J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson
The case study is set in 2012 and 2013. J.C. Penney is a venerable American institution, one of the last surviving department store chains. But it has suffered from "profitless prosperity"--good "top line" (revenue) but great difficulty in bringing much to the "bottom line" (net income). Additionally, competition from specialty retailers has led Penney's to abandon certain lines of business (such as automotive repair) and face intense competition in other categories (wear-to-work clothing and household goods). The case study discusses the hiring of Ron Johnson from Apple in 2011 and the aftermath of Johnson's new strategy of a "curated collection of 100 brands" and change in pricing strategy from frequent sales to everyday low pricing. The case study also shows the aftermath of Johnson's strategy which was not positive.
Swot Analysis of "J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson" written by David Robinson includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Penney Johnson's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership, Pricing and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing commodity prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, wage bills are increasing, technology disruption, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Penney Johnson's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Penney Johnson's operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Penney Johnson's
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Penney Johnson's
Strengths J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Penney Johnson's in J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Penney Johnson's in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Penney Johnson's is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Penney Johnson's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Training and development
– Penney Johnson's has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Innovation driven organization
– Penney Johnson's is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Penney Johnson's has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Penney Johnson's in the sector have low bargaining power. J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Penney Johnson's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Penney Johnson's has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Penney Johnson's has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Diverse revenue streams
– Penney Johnson's is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Strong track record of project management
– Penney Johnson's is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Penney Johnson's to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Penney Johnson's to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Penney Johnson's has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Penney Johnson's 's lucrative customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Penney Johnson's has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Lack of clear differentiation of Penney Johnson's products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Penney Johnson's needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, David Robinson suggests that, Penney Johnson's is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Penney Johnson's is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Penney Johnson's supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Penney Johnson's vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Need for greater diversity
– Penney Johnson's has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Penney Johnson's, firm in the HBR case study J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Penney Johnson's needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Penney Johnson's has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Penney Johnson's even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Penney Johnson's is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Penney Johnson's can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Penney Johnson's is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Penney Johnson's can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Penney Johnson's can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Sales & Marketing segment.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Penney Johnson's in the consumer business. Now Penney Johnson's can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Penney Johnson's to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Penney Johnson's has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Penney Johnson's to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson case study. Penney Johnson's can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Penney Johnson's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Sales & Marketing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Penney Johnson's can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Penney Johnson's can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Penney Johnson's to increase its market reach. Penney Johnson's will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Penney Johnson's has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Penney Johnson's to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– Penney Johnson's can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Sales & Marketing segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Buying journey improvements
– Penney Johnson's can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Threats J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson are -
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Penney Johnson's will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Penney Johnson's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Penney Johnson's needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Sales & Marketing industry regulations.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Penney Johnson's can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson .
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Penney Johnson's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Penney Johnson's in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Penney Johnson's.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Penney Johnson's demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson, Penney Johnson's may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Sales & Marketing .
Increasing wage structure of Penney Johnson's
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Penney Johnson's.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Penney Johnson's in the Sales & Marketing industry. The Sales & Marketing industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of J. C. Penney: Activist Investors and the Rise and Fall of Ron Johnson is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Penney Johnson's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.