Many politicians, actors and sports stars have experienced an annus horribilis. But when it comes to corporate CEOs, few have ever had as bad a year as Ron Johnson of JCPenney.

It's been about a year since the former Apple retailing executive blew into Penney's headquarters in Dallas believing that he had a secret formula that would do even more than rescue the company from its threatened place in the nation's retailing industry. Eager to start a "retail revolution," Johnson sought to simplify the company's structure and re-program the American consumer's attitude toward store pricing, discounting and promotional tactics.

A year ago today, at a splashy two-day press event in New York, Johnson outlined his vision for transforming the 110-year-old department-store chain over four years through "Fair and Square" pricing as part of a rebranding and repositioning for the company. But it's not working.Continue reading...

As countries like Bangladesh move up the food chain from aid to trade, the global eco-system fueling the fire, literally and figuratively, is largely the retail fashion industry, feeding the western world’s insatiable appetite for fashion. 

The November 24th factory blaze that killed 112 garment workers in an illegal factory in Bangladesh showed the world, as Reuters puts it, that “pressure from big Western brands to produce huge volumes of apparel fast and at rock-bottom prices, [is making] Bangladeshi suppliers routinely sub-contract their orders.”

As the victims — many of them young women and mothers, all of them poor — are mourned and the Clean Clothes Campaign organizes vigils at C&A and beyond as part of a bigger shame campaign for brands whose labels were found in the ashes, what’s really on trial, as the New York Times points out in a scathing article today, is ethical sourcing and a severely out-of-balance equation claiming the lives of impoverished workers with no options.Continue reading...

It won't come as news to the millions of Americans who go to humanity-choked Apple stores and try to find a blue-shirted staff member who might be unoccupied, but Apple's outlets are the most productive retail real estate in the United States, according to new research.

Now if its former retail guru Ron Johnson could finally just figure out how to apply some of the Apple shine to JCPenney, where he is the increasingly beleaguered CEO after having left Apple as head of its retail stores a little over a year ago.

Apple's store productivity has soared in recent years as consumers have flocked to buy iPhones and iPads, reports the Financial Times. As a result, Apple recorded sales per square foot of retail space of $6,050 in the year ended in June, putting it ahead of all other contenders, including No. 2 Tiffany & Co. and No. 3 Lululemon Athletica, according to data from Retail Sales. But even Tiffany finished a distant runner-up, with sales of $3,017 per foot.Continue reading...

When big retailers crash and burn, it seems they do so with style. The trials and tribulations of Sears/Kmart, despite its stylish moves into the fashion world, have been chronic and ongoing. Equally precarious these days is the fate of JCPenney.

In June, JCPenney brand president Michael Francis exited the troubled retailer after less than a year, in a shakeup that was seen as his taking the fall for CEO Ron Johnson. Francis, a former Target exec, along with Johnson, who formerly ran Apple's stores, couldn't combine their top shelf retail experience to effect a turnaround. On the contrary, the company's "fair and square pricing" (with the new logo at right to support the concept) essentially ditched sales and moved to Walmart-like "everyday low" pricing and twice-monthly clearance events. It was anything but successful. In fact, this lead balloon is now being replaced with a return to the more common retail strategy of a "sale."

Is it too little too late? The strapped J. C. Penney Company is cutting 350 jobs in its headquarters and selling part of its stake in Simon Property Group, a major mall developer, to raise $248 million in cash. Even so, the company is trying its darndest to crawl its way back into being a legitimate retail competitor, and that's where fashion comes in.Continue reading...

Chances are little boys who play with Hot Wheels, Mattel's line of die-cast toys, imagine themselves racing the tiny cars down the "V-Drop" track set that attaches to their bedroom door.

In an effort to bring that dream to reality — and extend the appeal of Hot Wheels to big boys as well — Mattel is teaming up with Izod to sponsor a life-sized version of the toys at the Indianapolis 500.

A 100-foot tall door will hold a life-size V-Drop track that will be built at the speedway, right inside the track. A stunt driver will drive a life-size Hot Wheels car down the track, attempting to beat a world record for a distance jump. Minds, of all ages, will be blown.Continue reading...

As reported by brandchannel, the famous fashion brand Tommy Hilfiger was recently rumored to be up for sale, and the likely buyer was rumored to be Phillips-Van Heusen.

Well it's official. Yesterday Phillips-Van Heusen, which already owns such brands as Arrow, Calvin Klein, and Izod, indeed announced it was acquiring the eponymous Tommy Hilfiger brand for about $3 billion in cash and stock.

Emanuel Chirico, Phillips-Van Heusen's chief executive, says this is "a unique opportunity to bring together two premier companies, each with iconic brands." The move also gives the company access to bigger distribution of its brands in Europe, since over half of Hilfiger's business is Europe-based.Continue reading...

The sale of Tommy Hilfiger, a leading premium fashion brand, may occur within weeks, reports the New York Post. The likely buyer? None other than Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation (PVH), which already owns an impressive stable of fashion brands, including Arrow, Bass, Calvin Klein, Izod, and Van Heusen.

Tommy Hilfiger went from a public to a private company in 2006 when it was purchased by equity firm Apax Partners. Of course, that was before the global economic meltdown pummeled retail brands.Continue reading...

By now, it's almost laughable to see every square inch of a NASCAR driver's racing uniform covered with sponsors' brand logos. But that's a testament to the popularity of the sport and the desire of marketers to be connected with it.

Indy drivers may soon be sporting IZOD apparel and nothing else, since the IndyCar Series has officially been renamed the IZOD IndyCar Series.

It has been eight years since the IndyCar Series took on a title sponsor, and it couldn't come at a better time. The once renowned Indianapolis 500 car race has lost traction against such competitors as NASCAR and the National Hot Rod Association.Continue reading...