Former Apple exec Ron Johnson wants to make online shopping personal with new startup 'Enjoy'
Ron Johnson, Apple's former head of retail widely recognized as spearheading the Apple Store initiative, took the wraps off a startup called Enjoy, which seeks to aid shoppers making online purchases.
Talking to The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, Johnson said Enjoy is a service that will change the way consumers buy "things that matter," allowing customers who start their shopping on the Web to connect with a product before making a decision. The strategy is akin to the "try before you buy" policy that has seen great success with Apple Stores around the world.
While he wouldn't offer specific details about the service, Johnson said Enjoy will help customers make informed choices, something lacking in the fast-paced world of online shopping.
"That's when you typically want something more than fast delivery; you might want a little help," Johnson said. "There's a place for high touch in a high-tech world."
A customer looking to buy a new GoPro camera was used as an example. According to Johnson, Enjoy will help consumers understand more about the capabilities of products with which they are unfamiliar, like more expensive one-time buys or devices packed with new technology.
"There's more to life than logistics. There's more to life than a review," Johnson said. "Just because we're moving online, it doesn't mean that need for a connection is going away. No one has really thought that through yet."
Rumors of what has now been announced as Enjoy first circulated in September, when The Information claimed Johnson was working on an eco-friendly on-demand product delivery service. While not completely dismissing the report, Johnson said, "We don't need another delivery service."
Joining Johnson at Enjoy are two former Apple execs, Jerry McDougal, who was a VP of Retail in Cupertino, and Tom Suiter, a creative director noted for his work on the iMac campaign.
A former Target executive, Johnson is perhaps best known for realizing the Apple Store concept, a major revenue driver for Apple that sells more product per square foot than any other retailer. He left the company in 2011 to take on the role of CEO at J.C. Penney. Johnson was fired subsequently in early 2013 due to slumping sales. Enjoy marks his return to the world of retail.
Enjoy has already raised $30 million in venture capital from the likes of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Oak Investment Partners and Andreessen Horowitz. The service is slated to launch in 2015.
Talking to The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, Johnson said Enjoy is a service that will change the way consumers buy "things that matter," allowing customers who start their shopping on the Web to connect with a product before making a decision. The strategy is akin to the "try before you buy" policy that has seen great success with Apple Stores around the world.
While he wouldn't offer specific details about the service, Johnson said Enjoy will help customers make informed choices, something lacking in the fast-paced world of online shopping.
"That's when you typically want something more than fast delivery; you might want a little help," Johnson said. "There's a place for high touch in a high-tech world."
A customer looking to buy a new GoPro camera was used as an example. According to Johnson, Enjoy will help consumers understand more about the capabilities of products with which they are unfamiliar, like more expensive one-time buys or devices packed with new technology.
"There's more to life than logistics. There's more to life than a review," Johnson said. "Just because we're moving online, it doesn't mean that need for a connection is going away. No one has really thought that through yet."
Rumors of what has now been announced as Enjoy first circulated in September, when The Information claimed Johnson was working on an eco-friendly on-demand product delivery service. While not completely dismissing the report, Johnson said, "We don't need another delivery service."
Joining Johnson at Enjoy are two former Apple execs, Jerry McDougal, who was a VP of Retail in Cupertino, and Tom Suiter, a creative director noted for his work on the iMac campaign.
A former Target executive, Johnson is perhaps best known for realizing the Apple Store concept, a major revenue driver for Apple that sells more product per square foot than any other retailer. He left the company in 2011 to take on the role of CEO at J.C. Penney. Johnson was fired subsequently in early 2013 due to slumping sales. Enjoy marks his return to the world of retail.
Enjoy has already raised $30 million in venture capital from the likes of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Oak Investment Partners and Andreessen Horowitz. The service is slated to launch in 2015.
Comments
Retail on the Internet is a complete mess, akin to the state of tv. Only when the web has been truly commercialised and capitalised will it come of age.
As it stands now, it's still the Wild West in need of civilisation.
Ron Johnson, Apple's former head of retail widely recognized as spearheading the Apple Store initiative, took the wraps off a startup called Enjoy, which seeks to aid shoppers making online purchases.
< Bla bla bla >
Enjoy has already raised $30 million in venture capital from the likes of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Oak Investment Partners and Andreessen Horowitz. The service is slated to launch in 2015.
