Bill Emerson

Penney CEO Brings 'Reality Distortion Field' From Apple

January 26, 2012

FROM RETAILWIRE:
Current J.C. Penney CEO Ron Johnson must have spent a lot of time with Steve Jobs when he was at Apple because it appears as though he too has the power to create a "reality distortion field." What do you think is the most exciting aspect of the plan to turn J.C. Penney around?      [more...]

You have to give Ron Johnson high marks for his Apple-esque boldness. He essentially is turning Penney into a whole new concept. This is understandable for someone who was running a chain of stores with average sales per square foot of over $2700. There was not much there you could do without success.

What puzzles me is his haste. This is not a new channel. It has a long history and is continually evolving. It has daunting competition. Penney specifically has lots of baggage. Will these changes work? Maybe. Will they work exactly as he and his advisers think? Unlikely.

Why would you make changes on a scale this dramatic without testing them in a couple of markets and then adapting empirically?