Apple Retail Visionary Heads To J.C. Penney -- Excited?

What does Apple have to do with J.C. Penney? Not a lot, on the surface. But this week, the two are crossing paths in an odd way. J.C. Penney has just named Ron Johnson as their next Chief Executive Officer, and it could mean big, big things for their stores. Ron isn't nearly as well-known in the mainstream as someone like Mr. Ive or Mr. Jobs, but he made a huge impact on Apple. He's credited with dreaming up the Genius Bar and many of the subtleties within the Apple retail store universe, and these stores are obviously pulling in tons of cash from folks who just stop in for a glance.


If anyone knows how to run a retail shop, it's Apple. And that's largely because of Ron. Now, he'll be able to showcase those talents at a very different store. But the clothing industry isn't totally new for Ron; he came to Apple form Target, so he's been on this playing field before. Ron will be taking over starting November 1st, and he'll also join the Company's board of directors. He'll leave his VP post at Apple, and we suspect this movement will be interesting on two fronts. One: will the expansion of Apple retail stores continue on like they have been, or will we see the layout tweaked? And two: will J.C. Penney stores become the next greatest thing in retail?