“Pricing is actually a pretty simple and straight forward thing. Customers will not pay literally a penny more than the true value of the product.” – Ron Johnson
It is however the wrong pricing strategy at J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) that cost Ron Johnson his job. J.C. Penney axed its CEO yesterday, Ron Johnson, within a small stint of 18 months of having hired him at that position. Johnson joined J.C. Penney in November 2011 after serving Apple for nearly 11 years. Ron Johnson was the man behind the success of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s retail stores and Genius Bar.
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He also helped Apple’s retail stores achieve a record growth with sales exceeding a billion dollars within a span of two years, however, his strategy to turn around J.C. Penney did not come to fruition quite yet. Ron failed to cast his spell on the sales of J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP), which dropped significantly leading up to his termination.
Penney reported a drop of 28 percent in its fourth quarter revenue and a loss of $552 million for the same period. For the full year, the company accumulated a loss of $ 985 million and a 25% dip in its revenue to $12.98 billion.
Johnson was replaced by Mike Ullman, his predecessor, who headed store operations until Johnson took up the position back in November 2011. Under Ullman’s regime, the chain bought in few big brands, like the famous European clothing brand MNG by Mango, and Sephora.
Excerpt from the press release via J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP):
“The Board of Directors of J.C. Penney, today announced that Myron E. (Mike) Ullman, III has rejoined the Company as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. He has also been elected to the Board of Directors. Mr. Ullman is a highly accomplished retail industry executive, who served as CEO of jcpenney until late 2011. He succeeds Ron Johnson, who is stepping down and leaving the Company.”
Commenting on the development Ullman added “While J.C. Penney has faced a difficult period, its legacy as a leader in American retailing is an asset that can be built upon and leveraged. To that end, my plan is to immediately engage with the Company’s customers, team members, vendors and shareholders, to understand their needs, views and insights. With that knowledge, I will work with the leadership team and the Board to develop and clearly articulate a game plan to establish a foundation for future success.”
Our report from yesterday, “Apple Inc. (AAPL) Retail Store Genius Gets Boot from J.C. Penney Company Inc. (JCP)” has all the details on how the market has reacted.
While ex- J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) CEO Ron Johnson may be out of a job for the time being, his quotes still interest most of the people around the world. We have compiled a list of some of his best comments (Quotes via Quotegoat, 6amPacific, Quotes4life, and BrainyQuote).
Continue reading for his best quotes:
No. 1:
“It’s always about mindshare, not market share.”
No. 2:
“You can motivate by a mission or motivate by money. The mission will work.”
No. 3:
“Design works if it’s authentic, inspired, and has a clear point of view. It can’t be a collection of input.”
No. 4:
“If you do things well one at a time, you end up in a really good place. Don’t get ahead of yourself. Control the things you can.”
No. 5:
Innovation is this amazing intersection between someone’s imagination and the reality in which they live. The problem is, many companies don’t have great imagination, but their view of reality tells them that it’s impossible to do what they imagine.
No. 6:
“The core value that differentiates Apple is our ability to innovate.”
No. 7:
“The only things that haven’t worked for me are when I’ve held back. There’s no reason to sell an idea short. The only risk would be to not fulfill the dream.”
No. 8:
“The reason Apple is really good, I think, and the reason their stores succeeded, is not just ’cause we know the big idea, but we have a real passion for the littlest detail. It’s legendary in our products.”
No. 9:
“You need a very, exceptionally clear vision. And to me, a vision is something that you can say in one sentence. The fewer the words the better.”
No. 10:
“Apple has great marketing, among the best PR and marketing in the world.”
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