“When a senior executive makes the move from Target to Apple, the world’s most exciting technology company, you pat him on the back, say, ‘Nice job,’ and buy him a few rounds,” Steve Tobak writes for FOX Business. “When that same executive jumps ship to go to JCPenney, you wonder if maybe he fell and hit his head on something.”
“While hindsight is always 20-20, that really should have been a clue right there that something bad was about to happen. Even so, I doubt if anyone could have foreseen what Johnson had in mind when he showed up for work at JCP headquarters in November of 2011,” Tobak writes. “Don’t get me wrong. I have loads of respect for the guy and what he accomplished as head of retail operations at Apple. Those Apple stores are true genius, no two ways about it. But Johnson’s attempt to completely remake JCPenney in Apple’s image is starting to look a lot more maniacal than brilliant.”
And maybe I’m crazy, too, but I can sort of see where he was going with his ‘it worked at Apple so it should work here’ strategy,” Tobak writes. “I just wonder if maybe he shouldn’t have stopped, just for a moment, to take a deep breath and consider the obvious: That what a one-of-a-kind talent like Steve Jobs did at a one-of-a-kind company like Apple with a remarkable string of one-of-a-kind products like iPod, iPhone and iPad, might not generate the same results at a commodity clothing retailer that’s more or less at the opposite end of the business spectrum in every way that counts.”
Tobak writes, “In a novel concept, he brought free Wi-Fi to the stores — even though there’s no seating and it makes no sense. I mean, why would anyone sit in a JCPenney store and surf the web? It’s not Starbucks.”
Much more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Today is like the winding of a catapult upon whose arm sits Ron in his executive chair. Wonder if the Penney board will yell “fire!” or not?
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Apple retail’s Ron Johnson and John Browett have proved the Peter Principle is alive and well – November 13, 2012
CEO Ron Johnson switches J.C. Penney to two-tier pricing with price-match guarantee – July 26, 2012
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J.C Penney’s stock tumbles after key exec’s abrupt exit – June 19, 2012
J.C. Penney reports loss and plummeting sales in 1Q – May 15, 2012
Why Ron Johnson left Apple to head JC Penney – April 30, 2012
J.C. Penney lures another executive from Apple – April 26, 2012
Steve Jobs’ ex-lieutenant Ron Johnson adds $1.5 billion to J.C. Penney in two days – January 30, 2012
J.C. Penney CEO Ron Johnson: What I learned building the Apple Store – November 21, 2011
New J.C. Penney CEO Johnson hiring former Apple co-workers – November 9, 2011
Why Apple’s retail genius Ron Johnson is paying for the privilege of running J.C. Penney – June 15, 2011
Apple’s retail store chief Johnson off to J.C. Penney; expected to become CEO within months – June 14, 2011
