Ron Johnson Launching Gadget Delivery Service, Poaching Apple Employees

[rdlink]

That's a simplistic analysis. Granted the board panicked, but not without reason. JCP's maneuvering room for this "reinvention" was very limited and they were alienating their existing customers before they could cultivate new ones, and were losing money at an unsustainable rate. Johnson's plan was a swan dive into a thimble.

Yep. And as I said, that "swan dive into a thimble" was their last, best hope. They're dead on their feet. See: Sears, Montgomery Wards

 

[IJ Reilly]

Yep. And as I said, that "swan dive into a thimble" was their last, best hope. They're dead on their feet. See: Sears, Montgomery Wards

You can't say this with any authority, and the history isn't necessarily with you either. As was pointed out already, a phase-in plan might have been wiser than the swan dive. I tend to think this would not have dropped them in the middle of no-man's land. Also, JCP was counted out 15 years ago but they were able to overhaul their image at that time (less radically) and survive. Sears is still very much in business, though obviously distressed. Montgomery Wards was bought out by an oil company and run into the ground. This happened at least 20 years ago, so that one provides an altogether poor analogy for today's conditions.

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More likely that he took over a wildly different kind of retail outfit (JCP v Apple), and the transition didn't work out.

Haven't really heard of any ex-Apple managers doing well outside of the company with the exception of startups.

Not exactly a breeding ground for managerial talent.

Johnson's more applicable experience was at Target. He gets a lot of credit for upscaling their retail image. If I remember right, Dayton-Hudson was in a major expansion mode with Target stores at that time, providing Johnson with more of a clean slate.

 

[Eldiablojoe]

 

[TallManNY]

I suppose it could be delivered by a person who really knows how to use the device, sets it all up for you, shows you everything you need to know or want to know, and stays there as long as it takes. Downloads all the apps that you would need, puts your music onto the device, sets up backup, shows you how to use a password that cannot be guessed, and so on. All things that your UPS guy cannot do, but an Apple store employee probably can.

Hmm, okay. I didn't think of that. Shows my lack of imagination.
Seems a tough business. You'd have to hire people with tech and people skills and have them driving delivery. All the while keeping the service cheap enough to compete with free delivery and calling your son over to come set up your device.