1. I have chosen to discuss and compare the department store industry. I have chosen this industry because I live in Southern California where the retail sector is a major part of business. Shopping malls are prevalent everywhere. I have seen and experienced all the differences among class and status. With a wide variety of demographics in Southern California, there are a number of shops and stores to choose from. Department stores range from discount warehouses such as Wal-Mart, mid-range stores such as JC Penney, and high-end stores like Nordstrom. I am going to discuss the department store industry specifically for Wal-Mart, JC Penny, and Nordstrom. Coming from a middle-class family, I have experienced shops at all ends of the …show more content…
Promotion consists of advertising, public relations, etc.
Place Providing the product at a place that is convenient for consumers. Place is the distribution aspect.
JC Penney: Product: Like its two competitors, JC Penney offers a variety of tangible goods for sale. JC Penney caters to its customers with higher end products at an affordable price. It is similar to Nordstrom’s in the types of goods offered. It differs from Wal-Mart because it has less variety. JC Penney offers clothing, bed and bath products, home items, clothing accessories, and patio furniture. Clothing is the main area of production for JC Penney and accounts for more than 50% of sales.
Price: JC Penney has recently decided to move to three kinds of prices: everyday, monthly specials, and clearances. They came to this strategy through a variety of studies. First, using past sales data, the company looked at consumers' actual purchasing behavior, and came up with what it terms “Fair and Square” pricing, which means shoppers can expect lower prices in stores at all times. To reach this conclusion, research showed 72% of JC Penney's revenue came from selling items priced at least 50% off. Thus, in the example cited in most recent news stories about the “Fair and Square” strategy, a T-shirt that had retailed for US$14 but typically sold — after markdowns — at US$6, would now be priced at a US$7 every day. Part two of “Fair and Square” means monthly deals, and in the T-shirt example,
'Place ' is concerned with various methods of transporting and storing goods, and then making them available for the customer. Getting the right product to the right place at the right time involves the distribution system. The choice of distribution method will depend on a variety of circumstances. It will be more convenient for some manufacturers to sell to wholesalers who then sell to retailers, while others will prefer to sell directly to retailers or customers.
In the past, JCP had, on average, one price campaign every day. The stores were full of sale signs and retail rise was getting out of control. JCP partnered with numerous exclusive collaborations which was hoped to bring about an expansion for the firm. However, due to the economic slump, the oversaturation of the market, and an expected lack of quality in the goods from the consumer perspective, JCPenney’s success was degrading in contrast to its competitors. (Sloan, 2010).
The industry we have chosen is the department store-retail industry. Within this industry, we have chosen the department stores of JCPenney and Macy’s. We find this industry, as well as these two companies, interesting from a strategic perspective. JCPenney has recently undergone a massive strategic restructuring in regards to its pricing, brand offerings, and store layout, pushing it away from the typical department store strategy of discounts and coupons. Its new strategy has become much closer to Wal-Mart’s strategy of every day low prices. Macy’s, on the other hand, has restructured with a push from the economic
This report presents data describing the differences amongst the two department stores, their fundamental visions, and comparative statistics. Macy’s or Dillard’s: Differences amongst these competitors There are several aspects you can analyze from each department store. Major pieces do set each one apart from the other. Brand names carried by Macy’s and Dillard’s from an average shoppers point of view can go completely unnoticed unless price is involved. For trend shoppers brand names can either make or break a retail store. It can easily determine if he or she will walk to Macy’s or Dillard’s because they already know the store does or does not carry that brand. This is consistent with each department throughout both stores and
Historically, J. C. Penney’s strength had been communicating the relationship between quality and value, in a way that the customer could understand. J. C. Penney lost this connection when we
J.C. Penney’s catered to everyone’s needs during all times, having higher class things for cheap prices so people can afford their merchandise. Reaching from kids clothing to formal clothing but being a leader in price. They knew that things had to be done about price gouging in the economy people were finding it hard to keep jobs and people were in and out of jobs quite often knowing that they needed to help everyone their prices remained lower than the competitions.
