The businessman who pioneered UK online grocery shopping is moving on to head up the Dixons group.
John Browett was formerly chief executive at Tesco.com, which was launched in 1996 and has probably become the world’s most successful online groceries retail operation.
Tesco.com last year generated a profit of some £83m.
Browett’s efforts at Tesco.com earned him the Wharton Infosys Business Transformation Award from America’s prestigious Wharton business school, before he became operations director for Tesco as a whole in 2003.
He is expected to take the top spot at DSG when CEO John Clare steps down in September.
The group, which includes PC World, Dixons and Currys.digital, has been increasingly focusing on online retail over the last two years, encouraging customers to use group companies’ web storefronts to buy electrical items and their real-world outlets to collect.
The group last year closed its Dixons high street chain, taking the brand online only, and replacing the stores with the new Currys.digital outlets.
So far this year, Dixons.com sales have doubled, while the PC World online store now contributes seven percent to total sales, The Independent reports.