Posted on 12/26/2012 3:28:17 PM PST by Morgana
Former retail titan JCPenney (JCP) is in trouble. The 1,100 store mall staple is in the middle of a radical redesign under CEO Ron Johnson, who led the roll-out of Apple's wildly successful retail locations prior to coming to JCP. In an investor presentation at the beginning of 2012, Johnson promised to do nothing short of re-invent the department store concept. But it hasn't worked out that way.
JCP stock is down more than 40% in 2012, sales are collapsing, and employee enthusiasm has deteriorated to the point that the company was forced to announce in an SEC filing that morale was an actual threat to operations. It doesn't have to end this way, however. JCP can save itself, but only if it acts fast and with a decisiveness that has so far eluded the chain during its revamp.
In the attached clip, OptionMonster.com co-founder Jon Najarian and I discuss the future of JCP and whether or not Ron Johnson is the right man to lead a rebirth of the venerable chain. Here's a three step process that gives JCP its last, best chance to save itself:
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
The difference is that the people that might not go to Target (some) wouldn’t be caught dead in Wal-mart or K-mart. JCP is directly in competition with Macy’s, Kohl’s and Sears - so there are easy (and very comparable) choices.
>>But we were really “turned off” by your recent homosexual-oriented catalog.
Why do that?>>
I was too. But, I had discovered a few years ago that their merchandise was definitely not as good as it had been in my opinion. Their Father’s Day was the final insult to me.
>>But we were really “turned off” by your recent homosexual-oriented catalog.
Why do that?>>
I was too. But, I had discovered a few years ago that their merchandise was definitely not as good as it had been in my opinion. Their Father’s Day was the final insult to me.
well JCP will definitely throw the baby out with the bathwater if its merchandise quality declines
the merchandise has always been JCP’s attraction. it never went into high styles or much of the latest fashion trends. we went to Penneys to get good stuff, period. nothing especially fancy, just reliable goods really
(the last clothing and drapes we got there, within the last couple years, also an electric blanket, all were good...)
but yes, if the quality goes down, the customers will go elsewhere
Sure is a strange strategy. I shop JCP because their clothes actually fit me without alterations. 10P is my size, rather small. Other stores carry that size, of course, but only JCP does it right for me.
It’s getting harder to shop there for a couple of reasons. 1. Their petite department has shrunk considerably in the lasts couple of years, and 2. You can rarely find anyone working there. Not even cashiers, which raises my eyebrows a lot...how many customers are just stealing stuff? Would play havoc with the bottom line.
I never read ads, have no clue how gay or ungay they are. But if they go under, I’m going to be really ticked.
Shoddy is true everywhere. Everything is junk. Unless you buy top-of-the-line merchandise at inflated prices, and half of that is junk too. Thanks so much, 1 percenters.
You mean Gay C Penney’s in trouble? Who’d a thunk it?
Hmmm.....Maybe it’s because they chose to cater to 2% of the population (most of whom would rather be boiled in oil than caught in a JCP) at the expense of the other 98%.
And it’s not just the ad campaigns - I used to be a regular customer, as they had decent clothes in “big and tall” sizes at decent prices. Just checked out a couple of local JCP’s before Christmas - they have almost nothing that I would take for free in my size, let alone anything I would pay for, and everything is overpriced. I’ll stick with Belks from now on I guess.
Activist homos destroy everything they touch - EVERYTHING.
My Mom and I used to shop there, and my Mom used to love to go there. She refuses to shop there now that they did the two moms Mother’s Day ad and the two dads Father’s Day ad. JCP became obsessed with promoting an agenda as opposed to just selling clothes, and while they felt confident in being able to make money with the young and liberals and alright with alienating Christians, it doesn’t seem to be working out for them.
I googled made in america clothing and got lots of possibilities AND I found a willing and excellent seamstress who was more than happy to make some clothes for me
Multiple reasons for the demise of JCP:
1). Store locations in malls where sales are declining due to safety issues.
2). Kohls now dominates mid tier retailing haven taken substantial market share from JCP, Sears, and the now defunct Mervyns. Other “value” retailers such as Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, Target, factory outlet stores and even Goodwill stores are stealing business from JCP. Most of these store locations are not in traditional malls.
