Ron Johnson Is Destroying JCPenney

[Negritude]

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily...160736591.html

"He's caused incalculable damage," Davidowitz says of Johnson, who joined J.C. Penney last year after running Apple's (AAPL) retail operations. "The customers are everything. They don't know what the hell he's doing."

"J.C. Penney didn't need a revolution, it needed an evolution," he says. "You can't take an old line company that's been operating the same way a very long time and throw everything out the window and say 'now we've reinvented the company.'"

[nuckinfutz]

Negri please!



lol

[rhett7660]

I won't hold my breath, but this is the first or second earnings call for JC. I will hold off for a few more to pass judgement. So far, from what I have seen the store I go to is a heck of a lot cleaner which is a plus in my book!

[tigres]

I will say this.

I don't shop at JCP as the mall nearest me is more upscale and does not have one. I am not apt to go there, but it's a matter of connivence for me mostly, as I am not one inclined to go to the mall (except when I am visiting )

That said: I have seen these countless ads running on TV now for a couple of months and I recall thinking the other day when I viewed one again- WTF do these mean.

There seems to be no progression with the ads whatsoever. I thought they were going to tell a story at some point, but all I see is a glorified Target commercial/Old Navy, with a Box at the end showing JCP.

Honestly, nothing I have seen as a non-shopper has given me the slightest hint of actually traveling about 10 miles to my nearest one. (A different mall).

IDK, I hope they are rebranding themselves, but does anyone know what the end goal is? Are they trying to be compared with a Macy's? Are they upping the image to higher quality merchandise, or are they showing us whom do not shop there that there is a fresh new logo?

All in all as I have stated, I personally see no reason to go based on these ads.

[aarond12]

My wife and I are apparently the target audience for the "new" JCPenney. We can walk into the store (a new one here in Dallas) and both find something we like.

This wasn't the case with JCPenney in the past. They were almost like Sears is today: Drab colors, boring fashions, trying to cover the entire demographic. JCPenney is focusing on a younger demographic with bright colors and more up-to-date fashions.

Personally, I like the simplified pricing. I have something against $14.99 instead of $15. Now pricing in JCPenney is in whole numbers and they put little price stickers on everything in conspicuous places. I like that.

I hope they rebound from this because I like the "new" JCPenney.

[rdowns]

JC Penny certainly needed a revolution. Their current customer base will be dead in a decade or two. Just the typical ignorants thinking a turnaround happens in a quarter or two. I have no doubt Johnson will succeed. JCP will still be here when Sears/K-Mart is long dead.

[NewbieCanada]

Originally Posted by tigres

I will say this.


All in all as I have stated, I personally see no reason to go based on these ads.

But as you mentioned, you don't like shopping. You're not their (pardon the pun) Target.

I've seen dozens of Victoria's Secret ads and I've never been even slightly tempted to start wearing lingerie!

[iJohnHenry]

Originally Posted by NewbieCanada

I've seen dozens of Victoria's Secret ads and I've never been even slightly tempted to start wearing lingerie!

Aren't you even bi-curious as to how it would feel on your booooooooody.

[mrj412]

I personally like the idea of simplified pricing. Just tell me what is going to cost.

I stopped shopping at Kohl's because I don't like the pricing game. Is it going to be on sale this week, did I leave my coupon at home, will the scratch card be for 10, 20 or 30% off today?

They definitely need to do better at marketing though. They are going after a new demographic of shopper, but haven't gotten their attention yet.

[tigres]

Originally Posted by NewbieCanada

But as you mentioned, you don't like shopping. You're not their (pardon the pun) Target.

I've seen dozens of Victoria's Secret ads and I've never been even slightly tempted to start wearing lingerie!

What do the ads represent? Why am I going to want to shop there? A swing set and nice mowed lawn are going to get me to go? There is not one mention of what the store even sells in an ad.

[NewbieCanada]

Originally Posted by tigres

What do the ads represent? Why am I going to want to shop there? A swing set and nice mowed lawn are going to get me to go? There is not one mention of what the store even sells in an ad.

I'm not familiar with the ads themselves. Only one I've seen had Ellen in some old-fashioned gown. But I think my point remains - if you're not a a potential JCP customer and I'm not one either, our opinions of the ads don't really matter.

Case in point - I LOVED the "Dude, you're a barrista" Samsung ad that mocked iPhone users. But I am an iPhone user and intend to remain one. There's no ad Samsung can create that will change that.

Originally Posted by iJohnHenry

Aren't you even bi-curious as to how it would feel on your booooooooody.

Nope. If I had any curiosity about women's lingerie I'd be sleeping with women.

