Featured Partner: Roger Goddu
Ron Johnson, the new CEO of J.C. Penney made a splash when he announced that the department store chain would change its pricing strategy for the 2012 spring season. Reutersreported that the comment fueled speculation that the retailer will get rid of much of the deep discounting it is known for. But retail executives and experts warn that the strategy could alienate J.C. Penney’s core clientele. According to Roger Goddu, partner at Brentwood Associates, “If Penney moves to an everyday low price concept, they’ll lose a portion of those customers who only respond to price.” Goddu, a former Target executive, hired Johnson at the discount chain in the early 1990s. Goddu also commented that Johnson impressed him at Target when he re-thought the display of children’s clothing and made the chain a leader in that category.