What is sad about that is JC Penny did have good quality merchandise. May not have been top of the line but mother’s got their money’s worth and things lasted a good long time. Even now I find stuff at thrift stores made from Penny’s years ago and even though they made be dated they still have life left in them. Does not matter if it was clothing, housewares, or linens. By far JC Penny was a much better store than Target. Why they did something that stupid I’ll never understand. Shows they did not know who their target (no pun intended) market was.
Well White Mothers are so uncool, while the gay and urban crowd are cool and hip.
The Stupid CEO’s forgot you are in business to make money, not to be cool & popular. White Moms need stuff to and they generally have more money than the section 8 crowd (Bed, Bath and Beyond is about the most uncool store you can get and guess what, they are doing well & growing)
Unfortunately a lot of good people who worked at these stores are paying for their stupidity.
When the policy deterioration took place I couldn't say, but it was well after I left. I had noticed their quality dropping noticeably about 10 years ago. Dress shirts just didn't hold up like before, and their variety of merchandise shrunk drastically. Like you, I do find older JC Penney branded products occasionally in the second-hand market, and yes, the quality was markedly better then.
Perhaps their market weakness made them easy prey for the sodomites to exploit, I don't know. But they have gone homo all the way since. Disgusting.
It's sad because this brand was such a big part of my and my family's life for so long.