JC Penney’s Ron Johnson was expected to save the major retailer as CEO, but 17 months later he’s out of a job. An insightful article from Time describes five major mishaps they made, most notably around their “fair and square” pricing model that eliminated discounts. In truth, it appears Johnson overlooked JCP’s core consumer who actually enjoyed the couponing game. The article is also quick to point out the lack of focus groups that could have prevented the oversight.
Tag: operations
PepsiCo Equips 4,500 Employees With iPhones, Improves Operations
Pepsi took a risk equipping 4,500 employees with iPhones in an effort to improve operations for their merchandisers. Pepsi’s app was created in-house and automates logistics like scheduling a delivery route, managing inventory and recording shift time. But Pepsi is not the only corporation to go mobile, as Lowe’s, Starbucks and others have used smartphones and tablets to improve communication and assist in transactions. We’ll likely see a host of retailers leveraging these tools to assist customers in-store as mobile continues to impact purchase decisions for shoppers.
