Marathon Man
The headlines have not been pretty. The naysayers have been quite vocal. A judge's ruling in the Macy's lawsuit against Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia threw a monkey wrench into the Martha shop-in-shop plan. And a recent analyst report suggested the rollout of the critical brand shop concept may be delayed.
But JCPenney ceo Ron Johnson remains committed to the vision he laid out in January.
"We're in a marathon here," Johnson said during an appearance at Fortune's Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen, Colo., earlier this month. "We are going to stick to our plan," he told Fortune interviewers.
In the meantime, there appears to be a great deal of disruption within the organization - at least in the home department. Suppliers tell us buyers don't seem to know what they're supposed to do. We've yet to speak to a supplier whose business there isn't down. One described the situation as "chaos."
More worrying, Johnson seemed to indicate at the Fortune conference that downsizing the 1,100-store chain will be part of the transformation.
"We are going to treat it like a start up," Johnson was quoted as saying. "The only question is what size will the startup be."
I don't know whether Johnson has nerves of steel or just a very healthy supply of Xanax in his medicine cabinet, but I've heard him give two presentations to the analyst community since the first quarter's 19.1% sales decline was announced in May - and he seemed as cheerfully enthusiastic about the new strategy as he was when he unveiled it last winter.
Of course, there is a second party running this marathon alongside Johnson: activist investor Bill Ackman, who is credited with bringing Johnson on board. Ackman's Pershing Square firm is Penney's largest shareholder, with an 18% stake in the company.
After Penney's unlovely first-quarter results were announced, Ackman asserted that JCP had bottomed out and had nowhere to go but up. Nobody seemed to believe him, and the company's stock price continued to head south.
But Ackman spoke again late last week in defense of Johnson and the plan, telling Delivering Alpha conference attendees in New York that Pershing could make 15 times its investment in Penney, according to Bloomberg. That assurance buoyed the stock, if only for the afternoon.
JCPenney is a long way from the finish line, and more stumbles probably lie on the road ahead. But this is definitely the race of the decade.
Ivana commented:
how old is the ink on this paper.is it dry yet.he spend two million to keep it a seecrt.why couldn't he spend a few thousand more to have a phony made up.just wondering why it took so long.he hiding something.what did he sped two million on to keep seecrt.just wondering again
Bule commented:
.First word about the injury came in a smeettant from press secretary Robert Gibbs nearly three hours after the incident saying that Obama was inadvertently struck by someone's elbow. The individual was not identified.Obama received the stitches under local anesthesia in the doctor's office on the ground floor White House after he returned home. The medical unit that treated Obama used a smaller filament than typically used, which increases the number of stitches but makes a tighter stitch and results in a smaller scar.The president had gone to nearby Fort McNair to indulge in one of his favorite athletic pursuits, a game of basketball. It was a five-on-five contest involving family and friends and including Reggie Love, Obama's personal assistant who played at Duke University.Obama emerged from the building after about 90 minutes of play, wearing a short-sleeve T-shirt and gym pants, and was seen dabbing at his mouth with what appeared to be a wad of gauze. A few hours later, reporters who had gathered on the White House driveway for the arrival of the Christmas tree, saw the president in an upstairs window, pressing an ice pack against his mouth before he stood and walked away. After being inadvertently hit with an opposing player's elbow in the lip while playing basketball with friends and family, the president received 12 stitches today administered by the White House Medical Unit, Gibbs said.Obama's motorcade obeyed all traffic stops, the custom for nonofficial trips, during the return to the White House.In February, Obama, 49, was deemed to be in excellent health and fit for duty after his first medical checkup as president. Doctors reported then that Obama had yet to kick a smoking habit, takes anti-inflammatory medication to relieve chronic tendinitis in his left knee and should make dietary changes to reduce his cholesterol levels.Obama was told to return for another physical exam in August 2011, after he turns 50. In addition to regular pickup basketball games, Obama is also an avid golfer.Obama had no public events scheduled during the long holiday weekend.His stitched lip, however, could make for some interesting small talk on Tuesday, when Obama is to meet with the congressional leadership. The session originally was announced for Nov. 18, but was delayed after Republicans, who will control the House and increase their numbers in the Senate come January, said they couldn't accommodate the president.Medical help is always nearby for U.S. presidents. A doctor or nurse is stationed at the White House around the clock and accompanies the president in his motorcade and aboard Air Force One.Recent presidents have had a number of medical scares.George W. Bush choked on a pretzel and briefly lost consciousness, falling and hurting his head. Bill Clinton had surgery and used crutches for months for a torn tendon in his knee when he stumbled on steps at the Florida home of golf pro Greg Norman.The elder Bush, George H.W. Bush, was hospitalized for an erratic heartbeat while jogging at Camp David, a problem later diagnosed as a thyroid ailment. The senior Bush also collapsed at a state dinner in Tokyo, which the White House blamed on an intestinal flu.Jimmy Carter fainted briefly while jogging near Camp David. Ronald Reagan was shot in the chest in a 1981 assassination attempt.Former Vice President Dick Cheney, 69, has had five heart attacks since age 37. He had surgery this year to install a pump to help his heart work. Cheney said he has congestive heart failure.
Palm Warren commented:
Ron Johnson is making the way to rebirth the 1100 iconic store chains or destroying its reputation on the mind of US people.We will see the result in 12-18 months,that's the bottom line that the investors can give,good luck Johnson!
