Economics

The company keeps real estate costs low by staying away from desirable locations to accommodate its average smalls stores. Trader Joe’s takes prides in the way they cut costs and maintain its economical ways to benefit everyone. One of their slogans is “Every penny we save is a penny you save and our CEO doesn’t even have a secretary.” (Organizational Behavior 2014, p.499) There are many ways in which they fight to maintain keeping costs low. The company searches out delicious unusual foods from around the world and then directly deals with the manufacturers to make a contract. The company puts their own label and then makes it a house brand. Then they make each product a tester and if people like the product, it gets to stay on the shelf. This low overhead approach is what keeps the company going. What the company does not do is sacrifice quality, there house brands have been a success due to them taking risks. There are about fifteen new products put out on the shelves every week, but they make sure when one product goes out on the shelf, another product goes off the shelf. Therefore, the products that do not sell get taken off. They will even bring back discontinued products if customers request

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

In January 2012, newly appointed CEO, Ron Johnson introduced a plan to rebrand the department store chain into a 21st century retail powerhouse. Launching of the new J. C. Penney brand identity was set to occur over four years and would include a new logo, a new in-store experience featuring new and transformed brands, and most importantly, it would change the way that the company priced merchandise. Unfortunately, J. C. Penney suffered a 25% sales decline in the first year and Johnson was fired after only 17 months.

There has been many ups and downs in the fashion industry and is always changing, being a store that offers that kind of merchandise you need to stay at the top of the game. Since J.C. Penney’s has opened its doors it has been through a great depression, a great recession, and many more ups and downs, and has still made it. Reason being they move with the economy not afraid to change and take the first step. They first open its doors as a fashionable store, and moved down the line to pretty much everything, some J.C. Penney’s have pharmacies,

J. C. Penney Corporation, Inc, also known as JCPenney, is a chain of American department stores specializing in selling affordable clothing, shoes, accessories, and home decor for the entire family. For more than a century, JCPenney has been a regular shopping destination and a dependable retailer for the American family. In 1902, the department store was founded by James Cash Penney and was established on the principle of the Golden Rule. Over the years, the company has developed a strong reputation for putting its customers first and servicing everyday needs. From its incorporation in 1924 until 2010, JCPenney experienced large levels of growth and success. JCPenney’s Corporate address is 6501 Legacy Dr, Plano, TX

If I chose to get a job after high school I would have more money than if I went to

J.C. Penney’s as a corporation has struggled to maintain a consistent brand, identify with their target audience and change to meet consumer needs.

Cole expects to establish more and bigger stores and supermarkets in order to improve its competitive edge among its leading competitors such asWoolworths. According to the situation analysis, the “down down” price strategy appears to stay since for many years, it has acted as its competitive edge. Hence, the low price strategy will assist the company in competing for the customers ( Mckeown, 2012).

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.

Throughout my research, JCPenney's has been losing money because , through a marketing perspective, they have lost their identity. To explain, JCPenneys in the past was a department store targeted for middle income familes. The store promised to display the fashion of the middle class, catering to families. The company sold family products. It was based on the ideal of the family. During its peak, that was craze, a nuclear family, and JCPenneys catered to that craze. As time passes, trends come and go, this was no exception, when a company does not replace their customers, their older ones will die out (also in a literal sense). On top of that, other department stores such has Macy's and Khols, came out offering similar product, but at cheaper

As one of the major retailers in the United States, JCPenney has 1,104 department stores in 49 states and Puerto Rico as of February 2, 2013. The key success of its business is tremendously depending on the sales performance. However, the retail business is highly competitive, with low barriers to entry and low profit margin. Due to large sales plunge in 2012, the company is in financial trouble. The thorough analysis of JCPenney’s financial statements is vital to judge the future performance of its business.

At this specific time, the economy was coming out of Great Recession. JC Penney sales continued to decline like melted off ice cream falling off an ice cream cone. JCP’s should have stopped their bad marketing train years ago. Based off of personal experiences their merchandise was cheap, fall apart cheap up until the point where I repeatedly kicked myself for making such horrible purchases. I used to shop at JC Penney a lot, but the t-shirts didn’t survive washings; cheap China stuff people tend to shy away from.

JC Penney is not as large as some of its competitors, many of which have more substantial resources and are constantly attacking their market share. The company also faces threats from economic conditions, such as high unemployment and the recent recession. When consumers are under financial pressures can easily decide to shop elsewhere, such as Kohl’s, Target, and even the dreaded Walmart. Even the perception of better value can drive consumers elsewhere.

Before performing the CVP analysis for the Hampshire manufacturing firm, we identify two basic cost classifications of interest comprising variable costs and fixed costs. As we analyze the case in study, we need to initially acknowledge that both variable costs per