Now HERE's where you need to invest your nest egg! Forget Sapphire! Throw all your kid's college money at Ron Johnson!! The man is a visionary on the level of Steve-o! /s
I wish him well but between Amazon and the Apple Store I'm pretty well all set. I have to wonder if he regrets leaving Apple.
Exactly what I had in mind. There comes a time when a person needs to realize that they were a part of something special and that they are not really that special on their own.
I totally agree with your Wild West comment.
I couldn't have phrased it better myself.
Leave the Internet open (well as open as it can ever be).
Seriously - there are people and companies out there greedily eyeing up a meal ticket for ever at the exclusion of any body else.
Imagine if you had pay some leech to advertise your business - oh wait Goog
Well you can dyi at the moment and very successfully as well. But what if you had no choice ....
F them. Keep it open.
Lol at Macky - nearly missed that /s
Gotta love that new term " high touch" roflmao
What a dick !
As it stands now, it's still the Wild West in need of civilisation.
Wh... how do you commercialize retail? I’m having trouble with these words, as well as the analogy. There’s already a single system of payment used universally. The fact that it’s handled by every company rather than a single entity is meaningless.
I like the idea of buying software within the operating system it will run on, rather than on the web, e.g. Apple's App Stores.
This could be extended, e.g. your wardrobe could have a clothes store built in, your pantry or fridge could have a food store built in.
The web is general purpose and, as others have said, the wild west. There should always be a wild west lowest common denominator platform to let startups get their start on, but more professional custom built services that are Internet based but not necessarily web-based, and are found where you expect to find them, there is a place for those too.
I wish him well but between Amazon and the Apple Store I'm pretty well all set. I have to wonder if he regrets leaving Apple.
I bet he does. He had a nice gig at Apple and Apple Retail was something very successful that he built. Now he can't get anything successful going. I'm not sure if he'll ever be relevant again.
I am curious to know why you think so. Are you speaking only from your British and Australian experiences, respectively?
The reason I ask is, I find Internet shopping in the US to be a (mostly) remarkably seamless experience. Indeed, I often have more troubles when I have to deal with help from employees at physical stores! (You'd be amazed at how many Best Buy-types populate this vast land).
To get round WSJ's paywall, put the article title into Google and then click the link and you'll be able to read the whole article.
Johnson still hasn't explained how it works or what the problem really is that he's trying to solve, it seems that he's keeping this part a secret - probably to avoid a competitor doing it first.
This article makes it sound like rather than going in to a store, they'll have trained people to bring a product round and demonstrate it or help you set it up but that doesn't seem very feasible. You might not have time to mess around with it at the point it has been delivered. That's why there are return periods of 7-30 days where you can try products out and then return them if you don't like them. You could also tell them you don't like it but actually do like it and get it cheaper on Amazon.
I don't agree with what he said about reviews entirely. They don't always tell the whole story but they often do let you know about problems with products that sales people would try to avoid mentioning.
I'm not aware of major problems with the way current e-commerce and delivery models work and for there to be a viable solution, there should be a problem needing to be solved. It'll be easier to assess it when he actually tells people what it is he's doing. There are things that I do prefer to buy in store (mainly clothes) but like I say, that's what return periods are for - they let you try the products before committing to the purchase.
100% agree. With Amazon, deliveries within two days for free, always to the door. If the product isn't right for any reason, what can be simpler than printing the return label and dropping off at the local shipping store? No cost to me what-so-ever, labels and packaging all provided. Refunds in days. Incredibly responsive system and no judgement.
I wonder where this 'wild west' is? If they are in USA they must not be using Amazon Prime or haven't discovered the return button.
With that description of the service, it sounds like he's targeting the massive population of elderly who are underserved at retail. In-home demonstrations? Reminds of the "good old days" of door-to-door salespeople and scammers.
For the purposes of this post, I live in Portland, OR
I've noticed that with a lot of on-line material. Even our local newspaper's paid subscription only system. You cannot get past the front page other than just the first section of every article. Their limitation fails if you access from their own daily, email using Constant Contacts or the like. It lists all the day's articles and all can be read, better still one accessed the whole paper is available..
OMG ... You think it's the Kirby Vacuum cleaner concept? That ranks right up there with [EDIT] Jehovah's Witnesses at the door, if not worse. That would be very scary on so many levels.