J. Crew Essay

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).

J.Crew as an iconic brand targeting young working professional by focusing on preppy and classy look failed in identifying brand focus. Also, their business model is performing poorly in the fast-fashion industry compare to traditional competitors, with its high prices, diverging quality, and undesirable brand image. Hence, the brand perception by customers has changed and many of them prefer to purchase the discounted products rather than full-priced items.

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

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,

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.

1.What is your assessment of the strength of competitive pressures stemming from rivalry among Under Armour, Nike and Adidas-Reebok?

With over 3,000 stores in 6 countries and a network of over 16,000 vendors in 60 countries, TJX is able to offer consumers deep discounts on many top names in fashion apparel and home goods merchandise. However the Company does not like to be labeled as a “discount store.” Instead, TJX’s vision is to be a “global, off-price value retailer” with a mission to deliver the same brand name value and

Macy’s has been around for 100 years, currently operating over 700 stores nationwide, and exploring the idea of expanding globally. A company that has that much experience, assets, and capitals are not likely to be bankrupted. With that being said, the current path and strategy that Macy’s is taking now is slowly killing the company. Their revenue stream has been decreasing to be multiple reasons, controllable and non-controllable. Macy’s should redesign their strategy to reach new markets because their current one is not responding to them as much. As many selections as there are in Macy’s, I think that they should try and carry more at a cheaper rate to encourage the loyal customers for that brand to go to Macy’s. I think the lead time for

Threat: Forces shaping the Nordstrom’s strategy is that it is operating in highly competitive environment, where apparel sold by it is not only competing with large organized departmental chains but, also from small independent boutiques in the U.S. As a result competition has become very stiff in retail

J.Crew began in 1947 as a low priced clothing company that sold its merchandise door-to-door. It was originally called Popular Club but the name was eventually changed to J.Crew to better suit its preppy image. In 1983 the company released its first catalog in an effort to mimic the success of like Lands’ End and L.L. Bean. People fell in love with the company’s preppy aesthetic that was much more affordable than designers like Ralph Lauren. Within the decade, the company grew its customer base exponentially. Their sales increased from $3 Million to $100 Million in less than 10 years. In 1989 the company expanded into retail stores with their first brick-and-mortar location in South Street Seaport in New York.

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

J.Crew group is an American multi brand, multi channel, and specialty. The company offers an assortment of women’s, men’s and children’s apparel and accessories as well as the j.crew real estate. The j. crew and madewell trademarks and variations thereon like the crewcuts, are registered or are subject to awaiting trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and with the registries of many foreign countries. They believe their trademarks have significant value and they intend to continue to vigorously protect them against infringement. Furthermore, they licensed their j. crew trademark and know to Itochu Corporation in Japan for which they received royalty fees based on a percentage of sales of property or properties. And they have the licensing revenue on the year of 2006, 2007 and 2008. And they established many branches all over the world such as Atlantic City, New Jersey,

Under Armour is a leading athletic clothing line directed towards the overall athlete who is looking for the most comfort during extracurricular activities. The mission of the company is, "to provide the world with technically advanced products engineered with exclusive fabric construction, supreme moisture management, and proven innovation. In short, every Under Armour product is doing something for you; it's making you better."

At first I thought that Under Armor would be an exception to this but then I realized that they don’t have exclusive deals with the manufacturers that they acquire their fabrics from to make their products. Therefore if one of its rivals ever wanted to they could possible acquire some of the innovative fabric that Under Armour uses and then use the fabric you produce similar products.

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