That's the way Saks and Neiman Marcus are set up now - problem is, nobody has demonstrated that setting up a "mall-within-a-mall" will be an effective way to market to JC Penney customers, most of whom are conditioned not to spend unless they see "70% OFF!" signs in big red letters.
I expect Ron Johnson recognizes the American lower middle class is effectively dead, killed off by Obamanomics, and he knows JCP's days of being an effective competitor based on that demographic are over. Most people are moving down to Wal-Mart - and a few up to Nordstrom - leaving few consumers in JC Penney's traditional target market. To address this demographic shift, he wants to turn as much inventory management/warehousing/operations responsibility over to the "stores within a store" as he can, while making the new JCP brand attractive to Macy's level shoppers with more disposable income.
But I don't think he can complete such a huge transformation quickly enough. There is a "stigma" to shopping at JC Penney, and people who think of themselves as high-end consumers just aren't likely to ever go there. People who can no longer afford Macy's are likely to go to Kohl's, Wal-Mart, or Goodwill instead, depending on how far their fortunes have fallen.
That seems a pretty good analysis of the situation.
But, I have to add that we have already seen a change in our clientele. People who used to shop once a week or a couple times a month are seldom seen anymore.
The new clients we see are not enough to overcome their loss.
It is going to be an interesting couple of years. I don’t know if I will stay long enough to see all the changes, but as long as the paycheck clears, I’m good for now.