Ron Johnson ousted as JC Penney CEO
One of the key aspects of Apple's resurgence under Steve Jobs was the rollout of Apple's insanely profitable retail stores. And the man spearheading Apple's efforts was Ron Johnson, a retail veteran who made a name for himself at Target.
In June 2011, Johnson announced he was leaving Apple to take on the CEO position at J.C. Penney. At the time, Johnson described it as a dream job.
Johnson officially assumed the role of J.C. Penney CEO in November 2011 and struggled to turn things around at the nationwide department store.
Now, CNBC is reporting that Johnson has been ousted from his role as CEO.
Ron Johnson is out as chief executive of the department store chain J.C. Penney, CNBC reported on Monday, citing a source. The company did not return calls for comment. The report did not say who would replace Johnson.
The report notes that during his helm as CEO, shares of J.C. Penney have plummeted by 51 percent while the company's market cap dropped from $6.84 billion to $3.49 billion.
While at J.C. Penney, Johnson attempted to implement the same magic that made Apple's retail stores so successful, albeit with little success. Johnson streamlined the company's brand selection and experimented with doing away with sales racks in an effort to lend an air of premium value to the J.C. Penney shopping experience. Johnson also went so far as to bring in former Apple executives Daniel Walker and Michael Kramer to help him transform J.C. Penney from a has-been department store into a premium shopping location.
