NEW YORK —Everyone in the retail world wants to see whether Ron Johnson can work his magic a third time.
For 15 years, he helped shape Target’s cheap-chic image. Then, he spent about a decade changing the way Americans shop for electronic gadgets at Apple.
Now, Johnson faces perhaps his biggest challenge yet as chief executive of J.C. Penney: dust off one of the dowdiest brands in retailing to make it cool again. To do that, he’s borrowing from Apple’s uber-successful playbook.
Excerpts from an interview at Penney’s Plano, Texas, headquarters, in which Johnson talked about everything from the challenges Penney faces to what stores he shops at:
Q. Why Penney?
A. I chose J.C. Penney because I think it’s the single biggest opportunity in American retailing. Inherently, department stores have significant advantages compared to all other retailers. Yet, our productivity is at the low end, and that just doesn’t make sense.
Q. What was your first impression of Penney?
A. I would describe J.C. Penney as one of a handful of great American brands that seemed like it was dormant, that had been a great part of the fabric of America for almost a century but it just wasn’t modern. It wasn’t top of mind.
Q. Who are the chain’s competitors?
A. Our No. 1 competitor is ourselves and our way of thinking, which is informed by decades of experience. It’s not another store; it’s not another format like the Internet.
Q. How did you come up with the new pricing strategy?
A. Customers will not pay literally a penny more than the true value of the product. And as I have been watching the department stores for the past decade, I have been struck by the extraordinary amount of promotional activity, which, to me, didn’t feel like it was appropriate for a department store. My instinct was that it wasn’t a good thing.
Q. What are your plans to make the shopping experience more exciting?
A. We are going to make the store a place people love to come— just to come. Because they can get support before they’re ready to buy. They can get great support when they want to buy and they can come in after they buy. We’ll transform the buying experience, not unlike what we did at Apple.
Q. What ideals have you embraced from Steve Jobs?
A. The importance of doing everything you do to your very best. That the journey is the reward. 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.
