tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32202893.post358289222292351880..comments2023-10-18T08:32:17.510-07:00Comments on Kevin Hillstrom: MineThatData: JCPUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32202893.post-89722715184121089032013-04-09T19:58:05.100-07:002013-04-09T19:58:05.100-07:00Great post, Kevin.
I'm new to retail, so I c...Great post, Kevin. <br /><br />I'm new to retail, so I can't show my work on multi-billion dollar company turnarounds, but I can share a little of an eye-opening book I was required to read as part of my onboarding to my new company. The book is called Winning at Retail (http://www.amazon.com/Winning-At-Retail-Developing-Sustained/dp/047147357X). <br /><br />It may oversimplify, but it stresses that retailers need focus on being one of the following: cheapest, easiest, quickest, hottest, or biggest. If you try to be all of them, you end up mediocre. That's what has happened to many retailers, especially department stores in an age of behemoth discounters like Wal-Mart, Target and CostCo who are very focused on having an "Est" position. And the other catch is once a retailer realizes they aren't in one of these positions, it's way too late (sound familiar?).<br /><br />It's a very eye-opening book (if only Ron Johnson had read it :p).<br /><br />Applying Johnson's "fair deal" strategy to the ideals presented in the book doesn't put JCP in a better position than when he started. They still sell the same merchandise (not Hottest or cheapest). They are locked into their stores being at malls (not easiest or quickest) and are definitely not the biggest. <br /><br />Whoever takes over JCP takes on a unenviable task of making them relevant again. For that to happen, it will take something even more dramatic that will position them as the best in something. I just don't see it happening. <br /><br />Marknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32202893.post-15356120879736432952013-04-09T10:15:50.771-07:002013-04-09T10:15:50.771-07:00'discounts and promotions are taxes placed upo...'discounts and promotions are taxes placed upon brands for being unremarkable' - love it!Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10050597990909449762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32202893.post-25988499769225984472013-04-09T05:33:42.628-07:002013-04-09T05:33:42.628-07:00Eloquently put, Kevin! No surprise that this has b...Eloquently put, Kevin! No surprise that this has been the the most thought-provoking assessment of Johnson's ouster and JCP's situation I've seen!<br /><br />I definitely don't have "the answer." If anything, I was skeptical that "the answer," as Johnson's strategy was articulated by the media when he rolled it out, was going to be a fix. That wasn't because I could say I had a better idea -- it's just that my sense was that JCP was struggling, some of that struggle was based on pressures largely beyond their ability to control (changing consumer behavior; the emergence of competitors with a totally different business model). <br /><br />My assumption was that there was a lot of nuance behind the scenes, that the simplified communication of the strategy was intentional...and that Johnson probably wasn't going to get the multiple years *anyone* would need to truly effect a turnaround (through a strategy -- and a near-flawless execution of that strategy -- that was well beyond my ability to comprehend).<br /><br />I wonder if, like many large companies, JCP needs to figure out what it is that can make them relevant. Where, really, can they offer real *value* to the consumer. I keep thinking of "Profit from the Core" -- which starts with really figuring out what their "core" is, and ensuring that that core is relevant. But, they're saddled with a legacy consumer base that they weren't able to make profitable, a failed shift to a new target consumer, a mall-based in-store channel...and a market now confused about who they "are." Ouch. I have no idea what that is (and, if I thought I did, it almost certainly wouldn't be right -- it's going to require very knowledgeable people putting a lot of thought and research into it to figure it out!).<br /><br />It seems like "CEO of JCP" is the next "CEO of Yahoo!" -- a thankless job (but, as you noted, with a downside that tends to include a hefty payout).Tim Wilsonhttp://gilliganondata.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32202893.post-29851811290555009812013-04-09T04:23:39.062-07:002013-04-09T04:23:39.062-07:00This is a great post - beautifully summed up by:
...This is a great post - beautifully summed up by:<br /><br />"So if you are an expert, you now have two problems to fix ... the old one, and the new one."<br /><br />I too worry about the power of promotional prices - I can drive huge volumes with these but it is going to be much harder to build more business on the back of a solid straightforward proposition.<br /><br />I don;t know anything about JCP so I won't presume to dream up a winning strategy. Robin Massiohttp://www.twitter.com/robin_massionoreply@blogger.com