Apple, Inc.

By Ellis Verdi, president of the NYC advertising agency DeVito/Verdi

Here are the five lessons I learned from the J.C. Penney debacle — unfortunately we knew all of this before Ron took his ideas to market.

New York -- Apple has tapped Foster + Partners to refresh its store design, according to a report by Marketing.

The London-based architectural company has a history with Apple. It was hired by the late Steve Jobs to help design and create Apple’s new UFO-styled corporate headquarters, which is still under construction.
 

New York -- Three executives who had previously worked with Ron Johnson at Apple and then joined him at J.C. Penney have left the embattled department store chain in the wake of Johnson’s ouster, the New York Post reported.

According to the report, Mike Kramer, COO, Daniel Walker, chief talent officer, and Mike Fishe, chief creative officer, left Penney on Wednesday. The newspaper said Kramer resigned, but that it was not clear whether Walker and Fisher left voluntarily.

By Rafi Musher, [email protected]

By Robert Passikoff, president, Brand Keys

In 2000, the average tenure of a CEO was 10 years. In 2008, it was down to eight and half, signaling a slightly higher degree of corporate and brand accountability by boards and shareholders. Ron Johnson, the now former-CEO of J.C. Penney, only lasted 17 months.

New York -- Ron Johnson is out as CEO of J.C. Penney. In making the announcement, the company also said that that Myron E. (Mike) Ullman has rejoined Penney as CEO, effective immediately. Ullman, who served as CEO of Penney until late 2011, has also been elected to the board of directors.

Johnson’s departure was not all that unexpected given the chain’s mounting losses and sales declines. But it was still a stunning reversal of fortune for the former golden boy of Apple, who left the tech giant amid great fanfare for the top job at Penney.

San Francisco -- Jamestown said Wednesday it has acquired a real estate portfolio in downtown San Luis Obispo, Calif., comprised of 86% retail and 14% office space in open-air, multi-story settings.

The retail component, purchased from Copeland Properties, consists of seven assets, the most notable being Court Street Centre and Downtown Centre, and totals approximately 195,000 sq. ft. The portfolio also includes 28,000 sq. ft. of office space in three separate properties.

Cherry Hill, N.J. -- Philadelphia-based Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT) said that Soma Intimates recently opened its first location in the area at Cherry Hill Mall, in Cherry Hill, N.J. The 2,800-sq.-ft. store is the newest addition to a vibrant mall that is anchored by Nordstrom, Macy’s, and J.C. Penney and features Apple, A/X Armani Exchange, Crate and Barrel, H&M, Henri Bendel, Hugo Boss, J. Crew, Michael Kors, Sephora, Teavana, The Art of Shaving, The Container Store, The North Face, True Religion and Urban Outfitters.