J.C. Penny Co. reported a net third quarter loss of $143 million. Lasts year’s third quarter showed a net profit of $44 million. This is J.C. Penney’s first losing quarter in two years and it is combined with declining revenues.

This month, J.C. Penney welcomed a new Chief Executive Officer, Ron Johnson, who ran Apple’s retail operations. Ron Johnson did great work at Apple and is very highly regarded. In 2010, he received $700,000 in salary and his total compensation was over 29 million dollars.

Immediately on starting at J.C. Penney, Johnson has been performing a strategic review of pricing, products, and promotional strategies to rebuild sales and revenue. Johnson told employees that “I’m not here to improve, I’m here to transform.”

Since his appointment in June Johnson has brought in Michael Francis from Target Corporation to the lead marketing effort and has also appointed 2 former executives from Apple to  serves as CEO and as chief talent officer.

Right now, the company needs to attract customers. One idea to attract younger customers would be to start coffee lounges with complementary WiFi. This would attract the kind of customers who buy at Apple stores, a consumer base that Ron Johnson has much experience with.

Some of J.C. Penney’s major managers are Marie Lacertosa, Ruby Anik, Michael T. Theilmann, Michael P. Dastugue, Ken Mangone, Clarence Kelley, Janet L. Dhillon, Thomas A. Clerkin and Michael Francis.