[MacNut]

Originally Posted by rdowns

JC Penny certainly needed a revolution. Their current customer base will be dead in a decade or two. Just the typical ignorants thinking a turnaround happens in a quarter or two. I have no doubt Johnson will succeed. JCP will still be here when Sears/K-Mart is long dead.

I always thought JC Penney was higher scale than Sears but not as expensive as Macy's. I didn't see them needing to reinvent themselves. Sears has distroyed itself by turning into Kmart.

[spacepower7]

I never really went to these corner/mall anchor stores since I was a kid and couldn't drive or buy my own clothes. Many years later, I hate the Macy's one day sales that are advertised every week. So if I go on the wrong day, I might pay 100% more? How about consistent pricing?

[Thomas Veil]

JCPenney got my interest when they started talking about lower, simpler pricing.

They caught my interest again when a some anti-gay Christian group tried to pressure them to drop Ellen Degeneres as their spokeswoman (she's a bad example for our kids, you know ), and JCP essentially told 'em to **** off.

For the record, I'm not gay, but I thought that was a wonderfully principled stand, something you rarely see in business today. That and their new pricing, plus the fact that I've visited them a couple of times and bought stuff that I liked, and got it cheap to boot, will keep me coming back.

[rdowns]

Originally Posted by Thomas Veil

JCPenney got my interest when they started talking about lower, simpler pricing.

They caught my interest again when a some anti-gay Christian group tried to pressure them to drop Ellen Degeneres as their spokeswoman (she's a bad example for our kids, you know ), and JCP essentially told 'em to **** off.

For the record, I'm not gay, but I thought that was a wonderfully principled stand, something you rarely see in business today. That and their new pricing, plus the fact that I've visited them a couple of times and bought stuff that I liked, and got it cheap to boot, will keep me coming back.

You make excellent points. I started a new job on Monday and this place is much more casual than any other place I've worked so I need some new stuff. I think I'll try JCP. Never been inside one in my life.

[DakotaGuy]

Originally Posted by rdowns

JC Penny certainly needed a revolution. Their current customer base will be dead in a decade or two. Just the typical ignorants thinking a turnaround happens in a quarter or two. I have no doubt Johnson will succeed. JCP will still be here when Sears/K-Mart is long dead.

I wouldn't be so sure of that. Johnson's actions created an 18% decline in same store sales in the last quarter. Sears and Kmart have never seen declines like that in one quarter. Even with all the issues Sears has they still have a much stronger balance sheet then JC Penney and own a couple of the strongest consumer brands in the US. I think the future Sears will become a much smaller hard lines only retailer with a focus on licensing their brands. Not sure where Kmart will go... probably eventually spun off to private equity and merged with another smaller discounter like ShopKo. I still find myself shopping more at Sears and Kmart then I do JC Penney. I like Sears for appliances and tools and in my nearby small city you only have two choices. Walmart or Kmart. Our Kmart is well kept and actually one of the newer ones so we call it our "Target" lol.

I predict one more quarter like the last one for JC Penney and Johnson will be looking for a new job. We will see. I always liked JC Penney and could find some good sales there. I must say I am not impressed with what Johnson has done. The traditional Department store business is nothing like running an Apple Store. Even with all of Eddie Lampert's management misjudgments at least he finally wised up and brought in Ron Boire who is a retail person with some turn around experience to try and right the ship.

[InvalidUserID]

A local JCPenney now has Sephora so now I don't have to fight the crowds at the other, busier mall.

Their clothing isn't really my style but my mother does like to shop there.

[rdowns]

Originally Posted by DakotaGuy

I wouldn't be so sure of that. Johnson's actions created an 18% decline in same store sales in the last quarter. Sears and Kmart have never seen declines like that in one quarter. Even with all the issues Sears has they still have a much stronger balance sheet then JC Penney and own a couple of the strongest consumer brands in the US. I think the future Sears will become a much smaller hard lines only retailer with a focus on licensing their brands. Not sure where Kmart will go... probably eventually spun off to private equity and merged with another smaller discounter like ShopKo. I still find myself shopping more at Sears and Kmart then I do JC Penney. I like Sears for appliances and tools and in my nearby small city you only have two choices. Walmart or Kmart. Our Kmart is well kept and actually one of the newer ones so we call it our "Target" lol.

I predict one more quarter like the last one for JC Penney and Johnson will be looking for a new job. We will see. I always liked JC Penney and could find some good sales there. I must say I am not impressed with what Johnson has done. The traditional Department store business is nothing like running an Apple Store. Even with all of Eddie Lampert's management misjudgments at least he finally wised up and brought in Ron Boire who is a retail person with some turn around experience to try and right the ship.

You make some good points but old line retailers need to change r they'll go the way of the bookstore. I'm betting on the guy who shaped Target and created the Apple Stores.

