J.C. Penney ditches appliances, Tesla cuts Model 3 price (again), and more top news
The news professionals are talking about now, curated by LinkedIn’s editors. Join the conversation on today's stories in the comments.
J.C. Penney plans to boost profits by reconfiguring its stores to focus on apparel. As a result, the company says it will stop selling major appliances by the end of February. The retailer will also scale back the availability of furniture to only online and select stores. Like many traditional retailers, J.C. Penney has been struggling in recent years against the rise of online shopping. As part of its quest to steady its financial future, it brought in Jill Soltau as CEO in November, from Jo-Ann Stores. • Here’s what people are saying.
For the second time this year, Tesla is discounting the price of its Model 3. CEO Elon Musk tweeted a $35,000 price for the electric vehicle — with caveats. The price, discounted by $1,100, includes “what the company says is $3,750 in still-existing tax credits” and thousands of dollars in gas savings, according to The Wall Street Journal. The electric car maker has struggled to lower the price of its mass-market sedan as the U.S. eliminates a popular tax credit for the vehicles. • Here’s what people are saying.
Spotify is buying podcast producers Gimlet Media and Anchor. Although the music-streaming titan did not provide details of the deal, Recode says Spotify paid approximately $230 million for Gimlet. The Swedish company released the news alongside its fourth-quarter results, where it announced an operating profit for the first time in its ten-year history, with Premium subscribers up 36% from a year earlier to 96 million users. • Here’s what people are saying.
Following uproar from workers and customers alike, Instacart has overturned its controversial tipping policy. The popular delivery service, along with DoorDash, has been under pressure this week from workers who say the companies are cheating them out of their fair share of tips. Under the previous policies, customer tips were being counted towards — instead of in addition to — workers’ minimum pay guarantee. • Here’s what people are saying.
Paying off student loans is one thing, but giving up vacation days to do it? That’s what insurer UNUM is betting a third of its U.S. workforce will do, when it introduces its new perk — paying cash toward debt relief for unused vacation days. UNUM says its employees carry an average $32,000 in outstanding loans and face monthly payments of $350; by giving up a maximum of five vacation days, they could earn about $1,200 in relief a year. And the fact that UNUM employees get at least 28 days of paid time off — almost twice the average for U.S. workers — can only help. • Here’s what people are saying.
Idea of the Day: The key to overcoming adversity is to never give up, says Operation HOPE CEO John Hope Bryant.
“Being relentless is like water cascading over the edge of a waterfall — consistent, powerful and by design, never ending.”
What's your take on today’s stories? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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Office Manager at Koppar Corporation & Art In History, Inc.
5yI stopped shopping here due to closing in mall and cost. I would have to drive 30 to 45 min to a store.
Post University
5yThat is good. There are enough stores selling appliances.
Brand Strategy Specialist | Attorney | Entrepreneur
5yI don’t believe retailers have struggled because of online sales. They’ve struggled because they have failed to stay relevant to today’s shopper. I stopped shopping at JCP because I disliked their products, not because I started buying equivalent products online.
Administrative Assistant
5yIt’s understandable that JCPenny would do this. Why would you buy a $70 electric kettle when Amazon and the Walmart next door has one cheaper?
Music producer/Composer
5yThere are those people who come in numbers to your business while you are big and fat offering new recipes for food. You ignore them because your stomach is full of the best food you could make. Still others offer you theirs and theirs taste better than yours and is more affordable. You can’t be told this, though. In time your food loses its zip, you can’t turn the pots like you used to and the other food people have moved on. And so you starve. We have to find time for others from the Apexes of our lives.