J.C. Penney Continuing Ron Johnson’s Vision on the Cheap

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J.C. Penney Co.’s new home department is like Technicolor Oz plunked down in black-and-white Kansas.

Dreamed up by Ron Johnson before the former Apple Inc. retail wizard was ousted as chief executive officer in April, the housewares emporium, which opens this week, features vibrant colors, wood fixtures and other modern flourishes. The rest of the century-old department-store chain? Not so much.