[DollaTwentyFive]

Ohhhhhhh Ron Johnson

[TEG]

JCP would be a powerhouse if they actually had a legitimate big & tall section, not just a few items, in select stores. Even Macy's doesn't have a consistent big & tall section, this would set JCP apart.

TEG

[Thomas Veil]

^ I'll agree with that.

Meanwhile, it looks like DakotaGuy is right. JCPenney's new direction is producing entirely counter-intuitive results:

'Fair and square' pricing? That'll never work, JC Penney. We like being shafted

You might have seen recently that iconic retailer JC Penney is slumping badly. You almost certainly have seen the reason why: A massive, creative and aggressive new advertising and pricing campaign that promises simplified prices.

No more coupons or confusing multiple markdowns. No more 600 sales a year. No more deceptive circulars full of sneaky fine print. Heck, the store even did away with the 99 cents on the end of most price tags. Just honest, clear prices.

Sounds like a sales pitch aimed at consumer advocates and collectors of fine print frustration, like me. As it turned out, it was a sales pitch that only a consumer advocate could love.

Shoppers hated it.

The campaign, which launched on Feb. 1, appears to be a disaster. Revenue dropped 20 percent for the first quarter compared to last year. Customer traffic fell 10 percent. Last year, the company made $64 million in the first quarter; this year, it lost $163 million.

Could we have a moment of silence please for what might be the last heartbeat of honest price tags?

Not only did Penney’s plain pricing structure fail to attract fair-minded shoppers – business reporters wrote with seeming glee during the past few days that it “repelled” them.

The upshot of the remainder of the article is that consumers expect to be tricked, to be told that a $40 pair of pants is a bargain if the retailer originally sold it at $80 and marked it down to $60. It's $20 off, so it's a better deal, right? Right??

Is this what we've come to? Are we this stupid in our decision-making? Are we so used to being yanked around that when a store tries to play honest with us, we suspect there's something wrong??

Sure explains a lot about politics, but I had no idea that sick attitude had taken over retail as well.

[rdowns]

Originally Posted by Thomas Veil

^ I'll agree with that.

Meanwhile, it looks like DakotaGuy is right. JCPenney's new direction is producing entirely counter-intuitive results:

The upshot of the remainder of the article is that consumers expect to be tricked, to be told that a $40 pair of pants is a bargain if the retailer originally sold it at $80 and marked it down to $60. It's $20 off, so it's a better deal, right? Right??

Is this what we've come to? Are we this stupid in our decision-making? Are we so used to being yanked around that when a store tries to play honest with us, we suspect there's something wrong??

Sure explains a lot about politics, but I had no idea that sick attitude had taken over retail as well.

I don't shop at Kohl's because of their misleading pricing and sales. Sad to see how ****ing stupid the American consumer is. But, as you said, the consumer is a voter.

[DakotaGuy]

Originally Posted by Thomas Veil

^ I'll agree with that.

Meanwhile, it looks like DakotaGuy is right. JCPenney's new direction is producing entirely counter-intuitive results:

The upshot of the remainder of the article is that consumers expect to be tricked, to be told that a $40 pair of pants is a bargain if the retailer originally sold it at $80 and marked it down to $60. It's $20 off, so it's a better deal, right? Right??

Is this what we've come to? Are we this stupid in our decision-making? Are we so used to being yanked around that when a store tries to play honest with us, we suspect there's something wrong??

Sure explains a lot about politics, but I had no idea that sick attitude had taken over retail as well.

I think what Johnson is trying to do is well intended, but just isn't working and he is losing customers at a pace never seen before in the retail sector. The thing I can't understand is that most (if not all) major retailers always do some experimenting in a few market areas to get an idea if a new layout or pricing strategy will work before rolling it out across their entire store base. Johnson went ahead without any testing and just rolled the whole concept out nationwide before any market testing. If a new idea doesn't work in a few test markets it's easy to change things before a large rollout. Now if things don't improve everything has to change again nationwide? He better hope things turn out for the best soon.

It will be interesting to see if the so-called "fair and square" pricing holds without big sales during the next holiday season when everyone else goes all out for the big black Friday events. I know I saw an interview earlier this year where he said they would like to get away from the 4 am opening and crazy discounts on that day. It will be interesting to see if they stick with that.

[sviato]

Not to worry, in the future there won't be any malls or grocery stores in random places, there will just be giant Wal-Marts evreywhere...

[Smug Boy]

Its' the economy. JC Penney has too much exposure to the U.S. consumer who is unemployed, financially over leveraged and plain out broke. Apple's exposure to U.S. consumer only accounts for 35% of its' revenue, still too much but look for this number to keep on shrinking.