JCP reverses course, brings back sales

[vanillacourage]

Also - whut? and lol!!! to the bolded.

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Almost exactly one year after making a splashy announcement that it was phasing out promotional pricing, JCPenney (JCP) said yesterday that it intends to add back some of the hundreds of discontinued promotions. Specifically, JCP vowed to resume promoting by price rather than fashion or variety. In addition the company is introducing new price tags that include not just how much an item costs but also what competitors are charging for the same merchandise.

The ostensible goal is to recover some of the greater than 25% decline same store sales in 2012. The likely outcome is an even more confused customer base, vendors and acceleration of JCPenney's slide

into oblivion.

Successful consumer brands stand for one or at most two things. The trick for managers is identifying what those things are then driving the entire organization towards that vision. If the bosses do it right,  every contact between an employee and a customer has a set of fixed expectations. The employees know what they are trying to deliver and customers know what to expect.

Nowhere is this rule of business more true than in retail where employees have repeated and almost intimate contact with shoppers. The key to satisfied shoppers is setting their expectations with consistency.  A customer at Target (TGT) goes in expecting good prices and low-priced fashion. WalMart (WMT) shoppers come into the store expecting friendly workers and the lowest possible prices. Macys (M) stands for middle end department store shopping and gap gives you the basics in a full range of sizes. Customers expect these things because they always get them. Every time.

Shopping at JCPenney is an almost random affair. Some stores are new, while others have fallen into notorious disrepair. There are legacy workers offering old school retail service next to hipsters staffing shops within a shop. The younger customers the retailer is courting are mingling with the older loyalists.

By switching pricing strategies yet again JCPenney's only increases the confusion. In the last 12 months under CEO Ron Johnson, JCPenney has stood for a little bit of everything. As a result the brand stand for  nothing but a punchline.

[mbcdefg]

I don't think a Walmart worker has done anything other than grunt at me.

[RandZB]

Yeah, I have never expected a friendly worker at Walmart.

[Deleted]

Jan 30, 2013 9:51:45 GMT -5 vanillacourage said:

Also - whut? and lol!!! to the bolded.

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Nowhere is this rule of business more true than in retail where employees have repeated and almost intimate contact with shoppers. The key to satisfied shoppers is setting their expectations with consistency.  ...

Shopping at JCPenney is an almost random affair. Some stores are new, while others have fallen into notorious disrepair. There are legacy workers offering old school retail service next to hipsters staffing shops within a shop. The younger customers the retailer is courting are mingling with the older loyalists.

By switching pricing strategies yet again JCPenney's only increases the confusion.

I saw this new story on TV 2 nights ago and my first thought was "already?" I agree with all of this especially the bold.

 Customers are just getting used to the new pricing structure and they decided to reverse their decision.  Silly IMO

[Deleted]

I don't see why a total course change was needed--why not just add in some promotions?

I actually have shopped at my local JC Penney a bit this year since they removed the carpet in the dressing rooms and they no longer reek of urine. That was really the only change I required.

I did buy a couple of pieces of fashion jewelry that broke before I could even wear them though, so I am not going to buy that again.

[Susie]

In addition to the other lols, Macy's is a "middle end" department store? Isn't middle, by definition, not an end?

[simpsongal]

Thank God! I'm a little ticked b/c I already overspent on curtains during this stupid experiment, but maybe I can get some reasonably priced home decor from here on out.

Their everyday prices were higher than what I could get w/sales & coupons.

ETA: I hope they keep some of the updates that made the store seem more modern.

[jlt19]

I don't know what moron told them to get rid of "sales" in the first place. The only time I shop at Kohls is when I get a 30% off coupon. Sure, I more than make up for it b/c I buy a ton, but in my head, I'm getting a great deal. When JCP went to no sales ever, I just stopped shopping there. I need to THINK I'm getting a good deal, even if I'm not. I would bet most shoppers are like this.

And LOL to Walmart employees being friendly.

[chessie]

I figured this would happen. My mom has been shopping there forever and pretty much stopped once they had no sales, she will be thrilled to hear this.

[aspentosh]

I am glad they are changing it up. I kind of stopped shopping there except for clearance because their "every day price" was never the best price.

[halfpint]

Friendly...bahahaha...at WalMart? The most I've gotten out of a WalMart employee was the entertainment of watching a cashier pick his nose out in front of God and everybody. All I look for from WalMart is an available self check-out lane.

[niq]

Jan 30, 2013 10:17:44 GMT -5 jlt19 said:

I don't know what moron told them to get rid of "sales" in the first place. The only time I shop at Kohls is when I get a 30% off coupon. Sure, I more than make up for it b/c I buy a ton, but in my head, I'm getting a great deal. When JCP went to no sales ever, I just stopped shopping there. I need to THINK I'm getting a good deal, even if I'm not. I would bet most shoppers are like this.

And LOL to Walmart employees being friendly.

I think the new CEO is from Apple, and just wanted to try something different since being and mortar retail is in decline everywhere. Props for trying, but selling clothing store can get anywhere is different than selling the Phone that everyone wants and can't get anywhere else.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using proboards

[sunshine608]

I'm kinda of sad about this. I enjoyed the lack of all the obnoxious sales price signs everywhere and having to guess how much something cost or find a scanner.

[Deleted]

I didn't even notice their new pricing structure. I went there in December and they had stuff marked down. What did I miss?

I kind of love their modern decor and complete overhaul of the store here, and a Sephora, that helps.

[statlerwaldorf]

I've met some friendly Walmart workers. I was a merchandiser at a couple different Walmart stores for a while. The only thing I expect when I go to Walmart is to have a bunch of registers with only 2 or 3 open and the oldest, slowest employee I've ever seen running the express lane.

