ron johnson

It wasn't us, it was him.

Yes, that man with the weird ideas we hired from Apple. He made us do all those things that drove our customers away in droves.

So now that he's gone, please come back. We beg you. We'll be the old JC Penney. The one you all loved.

Although maybe you didn't all love it enough to keep shopping there, which is why we hired the man with weird ideas from Apple.

But we were wrong. You were right. Well, many of you. We think.

This seems largely the subtext of a new ad released by JC Penney.… Read more

Ron Johnson, J.C. Penney's chief executive and former Apple retail chief, is out at the clothing retail giant, CNBC reports.

Johnson joined J.C. Penney in November 2011, after spending more than a decade at Apple, building and growing its retail empire.

That success did not equate at Penney's, where Johnson attempted to run the more than 1,100-store company as what he referred to as "a startup." That initially included getting rid of sales events, in place of fixed pricing. Johnson also tried to add high-tech features to the store, like free Wi-Fi and … Read more

It seems like a lot of prep, planning, and philosophy goes into Apple's retail model. Now, a leaked internal video proves this to be true.

9to5Mac spotted the video from Washington Square Films, writing that the clip never publicly aired and was only meant for the eyes of Apple retail store employees.

"Every great journey begins with a first step and we took our first step about a decade ago," former senior vice president of Apple Retail Ron Johnson said in the video, "we started retail."

Apple is once again on the hunt for someone to run its still-growing retail empire.

The company today said John Browett, who it hired from U.K. electronics retail chain Dixons, is leaving the company after a six-month stint.

Apple now says it's in the midst of finding a replacement, and in the meantime, its "retail team will report directly to (CEO) Tim Cook."

Browett started near the end of April, and was given a compensation package worth north of $61 million. It took Apple more than seven months to hire him after the departure of Ron … Read more

The Apple Store has been touted as the model for retailers. But a new report says the chain's ongoing budget cuts are not going down well with employees.

Citing information from a variety of inside sources, blog site ifoAppleStore claims that the stores are changing "employee performance standards" to focus more on sales and profits over customer satisfaction.

Apple's retail vice president, John Browett, reportedly admitted that the company "messed up" when it implemented a new system that cut hours for some employees and left certain Apple stores understaffed. Trying to reassure concerned employees, … Read more

JCPenney Chief Executive and former Apple Retail Chief Ron Johnson says physical retail's best days are still ahead of it and that online shopping won't keep growing forever.

In an interview at Fortune's Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen, Colo., the executive said online retail will "level out," giving physical retail stores an opportunity to offer things to shoppers that can't be had through a digital screen.

In remaking JCPenney in the Apple retail store image, Johnson said he's treating the more than 1,100 stores like a startup and that he expects losses … Read more

Voters chat with Obama on Google+ Hangouts, Apple surpasses Hewlett-Packard in PC shipments (if you count iPads, that is), and almost everyone would take your call while on the toilet.

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded:

As the former vice president of retail at Apple, Ron Johnson partnered with Steve Jobs to plan the first Apple store. Now the CEO of J.C. Penney, Johnson reveals why Apple stores work.

Writing about his efforts in fashioning the Apple store in a Harvard Business Review guest post, Johnson explained that a store has to do more than just offer products for sale. It has to create an experience--something that turns it into more than just a store.

"Any store has to provide products people want to buy," Johnson wrote. "That's a given. But … Read more

Apple is busy trying to hire a replacement for the retail chief who helped launch the company's Apple stores. But finding the right person could prove to be a challenge, according to a Bloomberg story today.

Working with Steve Jobs, Ron Johnson is credited with devising a retail strategy that led to the look, feel, and success of the company's 350 Apple stores and their Genius Bars.

Walter Isaacson's recently released biography of Apple's late co-founder recounts how Jobs and Johnson walked around different malls and stores trying to get a sense of how to design … Read more