The appointment Tuesday of John Browett as head of Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) retail operations is a big vote of confidence in the Dixons Retail (DXNS.LN) chief executive but something of a gamble for the U.S. electronics giant as it seeks to expand its retail network.

In picking the CEO of a small, struggling European retail chain, Apple has deviated from its usual practice of filling positions with trusted insiders.

Apple hired executive search firm Egon Zehnder International to help with the search, according to people familiar with the matter, and the choice was applauded by market watchers who have followed Browett's career.

Browett is a product of one of the U.K.'s most illustrious management training grounds, the supermarket group Tesco PLC (TSCO.LN). Tesco has nurtured a generation of executives now smattered across the top jobs of several U.K. companies, including Best Buy Europe's former CEO Scott Wheway, Dido Harding at TalkTalk Telecom Group Plc (TALK.LN) and David Wild at Halfords Group Plc (HFD.LN) .

Browett left Tesco in 2007 having held a number of executive positions including his last as operations development director but is widely remembered and credited for building up their then-nascent online operations between 2000 and 2004.

But it was at Dixons that he will have come to the attention of Apple executives, having orchestrated the revamp of the struggling retailer, redesigning its stores to bring new technology --and Apple in particular-- to the fore.

Of Dixons' 600 U.K. stores, 100 of its largest refurbishments include a prominent Apple store within a store, and the company also secured a 60-day exclusive deal for iPad sales in 2010.

That relationship will have improved Browetts' standing according to Planet Retail analyst Robert Gregory, who believes Apple made the appointment with a clear understanding of Browett's credentials.

"He is a very dynamic character and not afraid to take risks. One of the things he has brought to Dixons is really improving their customer service. That fits in well with Apple's philosophy--making the stores a destination where people can go and really get great service."

Dixons is midway through a major turnaround plan in the middle of a prolonged and profit-eroding slump in electrical sales.That's the tide against which Browett has had to steer the Dixons ship.

Caroline Gulliver, retail analyst at Espirito Santo, believes Browett has done a good job of cutting costs at the retailer and has improved the firm's profitability during the recession, while seeing off the competitive threat from Best Buy Co Inc.'s (BBY) foray into the U.K. electricals market.

And she points out that although the U.K. often overshadows the rest of its operations, Dixons is a pan-European retailer, with profitable operations in the Nordics.

Gregory believes Browett's international retailing experience dovetails with Apple's strategic priority to expand stores across new markets and boost consumers' access to its products.

"The key challenge for Apple is to expand that format internationally. There is huge potential. A huge amount of people know the Apple brand, but not everybody can go into a store. I can't see them changing things too much as the formula is clearly working," he said.

-By Kathy Gordon, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-207-842-9293; kathy.gordon@dowjones.com

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