Go to your eBook (pp. 489-491) and select Case 6: How JCPenney Sailed into a Red Ocean. For this discussion you will read and then answer ONE the following three questions for the case by Friday at 11:59 PM MST. Your discussion post to the one question should not exceed 200 words. Then please reply to two of your classmates’ answers in order to get full credit for the discussion. These responses need to be more than “I agree with you” and are due by Sunday at 11:59 PM MST.
The initial post is worth 25 points. The two replies are worth 5 points each. Total points possible for the case is 35 points total. *Students must post to the question before they will be able to review other submissions.
Questions:
- While all brick-and-mortar retailers face the threat of Amazon and online shopping in general, why did JCPenney perform so poorly while other retailers such as Walmart, Best Buy, or Target fare better?
- Ron Johnson was hailed as a star executive at Apple, where he led the company’s highly successful retail arm. As CEO of JCPenney, he applied the “Apple playbook,” for example, moving JCPenney toward the higher end of the market or going with hunches (“we didn’t test at Apple”), rather than applying more traditional decision making. Why did his attempt to change JCPenney’s strategic position from cost-leadership to a blue ocean strategy fail so spectacularly? What are some of the lessons?
- You are part of the McKinsey strategy consulting team that the new CEO, Jill Soltau, retained to help turn around JCPenney. What recommendations would you give her? In particular, what type of business strategy would you want JCPenney to pursue, and how would you make the changes necessary? Be specific.