If you don't know Johnson by name, surely you have seen the results of his efforts. He is responsible for introducing designer brands at Target (even though the pundits predicted high end goods at a discount retailer would fail), and designing profitable Apple retail stores (another idea many thought wouldn't work). So can he do it again at JCP?
Right now, the experiment is not going so well. The company has experienced three consecutive quarters of major losses ($260 million last period), but Johnson remains optimistic that his vision will succeed. He has focused first on a new pricing model, and now is in the business of revamping the layout of all the stores and providing different lines of merchandise. Their vibrant new advertising was enough to get me inside for the first time in a decade, and it is clear that something is a buzz.
Johnson is quoted as saying "Lots of people think we're crazy. But that's what it takes to get ahead." I hope that the board gives Johnson enough time for his efforts to have a chance. Revitalizing all of the classic four marketing elements (product, price, place and promotion) is not a short-term fix. Hopefully there was a realistic time frame agreed upon when he took the job.
I am not a regular JCP shopper and may never be. But I applaud Johnson's willingness to tackle another risky venture instead of resting on his Target and Apple laurels. He almost certainly did not need to gamble on Penney and face the public ridicule when results weren't instantaneous. Apparently the personal satisfaction from doing something difficult provides enough thrill to risk the daunting short-term consequences.
Let him be a model for you to tackle the hard stuff and work toward transformation in the long term, even if people snicker in the process.
-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
(J.C. Penney's CEO taking another gamble by Anne D'Innocenzio Associated Press in the Dubuque Telegraph Herald 11/15/12 p.4B)
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