California Management Review
California Management Review is a premier academic management journal published at UC Berkeley
by David Robinson
The case study is set in 2012 and 2013. J.C. Penney is a venerable American institution, one of the last surviving department store chains. But it has suffered from 'profitless prosperity'--good 'top line' (revenue) but great difficulty in bringing much to the 'bottom line' (net income). Additionally, competition from specialty retailers has led Penney's to abandon certain lines of business (such as automotive repair) and face intense competition in other categories (wear-to-work clothing and household goods). The case study discusses the hiring of Ron Johnson from Apple in 2011 and the aftermath of Johnson's new strategy of a 'curated collection of 100 brands' and change in pricing strategy from frequent sales to everyday low pricing. The case study also shows the aftermath of Johnson's strategy which was not positive.
Pub Date: Jun 29, 2014
Revision Date: Jun 23, 2014
Discipline: Marketing
Subjects: Retail, Leadership, Marketing, Consumer behavior, Consumers, Market positioning, Pricing, Pricing strategy
Product #: B5808-PDF-ENG
Industry: Retail trade
Geography: United States, Texas
Length: 14 page(s)
