(4 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)
Loading ...Earlier this year, U.S. retail chain J.C. Penney began completely revamping its business strategy. Under the leadership of new CEO Ron Johnson, the former head of retail at Apple, there were a lot of high hopes. The company began rolling out several changes including modifying its logo, creating a simpler approach to pricing, and also developing a new promotional strategy.
At this point, however, the new strategy does not seem to be working. Instead of increasing sales, the company has experienced declines.
According Martha Guidry, a principal partner of The Rite Concept and also the author of the book Marketing Concepts That Win!, the J.C. Penney’s new strategy wasn’t bad, but it was poorly executed. Guidry is known as “The Concept Queen” and told us that J.C. Penney hit a “sweet spot” with the whole idea of no couponing and constant savings. However, she said the company failed in communicating that message to consumers.
She pushes a CLeAR way of thinking that focuses on the critical areas of content, language, and relevance. As she explained to us, the idea was there for J.C. Penney, but the relevance and language were not.
J.C. Penney did recently come out and say that it plans to adjust its marketing message but doesn’t plan on changing its strategy. Although there are still some naysayers against the company, Guidry believes this is a good move. She said that if the company is able to communicate their “fair and square pricing” to consumers, it may be able to make its revamp work. But, she did tell us that she doesn’t believe this message resonates with the company’s target audience.
You guys missed the entire problem with J.C. Penny’s They chose to employ a very pro homosexually marketing scheme that has alienated them from the vast majority of the population. It has resulted in may boycotts and a mass exodus from their normal client base. Trying to be hip and cool by glamorizing what most average folks consider reprehensible behavior is backfiring. This is not a marketing strategy that wins. I cant believe your marketing professional didn’t know about this. At best that shows ignorance, at worst a willful blindness.
My mother has shopped at JCP for more than 50 years.
She use to love to shop at JCP. Now all she does is
complain after a trip to the store.
JCP got arrogant. Mom says she can get all the jazz
from Target or Kmart.
Friendly sales reps are gone. Pushing a 72 year old
woman toward a central faraway service desk to ask for
assistance at the back of the store is ridiculous.
Mother loved to cabbage around the store to find
spectacular quality items for bargain prices.
Now she has to struggle with just finding what she
might be interested in buying.
In our town Target is just steps from JCP in one
direction and Dillard’s in the other direction.
Mother has been looking in directions other than
JCP for her shopping experiences as she ventures
out each week. Too bad for JCP.
Chip, your opinion is so sad and so 1930. You missed the message they were trying to convey- fashion for EVERYONE. Your homophobia is your own personal issue and I genuinely feel very sorry for you. Maybe you have such a strong negative opinion of homosexuals because YOU yourself are afraid of your true homosexual feelings. See a psychiatrist.
Amanda has a good point. There were studies done on the anti-gay protestors with galvanic skin responses on their thing and they actually scored a statistically significant much higher score of arousal to gay images. Shadow boxing at its best. Please join us in the post-modern world “chip.”
This “interview” was way too repetitive. Everything was repeated three times, three times, three times. How many times do you have to ask if you think they did the campaign wrong?
Again, the main point is missing – The progressive liberal use of a gay spokeswoman and doing things such as having two gay fathers on the cover of a Father’s day ad insert is going to alienate buyers. If you’re gay fine, no problem with that, but the problem is that the average person doesn’t want to have their children think that being gay is the way to go. Most people want the regular, majority pattern of a straight child. If they become gay, ok, we will still love them – but we don’t want to have JC Penny help them choose to be gay. Besides, most people (except gay people), don’t want to send their children down a “gay” path. If JC penny wants to attract the gay community by this overt type of promotion of the gay lifestyle, they will and have , caused themselves harm in the marketplace. Oh, by the way their new pricing structure is just as bad.
Jcp is failing and I’m glad. I was sr management there for 7 yrs. Prior to the takeover and appointment of ron, the company cared about the customer. That is NOT the case anymore. Ron is one of the worst people I have ever known and is truely devoid of a moral compass. Ellen as a spokes person was a ploy to corner the gay market, there is paperwork to prove it. The thought was that she would supply an instant customer base because he was intentionaly caseing out the elderly because they are to “high mantiance” and that requires mor staff. Jcp has also put well over 10,000 people out of work thisyear alone. A large part of our business came came from associate who now refuse to shop there. I will NEVER shop there again and havent for over 2 years. I did what I could to make it better, when that failed I left. I do not see how anyone who cares about the state of america could. Of course this is just my opinion, and I wish nothing but bad things equal to what he has done to othera for ron and his yes men.
I was inthe Spokane, Washington JCP last week. It was great, getting the “sale” price without waiting for a sale! How many times in the past was I late to my
Kids soccer. Game, so I could get the “door buster” price??!!
And the other customers there had the same feelings! And when I asked the cashier about it, she said, “most of them appreciate the new pricing. Some
Of them don’t get it, but I explain and they see the benefit”.
So, ifyoudhopped at JCP prior to February, and knew the sale prices, check them out, and you will see the same savings. But without the time restrictions!!!
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The marketing rep missed most of what ron has done to destroy his company. Hiring ellen may have been OK, but the gay couples on the catalogs was over the top and pushed a gay agenda.. First strike Ron…….
Ron has cut so much staff the once helpful sales people are now shackled to their registers and unable to help anyone:( Strike 2 for Ron I shopped penneys because I WANTED SERVICE. Ron recently said penneys great service, no ron you destroyed that:(
I recently walked thru my close by Ross Park mall penneys:( What a MESS, its a pig pen of merchandise in heaps and on the floor, poor selection inventorys must be real low sizes and colors no longer in stock. I went into the fitting room and it was trashed, a employee said the jobs to maintain those areas have been elminated… of course ron closed the pittsburgh call center 450 jobs lost, thats another strike for ron. I guess the beancounters are happy ron bragged of cutting a billion dollars in employee costs……..
That penneys looks far worse than Gabes a local discount department store
REALLY penneys should immediately cut costs by firing ron johnson.
As long as he as at the helm I will NEVER spend another dime at penneys……
The customers hate what ron has done to their store!