. That's what the likes of Browett have forgotten. It is enough. They have gone way beyond what is enough. They are into greed ... money for the sake of money. And that's where Mr Cook has made a Big Mistake. He has hired a man who, despite all, has a very poor retail record and it is beginning to tell in Apple Retail.

[bedifferent]

Originally Posted by ascylto

I have for years been a Mac fanatic. I live in the UK. My nearest Apple Store is a very short distance away at a shopping mall which also has John Lewis and Dixons. Dixons is just a laugh ... of course ignorant people will still buy their cameras, tellies and computers from them and pay for the after-market warranties from a demoralised and ignorant staff. The Apple Store is no longer the friendly place for buying over-priced but beautiful products.

There was a TV programme some time ago about the company John Lewis ... I may have the figures wrong but they make no difference to my point, John Lewis boss was shown the massive amounts earned by the CEOs of other companies; figures way in excess of what he earned. His reply? He responded by saying he had a very nice lifestyle indeed on his £500,000 salary and that it was enough. That's what the likes of Browett have forgotten. It is enough. They have gone way beyond what is enough. They are into greed ... money for the sake of money. And that's where Mr Cook has made a Big Mistake. He has hired a man who, despite all, has a very poor retail record and it is beginning to tell in Apple Retail.

Having lived in the U.K., very well stated with regard to this matter. I was very disappointed in Browett's hiring. It is interesting to note since Browett joined Apple retail, many changes took effect under his direction that many retail employees and customers do not like (such as the new phone system implemented at Browett's request, it is much more difficult to speak with a retail specialist now).

I don't see this relationship benefitting Apple other than cutting costs at consumer expense. Might look good at first, but long term it will bite them.

[padrino121]

Originally Posted by HiRez

Sorry, but the guy even looks like a douchebag. And from a business perspective, he seems like the most un-Apple-like guy they could have hired. As a shareholder, I'm not happy about it.

As a shareholder you are not happy about him attempting to derive more profit from the stores, you are in the minority.

Let's not forget that as a company Apple is profit driven, yes they make great products and like any other company they attempt to charge the most the market can bare for them, they short cut warranties, etc. as long as the market will handle it.

With that said short term profit at the cost of customer satisfaction results in less profit long term and ultimately a failure.

[Les Kern]

Originally Posted by StarPower

You obviously must not understand Capitalism or Corporate ladders, or for that matter Entrepreneurship that much.

Apple is a company worth over $600 Billion dollars.... who do you think is responsible for that?

Sure he understands capitalism... at least the 2012 version, and we will need to ask the folks making 99 cents an hour or maybe ask the people in America who lost those manufacturing jobs so this ass could get his millions just who is responsible for Apple's valuation.

58 million bucks is obscene, but gee, Apple is successful so suck on it huh? And where does it end? I'll tell you where it ends: with torches and piano wire.

[everything-i]

Originally Posted by FelixDerKater

Instead, give him a first-class ticket back to the UK.

No way, we don't want him back.

But seriously he is the sort of joker who will do the old slash and burn for a few years which reduces costs so the bean counters think he is great, he will then jump ship before the whole thing starts to fall apart.

[hw007]

Originally Posted by Macist

The level of uncritical Chicago School capitalist ideological incorporation Americans come out with is mind-boggling. They've really convinced you that highly-paid executives are god-men striding the Earth!

Browett's skillset, as watchers of UK retail know, lies in degrading and dumbing down the shopping experience until your brand gets bad reviews all over the place and winds up on TV consumer complaints shows. If you want Apple Stores to continue to be a cut above Lidl, Poundstretcher, Primark or Currys then hiring this chap makes zero sense. The fact his early actions in the retail division have been dreadful is no surprise. He's just doing his job. The same crappy job he always does.

Talking of UK retail, the only shop better than Apple Stores (at their best) is John Lewis, which is a mid to high-end department store run as a workers' 'partnership' (a sort of mild co-op). While not some workers paradise each worker gets a good chunk of bonus if profits are good and other untypical perks and benefits. Staff are not merely gormless teens but you'll find grey-haired people that have been there 30 years and know customer service inside out. See, *stands back in amazement* if you pay your staff reasonably and, even more importantly, treat them with some semblance of respect and not merely as hollowed out 'human resources' you get better staff giving great service to your customers who go off raving how great your brand is. Funny that.

Yet we live in a topsy-turvy world where stuffed suits get paid lottery wins each year and get bonuses and golden goodbyes even in their work is poor as that how you 'get the best' out of these superhumans. But the rank and file must have poor benefits and low pay as you have to keep 'em hungry. It is of course bonkers.

Being an "ex-partner" of John Lewis, let me tell you that the "partnership", IS NOT WHAT IT SEEMS.