“Ron Johnson’s exit from J.C. Penney on Monday was abrupt but not particularly surprising. The former Apple (AAPL) executive credited with the design and strategy behind its 400 wildly successful retail stores was ignominiously ousted from the fashion retailer amid pressure from frustrated customers, impatient investors, and a radical strategy that outsiders had come to view as fundamentally flawed,” Brad Stone writes for Businessweek. “Apparently the man who invented Genius Bars wasn’t genius enough to sell spring dresses and kids’ back-to-school polos.”
Stone writes, “Johnson’s ignoble exit begs the question: Are longtime Apple executives primed to succeed elsewhere? Or, to put it another way, are the culture and conditions behind Apple’s legendary success so unique that their skill set doesn’t translate well at other companies? Are Apple executives set up to fail after they leave the comfortable sanctuary of Cupertino?”
“It is, of course, a complicated and probably unfair question, with a preponderance of examples that undermine any simple answer. There’s plenty of success to point to: [For example], Tony Fadell, the father of the iPod, founded Palo Alto startup Nest and is having remarkable success with its networked ‘learning thermostat,'” Stone writes. “But the unavoidable conclusion is that Apple executives do have trouble running other companies, particularly established large ones. Former Apple hardware guru Jon Rubinstein took over Palm in 2007.”
“Johnson’s case is probably unique. He left Apple not to take time off but to run a world-renowned retailer. He made a strong pitch to analysts in early 2012, involving setting low, across-the-board prices and setting up mini-stores within Penney’s walls. Then he fell flat on his face as the company’s underlying challenges—and the particular inflexibilities of its coupon-hoarding customers—came to light,” Stone writes. “Some observers think Johnson, like Mansfield, may now return to Apple, which has never filled his position.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Tim Cook did fill Johnson’s position. John Browett. A flameout of such proportion that makes Johnson’s at JCP look like a birthday candle next to a nuclear bomb blast.
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