Dive Brief:

• Ron Johnson is reportedly putting together a high-end gadget-delivery business that would include an approach similar to his own brainchild, Apple’s “Genius Bar,” according to reporting by the tech news site The Information.

• And, according to reporting by the website MacRumors.com, Johnson may also be recruiting Apple employees in the venture.

• Johnson was at Apple for a decade and is widely credited for the company’s brick-and-mortar retail success. More recently he served for a short stint as CEO of J.C. Penney, where his changes were not well received.

Dive Insight:

Ron Johnson’s shining reputation as a retail savant was tarnished by his tenure at J.C. Penney, where changes to merchandising and pricing were deemed too severe in too short a time. But all that makes these rumors of a Johnson-led startup quite intriguing.

Retail delivery is getting interesting, with retailers and malls offering same-day services, often by partnering with startups like Deliv and Uber. The whole concept is still being tested in various places with a variety of price points and delivery promises, and it could ultimately be a flash in the pan. Still, the kind of enhanced delivery and customer-support services Johnson reportedly envisions could help retailers in brick-and-mortar or e-commerce alike.