Dixons falls sharply on boss departure

published 31 January 2012

John Browett, who has been battling to turn around the struggling Dixons Retail empire, is to quit the company to become Senior Vice President of Retail operations at Apple, the US consumer electronics giant.

The owner of the PC World and Currys chains said Browett will be succeeded by Sebastian James, who will take up his position on February 20th, the same day Browett steps down. Browett will leave Dixons on April 20th following a hand-over period.

James joined Dixons Retail in April 2008 and is currently Group Operations Director. The firm says he played a major role in developing the new store formats that have been a big focus of the Dixons fightback. He also led changes to the delivery, repair and services operations. He will be paid an annual salary of £600,000.

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A further part of the shake up will see Katie Bickerstaffe promoted to a new role as Chief Executive, UK & Ireland.

Despite Dixons saying trading is in line with its last (very positive) trading statement the news of Browett's departure has not gone down well in the markets. At 09:32, Dixons shares had fallen 4.5%.

It's interesting to look at Dixons' share price movement in recent times. The stock is down 39% over five years, 27% over the last 12 months but in the last six months has improved markedly, up 5% since August and, since the trading update on January 17 up 50%, giving a sense of the momentum of the recent recovery under Browett.