It’s official: Apple is out of fashion at JCPenney.
At least three top proteges of former Penney CEO Ron Johnson — all of whom boasted stints at Apple on their resumes — exited the Plano, Texas, headquartered retailer yesterday, sources told The Post.
As first reported by The Post, Chief Operating Officer Mike Kramer, Chief Talent Officer Daniel Walker and Chief Creative Officer Mike Fisher kicked off an exodus of high-profile Johnson hires that is expected to continue in the wake of his ouster, sources said.
Kramer — who said publicly earlier this year that he “hated the culture” at Penney — resigned as interim CEO Mike Ullman this week began to sharpen his ax, according to a source close to the retailer.
“[Kramer] left on his own,” one insider said. “Maybe he saw the writing on the wall.”
Walker — who as chief talent officer for Penney lured numerous senior execs from Apple with fat salaries and signing bonuses — has also left the retailer, sources said.
Fisher, an alum of Target and Apple who rose quickly under Johnson last year to become chief creative officer, is out as well.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether Walker and Fisher were fired or left voluntarily.
Penney officials didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Kramer had received an eye-popping compensation package of $33.4 million when he joined Penney, while Walker’s package was $20.2 million, according to company filings.
But with Penney’s results tanking badly last year, their compensation sank to about $1 million, and $731,000, respectively.
Separately yesterday, Penney insiders said the retailer suspended Johnson’s initiative to replace cash registers with iPads.