3). Most important, the product selection. People shop stores where the products are differentiated and the price/value relationship fits their needs. JCP has allowed the product quality and design creativity of its house brands to decline to the point where it’s products are not differentiated. . It’s product assortment looks the same as what is available elsewhere at a lower price. Plus the customer service has declined to the point it is no better than other stores. Why go to a mall to shop JCP when you can go to Kohls, Marshall’s, or Target in a strip center and pay less for the same merchandise? Even better, why not shop online where you can easily compare price and in many cases get free shipping to your home?
Stores die when they are no longer relevant to their target customers. Middle class Americans have other and better options than JCP. It will soon go the way of Circuit City, Mervyn’s, Woolworth’s, and most hometown department stores. Don’t expect Mr. Johnson, a wealthy corporate executive, to understand middle class tastes, needs, or shopping preferences. His advertising campaigns and product selections reflect the consumers he understands. Unfortunately for Mr. Johnson the consumers he wants will never shop at JCP because they don’t go to malls where middle class Americans used to shop.
Well, that's sure changed (see my comment #27). Actually, that's precisely what my family is looking for -- modest, traditional designs.
It’s all about perception. It’s hard getting younger people (or even the 50-ish like me) back into a store when you remember it as the place where grandma got those really bad polyester pant suits with the hideous flowered appliqués. I may be in my 50’s and don’t want to dress like a teenager but I don’t want to look like I’m boarding the bus from the rest home to go to bingo night. And I have been to both JCP and Sears since the 70’s & 80’s but can’t remember the last time I bought anything at either. I received a gift card for Sears just a couple of years ago and couldn’t find any clothing I wanted so I bought a frying pan. The last time I looked at clothes at JCP, also within the last few years, the women’s fashions were either hoochie or dowdy and overprice for the quality. JCP and Sears used to be good places to buy kids clothes but I can buy very nice and not at all hoochie looking kids clothes at a number of other retailers for a much better price and shopping experience.
“absent any real change in their stores, selection, prices and having a better on-line presence”
I think it's safe to say all those things have changed at both Sears and JCP since the 70s and 80s.
Not really. Sears and JCP have websites and you can order some items on-line but neither has the sort of web presence nor the types of services that retailers like Wal-Mart or Target offers.
A good example of what I’m talking about is a recent purchase I made – a 6qt slow cooker with a lid that locks down for travel. Sears has it on their website for $48.59 but if I ordered it today, the earliest I’d get it is January 11th and no free shipping and when I put in my zip code to pull up info for the closest store to me, all it says is it’s “available for shipping” to that store but doesn’t tell me if that item is in stock at that store if I wanted to buy it today. JCP has this item on their website as well for $30.00, 1 week to ship, no free shipping to home or shipping to store and when I pull up the closest JCP stores, they all say “unavailable”. Neither Sears nor JCP websites are particularly well designed and seem more like an afterthought like many other department stores.
Wal-Mart has the same cooker for $28.94 but it is currently out of stock and not carried at my local store, but I can request to be emailed when it is available and have it shipped for free to my local store for pickup. Target has it for $24.99 online and can be shipped for 1 day delivery at a premium but it is also listed as in stock at the Target closest to me.
And perhaps even better, I can order from Amazon for $29.00 with my Prime Account and get it shipped for free in two days.
In fact for the last couple of years now, I’ve done all my Christmas shopping and made a lot of other purchases through Amazon.
I think you summed it up quite nicely.
Step 1 - ditch the dyke.
Alienating 95% of the population to appeal to 5% isn’t a winning sales strategy.
“I can’t stand the fact that the signage in the store is in English and Spanish. Same with Sears. I don’t believe in catering to immigrants who refuse to learn the language.”
Me too, but it is Hispanics that are having the kids now, since use whities have checked-out of that pursuit (by and large) in our quest to make lots of money, have a bigger house than the Jones’s, and have more toys - so no retailer in his right mind would ignore that market.
In Chino CA they have opened a Sears Appliance show room. Just Appliances in what was formally a 3000 sq ft. Hallmark store. That maybe Sears future, Appliances only, small show rooms shipping product out of Warehouses direct to Homes.
She looks more and more like a man whenever I see her.
Yet she does not like men. I don’t understand that.
The quality of their clothing went down. They just don’t care about their customers anymore. What a waste. I used to love shopping JC Penny.
Get it right: Allen Edmonds.
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