News

J.C. Penney CEO Thinks Different
Jan. 30, 2012

With Apple in His Head, New CEO Tosses Out Old Pricing Models and Formats at Department Store

By DANA MATTIOLI - The Wall Street Journal

Shortly after taking the top job at J.C. Penney Co. last fall, Chief Executive Ron Johnson signed up for the company's email alerts. He was shocked by what landed in his inbox.

The former Apple Inc. retail executive was deluged by sales announcements, sometimes two a day. He and his team counted 590 separate sales last year. They didn't bring in shoppers—Mr. Johnson's team found the average customer purchased only four times a year—but they did crush prices. Alarmingly, he learned nearly three-quarters of Penney's products sold at discounts of 50% or more.

"I thought to myself, 'This is desperation,'" Mr. Johnson said.

Now three months into his job, the new chief executive is hoping to turn things around with a far-reaching but risky overhaul of the department store format in an effort to lure consumers back to a chain that's often criticized as dowdy.

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Marc Andreessen's View of the World Boils Down to Software.
Jan. 30, 2012

By Paul Sloan CNET Editor
 
From where he stands, as the guy who co-founded Netscape Communications and now co-runs the powerful Silicon Valley venture firm Andreessen Horowitz, no industry is safe from software. Or, as Andreessen put it in a much-discussed piece he wrote for The Wall Street Journal, "Software is eating the world."
 
Software has chewed up music and publishing. It's eaten away at Madison Avenue. It's swallowed up retail outlets like Tower Records. The list goes on.
 
No area is safe- and that's why Andreessen sees so much opportunity.
 
Fueling his optimism: ubiquitous broadband, cloud computing, and, above all, the smartphone revolution. In the 1990s, the Internet led to crazy predictions that simply weren't yet possible. Now they are.
 
Read the full article.
 
(Photo Credit: Andreessen-Horowitz)

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Miss Texas Teen USA, Danielle Doty, Crowned Miss Teen USA 2011 on July 16th
Jul. 18, 2011

 PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas, July 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ 

Miss Texas Teen USA, Danielle Doty, was crowned Miss Teen USA 2011 this past Saturday at the beautiful Atlantis, Paradise Island in the Bahamas on July 16, 2011. The 18-year-old winner is from Harlingen, Texas. The MISS TEEN USA® pageant was streamed online to a worldwide audience of over 100,000 viewers at www.missteenusa.com and www.seventeen.com.  

Las Vegas-based radio and television personality, Chet Buchanan and Miss Teen USA 2005 and newly named sports reporter for "Fox8 News," Allie LaForce, hosted this year’s pageant. Reigning Miss Kentucky USA, Kia Hampton, performed her original song written by R&B artist Ne-Yo, Better Be Ready.

This year’s distinguished panel of judges included: Katherine Schwarzenegger, bestselling author who published her first book in 2010 entitled Rock What You've Got; People’s Choice Awards President, Fred Nelson; celebrity dermatologist Dr. Cheryl Karcher; former head of MTV’s East Coast Talent & Series Development, Vinnie Potestivo; Senior Vice President of Special Events and Entertainment for Kerzner International, Michele Wiltshire; producer of Art Zulu, Lora Flaugh; and entertainment and fashion guru, BJ Coleman.

Throughout the event, the contestants competed in three categories: swimsuit, evening gown and interview. Kamie Crawford, Miss Teen USA 2010, crowned her successor at the conclusion of the two-hour live event.

Photo Credit: PR NEWSWIRE

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