J.C. Penney is reversing two hallmarks of the Ron Johnson era by bringing back store uniforms and cashiers, CEO Myron Ullman told Bloomberg.
Former CEO Johnson, who once headed the Apple stores, had relaxed the store’s dress codes. As a result, Ullman said, shoppers were confused about who was a customer and who was staff.
Ullman plans to rectify that by having staff wear signifying red lanyards, and is considering bringing back store uniforms.
“We want to make sure there is no doubt who works for us,” he said.
In addition, Johnson’s switch to mobile checkout confused many customers, Ullman said, who didn’t know where to buy things. Many shoppers also didn’t trust the security of mobile checkout.
As a result, Bloomberg reports, Ullman is bringing backed wheeled carts for the busiest areas, most of which will have cash registers and a place to fold clothes.
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