Department stores are not easy to manage, and take a whole team of individuals to run daily operations smoothly. Dillard’s success at the turn of the century came from balancing finances properly, incorporating a friendly atmosphere, and building its reputation as a welcoming upscale department store. In recent years, however, Dillard’s Inc. has surfaced in headlines for being listed as one of the worst companies in the nation to work for. With stiff competition and acquisition factors, the department store industry is not one to lag behind in and
The intensity of rivalry and the threat of substitutes are strong components for J.C. Penney to consider as they continue to strive for increased revenue and market share. Their two primary competitors are Macy’s and Kohl’s, both of whom have fiercely competitive strategies to be strong retail operations. For instance, while Macy’s offers a multitude of promotional deals and is working hard to choose products based upon demographics and geographic segmentation, Kohl’s is attempting to reduce their inventory levels and improve their marketing strategies in order to become a stronger competitor in the department store segment of the retail industry. In order to compete with their competitors, J.C. Penney aims to focus on their previously successful promotions and home department segmentations by bringing in new reputable designers in order to attract a larger customer base. Due to the fact that the intensity of rivalry and threat of substitutes are both moderately strong in the retail department store industry, J.C. Penney ought to be diligent in their implementation of strategies in order to achieve success in the retail business.
JC Penney had to undergo and withstand several competitive issues to include changing of brand image, selling strategy and marketing strategy. JC Penney also had to account for Environmental Factors to include: a population that continued to age and also unemployment rates. JC Penney tried to influence customers by portraying an everlasting sale. No matter how hard JC Penney tried to market their products, if people didn’t
Also after cutting out 60% of inventory mainly due to unsuccessful departments such as furniture, mattresses, and handbags Macy’s continues to lower expenses. J.C. Penney J. C. Penney Corporation Inc. is a retail outlet that operates department stores in many locations globally. It deals with product lines such as clothing, footwear, fine and fashion jewelry beauty products, electronics, and jewelry. J.C. Penney is the largest general merchandise catalog retailer in the U.S. and also sells merchandise and services to consumers through its internet website at jcp.com. The company was founded
“Macy’s is constantly drumming up consumer interest with another sale – I think they ran about 80 sales last year. They are well aware that the millennial customer looks for value in department stores. There were similar short duration sale events and other promotional efforts by J.C.Penney and
The recognized giants in today’s discount retail market are Wal-Mart, Sears, Roebuck and Company, and Target, and this paper compares Wal-Mart and Target. As the competition stiffens to capture market niches, these two organizations are heading for a showdown. This work demonstrates distinctive differences in company culture, promotion within the organization, lofty goal setting, and leadership styles between these two organizations. Although this paper shows a definite competitive advantage for the Wal-Mart organization, it will also demonstrate that Target
Macy's is one of the premier retailer franchises within the United States. To begin, Macy's Inc. is one of the nation's largest and well known department store chains. Started over 150 years ago, Macy's has continually generated excellent returns for its shareholders and employees. Currently, in the midst of a global recession, Macy's has generated huge profits with same store sales increasing 5.3% year to date. In 2012 same store sales increased 4.6% in the month of February alone (Macy's Inc., 2012). In fact, throughout the duration of 2012, Macy's is projecting even larger profits for its underlying business operations. Even though Macy's has experienced success with both its assortments and brand, its competitors haven't faired so well. Sears, due in part to part to a lackluster holiday season, has been forced to close nearly 120 locations to generate excess liquidity in an effort to shore up its balance sheet (Isadora, 2011).Other competitors who cater specifically to the middle class consumer have also lost significant amounts of market share as consumers trade down due to the economy. Macy's, with its ride array of assortments and products continues to grow as it attempts to capture market share from failing competitors. Macy's is also unique as it operates in a unique market demographic. It is upscale, but not to the extent of Saks Fifth Avenue or a Nordstrom. It is also not as low scale as a JC Penny
This component of the marketing mix is essentially concerned with the processes by which the product is made available to the consumer in a particular place. Other commonly used terms for ‘place’ include distribution and marketing channels. The terms are often used interchangeably since all are related to making products available to the market.
Although department stores have suffered the most at the hands of off-mall retailer growth, many are reinventing themselves. Key elements of the