LONDON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Apple Inc has hired Dixons Chief Executive John Browett, who revived the British electronics retailer by emphasizing customer service, to lead the iPad maker’s global retail expansion.

Apple chief Tim Cook, making his first high-profile hire since taking the helm of the world’s largest technology company, lured the well-regarded industry executive to fill a critical post once held by Ron Johnson, another outsider who left Target Corp to join Apple in 2000.

Johnson resigned from Apple last November to join retailer J.C. Penney Co Inc as chief executive.

Browett, Dixons’ CEO since 2007, was previously chief executive of Tesco Plc’s successful online shopping site. He will oversee Apple’s retail strategy and the expansion of its stores around the world, from the current total of around 300.

The executive, credited with freshening Dixons’ image with innovative marketing — including an advertising campaign featuring Darth Vader — joins Apple as the Silicon Valley giant eyes markets abroad to sustain its growth.

“An outsider with international experience will help guide Apple’s global expansion strategy,” said RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky. “His experience includes localizing stores for multiple countries.”

On Johnson’s watch, Apple opened its first retail outlet — in McLean, Virginia — in May 2001. It now has a chain of more than 300 stores, which generated an average of $34.1 million each in fiscal 2010 and accounted for 15 percent of the company’s net sales.

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 27 (Reuters) – Apple Inc (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) has never turned “a blind eye” to the problems in its supply chain and any suggestion it does not care about the plight of workers is “patently false,” Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said in an email to employees.

Cook was responding to a report in The New York Times about working conditions at Apple’s main contract manufacturer, Foxconn, in China, an issue that for years has been a thorn in the company’s side.

Apple responded in the past by launching independent audits and publishing the results. Earlier this month, Apple for the first time published a list of all its main suppliers.

“What we will not do — and never have done — is stand still or turn a blind eye to problems in our supply chain,” he said in the email. “On this you have my word.”

The email was first reported by the blog 9to5Mac and Reuters confirmed its authenticity.

“Any suggestion that we don’t care is patently false and offensive to us,” Cook said in the email.

Apple said earlier it agreed to let an outside agency monitor condition in the factories of its suppliers.

Jan 27 (Reuters) – Jon Rubinstein, who was instrumental in crafting Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) iPod music player, has left Hewlett Packard Co (HPQ.N: Quote, Profile, Research) after two years on the job there.

Rubinstein was CEO of smartphone maker Palm when that company was acquired by HP in 2010. He last held a product-innovation role within HP’s Personal Systems Group headed by Todd Bradley.

“Jon has fulfilled his commitment to HP,” a HP spokesman said.

Rubinstein is still a board member at e-commerce company Amazon.com (AMZN.O: Quote, Profile, Research).

Last year HP, the largest U.S. technology company by revenue, announced it was halting its TouchPad line of tablets and any other devices based on WebOS, the mobile software it acquired when it bought Palm.

In December, HP said it would open its WebOS mobile operating system to developers and companies, potentially taking on Google Inc’s (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research) free Android platform. [ID:nN1E7B80LN]

(Reporting By Poornima Gupta; editing by John Wallace)