Mikey Campbell
After leaving Apple in November 2011 to take the reins of the huge department store, Johnson looked to increase margins with the introduction of a new pricing model and unique retail ideas like the store-within-a-store, but customer response to the efforts fell flat, reports Reuters.
During its first quarter 2012 earnings call on Tuesday, JC Penney reported higher than expected losses with a 20.1 percent sales drop year-to-year causing shares to free fall 19.7 percent, the worst decline since the company began listing shares in 1929. The selloff erased $1.43 billion in market value and was the catalyst for a suspension of the stock's quarterly dividend of 20 cents per share.
JC Penney shares closed down $6.57 on Wednesday to end the day at $26.75, well below the $30.11 closing price seen the day before Johnson was named CEO in June 2011.
The company is in the midst of a multi-year plan to reinvigorate sales, though some analysts see the change as being largely ineffective. Spearheaded by Johnson, the new strategy involves the replacement of coupons and sales with "Every Day" low prices.
On Tuesday, Johnson told analysts that he stands by the changes but admits that JC Penney hasn't been successful in exposing customers to the new plan's benefits.
"It is not doing the hard work we need it to do right now," Johnson said of the company's advertising.
Previous commercials featured Ellen DeGeneres in attempt to contemporize the brand's image, but that effort was confused by a switch to ads dubbed "Do the Math" which illustrate how the chain's low prices outperform coupons and sales.
Ron Johnson at JC Penney's 'fresh air' event. | Source: JCPenney
Critics attribute the recent lack of foot traffic to the abrupt change in store policies, and claim that JC Penney customers who have become accustomed to the coupon and sale model are put off by the new "Every Day" pricing strategy.
The second step in Johnson's multi-pronged makeover will happen in August when the company's first store-within-a-store is opened. Upon completion, the transformation will put a number of 100 name brand boutiques in each JC Penney location. Announced designer collaborations include Vivienne Tam, Betsey Johnson and Michael Graves.
During his tenure at Apple, Johnson was responsible for the creation of the Apple Retail Store, which is a main component of the iPad maker's success and generated $4.4 billion in the last quarter alone.
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Wesley Hilliard
Andrew Orr
Christine McKee
William Gallagher
Mike Wuerthele
80 Comments
Just goes to show that you actually need a good product to sell, and all the marketing in the world, even if its good marketing, is not going to turn shit into gold. Which is why Apple employees/executives don't necessarily excel in future positions with other companies. This isn't Ron Johnson's fault, it just is what it is.
It is pretty self evident that Ron Johnson is the most talented person who could be CEO of JC Penney at this time. He might fail. But they should be glad he has come to try to save them and create some sort of relevance for JC Penney.
I think it's one of the most exciting stories in business today. Might buy a few shares just to keep track.
The moral of the story boys and girls is that you can't polish shit, you can only spread it around.
I think it's unfair to expect him to turn around the company in as little as six months. And critics come with the territory - Even Apple with all its success isn't immune to it.
Actually a few women I know have noticed the changes in the store, like the changes and the products and plan to shop there a lot from now on. I told them that the guy who designed the Apple stores was responsible and they said "Ohhhhh!!!!! Now I get it. I'm definetely shopping there!"
If I were Ron Johnson, I'd stay the course. The biggest issue now is getting the word out.