discussion wk 5
Before you begin writing your post, you may find it helpful to review the “Want Your Organization to Change? Put Feelings First” (video) and “Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail” (Article – Additional Resources) items in this week’sExplore section.
Another massive loss for J.C. Penney
J.C. Penney’s new chief executive, Mike Ullman, has recently hired you to support him in leading change throughout the organization, as the company continues its fight to once again become profitable. Mike was very impressed with your first initiative after coming on board, the ”
Spiritual Leadership: Dr. Richard Blackaby” ad campaign.
Now, he has asked you to advise him on what YOU consider to be the 3 most important things that he should keep in mind as he designs and prepares to implement a number of major organizational changes, from the top down.
Another massive loss for J.C. Penney
By James O’Toole @jtotoole May 17, 2013: 8:08 AM ET
Former J.C. Penney CEO Ron Johnson.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
There’s one great thing about J.C. Penney’s last quarter: It’s over.
The struggling retailer lost a whopping $289 million for the three months ended on May 4, with sales plunging 16.4% versus a
year prior.
The losses came during a quarter in which J.C. Penney announced the departure of CEO Ron Johnson, a former Apple
( , Fortune 500) retail executive hired in 2011 in a bid to revive the floundering chain.
Johnson announced a series of new initiatives — including overhauled prices, redesigned store layouts, and even free haircuts
for kids — in an effort to revitalize the company. He ditched older brands and announced plans to to eliminate checkout
counters in favor of mobile and self-checkout.
The results, however, were dismal. The company’s losses this past quarter — $1.31 a share, excluding certain special charges —
far exceeded the prediction of 89 cents from analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, while revenue came up just short of
estimates.
J.C. Penney shares fell 2.2% in after-hours trading Thursday and were down more than 4% premarket.
Meet the new boss: J.C. Penney’s new chief executive is Mike Ullman, who led the company for seven years prior to Johnson’s
arrival.
J.C. Penney is now scrambling to close the book on the Johnson Era. A few weeks ago, the company began running an ad on its
YouTube channel copping to mistakes and pleading with customers to come back.
“We recognize the magnitude of the challenges that we face, and we believe we can put J.C. Penney back on a pathway to
profitable growth.” Ullman said in a conference call with analysts Thursday afternoon.
He pledged reemphasize the company’s private brands and improve the performance of its online store.
“Over the last year, jcp.com functioned as a completely separate entity inside the company, with little synergy between stores
and online,” Ullman said.
J.C. Penney has also moved to shore up its finances since Johnson’s departure, announcing a few weeks ago that it had secured
AAPL
Another massive loss for J.C. Penney – May. 16, 2013 http://money.cnn.com/2013/05/16/investing/jc-penney-loss/index.html
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a $1.75 billion loan from Goldman Sachs ( , Fortune 500).
Whether that will be enough to keep the business afloat remains to be seen. Shares are down nearly 30% over the past year.
The shift to online shopping has been tough on many brick-and-mortar retailers, with chains like Linens ‘n Things, Circuit City
and Borders going out of business in recent years.
J.C. Penney did get a rare vote of confidence recently from hedge-fund mogul George Soros, who revealed a 7.9% stake in the
company last month.
First Published: May 16, 2013: 5:13 PM ET
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GS
by Taboola
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Another massive loss for J.C. Penney – May. 16, 2013 http://money.cnn.com/2013/05/16/investing/jc-penney-loss/index.html
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