[statlerwaldorf]

Jan 30, 2013 10:45:26 GMT -5 sunshine608 said:

I'm kinda of sad about this. I enjoyed the lack of all the obnoxious sales price signs everywhere and having to guess how much something cost or find a scanner.

Yes.  This is why I don't shop at Kohls.  I actually really like JCP.  DH wears big and tall sizes and it's the only store around here that carries his sizes.  The brands seem to hold up well and don't shrink.  One thing I don't like is that the children's departments are too small and full of graphic tees.  They also have cut back on their home sections.  I like bright colorful towels and all they had were black, white, and pastels.

[mrssandro]

I really did stop going there once the sales stopped. I previously was a JCP fan. So I started shopping at Macy's. I now likes Macy's more than JCP.

[stephm0188]

When JC Penney can come up with some decent clothing that doesn't make me look like a grandma, I might return.

I appreciate that their Fiestaware is $28 for a place setting though instead of $50something like Kohl's.

[sicilygirl]

It seriously blows my mind that people would rather have a million coupons and sales to deal with than just pay an "everyday low price" because they feel like they are getting a better deal.

[calico]

Well damn. I liked being able to just read the price on the tag and know how much it was going to be. What I didn't like, and the cause of not shopping there as much, is they got too trendy with some clothing and didn't keep the nice basic staples around. Not to mention that they changed the cut of their work trousers last year and the new fit did not fit my fat ass.

[mrssandro]

Jan 30, 2013 12:42:16 GMT -5 sicilygirl said:

It seriously blows my mind that people would rather have a million coupons and sales to deal with than just pay an "everyday low price" because they feel like they are getting a better deal.

But how do you know you are getting the "everyday low price"? Unless you have a visual security of seeing the discount it doesn't commute to many that they are really getting a good deal. I think with any bargain shopping you get that rush when you feel like you got a good deal on something. 

[WOT?*]

I hadn't shopped there in ages until recently. Since the girls moved in with me I bought several hundred dollars worth of clothes at just a few dollars each, mostly on clearance but they had some cute stuff at retail price that I thought was reasonably priced and so bought them because the girls liked or I thought they would like them. I went in to buy a pair of cheap shoes for DS1 because she needed shoes and I'm not buying super-expensive for an adult who should be buying her own shoes, and walked out with complete outfits for "Monster High" girls for Halloween at $10/kid that still get worn because the girls loved the stuff. There was so much cute kid stuff that I've been back repeatedly and bought by the bag at just a few dollars per item. Even the retail stuff I don't think was unreasonably priced, and it saves waiting, couponing, price-matching and all the other "challenges" to get a good price.

[dexteroni]

Jan 30, 2013 13:18:55 GMT -5 mrssandro said:

Jan 30, 2013 12:42:16 GMT -5 sicilygirl said:

It seriously blows my mind that people would rather have a million coupons and sales to deal with than just pay an "everyday low price" because they feel like they are getting a better deal.

But how do you know you are getting the "everyday low price"? Unless you have a visual security of seeing the discount it doesn't commute to many that they are really getting a good deal. I think with any bargain shopping you get that rush when you feel like you got a good deal on something. 

That's kind of the point of the everyday low price - you know what the price is, every day.  When there are constant sales and coupons, that's when you never know if you can get a better deal if you just wait a week or two.

I wish they could have made this work, but I understand that department stores have spent decades building a shopping psychology that makes this kind of change very difficult.  I thought I read that the CEO wanted to stay the course, so I'm guessing the board forced his hand.

I tried to start shopping there after they made this change, and the store did look a lot nicer without all the sale signs. It also seemed like they had remodeled to make the decor slightly more tasteful. But the reality was that it's still JCPenney merchandise, which I didn't really like before this switch, and I still didn't really like after it.  Even some clothes that looked super cute in the ads looked cheapo in person. 

[WOT?*]

But for kids clothes, they don't care and it's good for only a year before they outgrow it anyway. They just want the fads and to be sparkly or monster-trucky and stuff.

I haven't looked at the grown-up stuff because I've not had a need for any of it. But there has been some stuff I thought was cute, even in person with a quick perusal. Nothing I'd buy and expect to last though.

[Deleted]

My mom is pissed at JCP because they sold her a really great bedding set from Some Famous Designer for JCP and then when she went back to get more it turns out they don't sell anything from that designer anymore. Bring back cheap nice bedding!

[BlueNotebook]

I didn't have much faith that what they were offering was the everyday 'best price'. There were several things I had bought for DD through multiple sizes, like shoes, that suddenly went up in price after the switch. I'm talking toddler shoes that were always $10 suddenly being $15 or more. since the only things i could confidently know the before and after prices went up, I doubted the rest of it.

[stumpy]

I used to get all my solid crew and v neck tees at JCP. They were great b/c they came in a lot of colors and had them in petites which was a huge deal. Granted, I normally bought them online.
I liked their sales and deals and I had heard they they were going to lose the everyday price right after a year b/c it immediately backfired on them.

I actually went to their store last weekend to get some fat pants (don't judge!) and they were still cheap.
The sales people even had ipods (they looked like iphones but they called them ipods) and I didn't even have to go to the register. It was so odd to have some random sales associate swipe my credit card in JCP.

[Miss Phryne Fisher]

I think JCP is trying to differentiate itself from Kohl's. Kohls puts an outrageous price on an item and then marks it "way down", calls it a sale, puts out coupons, etc. It is so transparent, and JCP used to do the same thing. I prefer the way they are now. I love coupons but I don't appreciate the Kohl's song and dance at all.

My JCP has Sephora and they will be getting Joe Fresh clothes soon, I like their kids clothes a lot and am pretty excited.