What Is James Cash Penney's New Pricing Strategy

beliefs and values of the people in the organization.. The best way to do that is to start with

Trader Joe’s is a major food retailer who has developed quite the name for themselves. It has well over 350 stores in over 32 states and is expected to continually grow over the next few years (Bond, 2012). For over 50 years, Trader Joe’s has been providing quality customer services, products and a unique shopping experience for its customers. They have come a very long way from when they first officially opened their doors. Trader Joe’s started when its founder Joe Coulombe wanted to find a way to differentiate his 7-Eleven stores (Schermerhorn, Osborn, Uhl-Bien & Hunt, 2012). In the food retailer industry, Trader Joe’s has developed a process that works well and

In the retail industry, it is hard for a business to abandon all its previous strategies, such as locations and advertising strategies to make a fresh start. However, that is precisely what JCPenney and has been able to accomplish numerous times. Founded over a hundred years ago, the firm has undergone mass renovations with each change in leadership. Moreover, recently, JCPenney, has been reinvented once more, under the leadership of President Michael Francis and CEO Ron Johnson.

In 1858, R.H. Macy founded R.H. Macy and Co. in New York City. From a dry goods store, he expanded his store occupy a total of 11 buildings which all offered different categories of merchandise. Here, R.H. Macy created what we now know as the department store (The History). Macy’s Inc. has grown and currently operates over 700 department stores under its various names (About Us). JC Penny Co. Inc. was founded in 1902 by James Cash Penny. JC Penny Co. Inc. was alike Macy’s Inc., however, they offered a catalog to better compete against department store like Montgomery Ward and Co. They currently operate around 1,100 stores worldwide (The Editors). The traditional department store format that Macy’s Inc. and JC Penny Co Inc. utilize has become

HISTORY : In 1902, James Cash Penney, in partnership with two other associates, opened the Golden Rule Store in Kemmerer, Wyoming. At the time it was uncommon to charge the same price to each and every customer; however, Penney preached the slogan "one price charged to all," regardless of customers' social status. After buying out his partners (in 1907), Mr. Penney opened two more stores. At present, J.C. Penney has more then 1400 department stores in the United States, Puerto Rico and Mexico, making it one of the largest retailers in the world.

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

CEO Johnson’s time with JC Penney’s was short lived and only lasted 17 months. The three core processes of business that he ignored was People, Strategy, and Operations. From the people aspect, he missed several key details. Johnson just assumed that people thought JC Penney’s prices were too high, so he lowered them and quit having sells (Tuttle, 2013). He also drove customers that had been shopping there for years away. With too many changes happening at one time, loyal customers did not agree with the changes and started shopping elsewhere.

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.

The history behind J.C. Penney’s spans for over a hundred years. James Cash Penny started the company in Wyoming, in 1907 he bought out his other 2 partners and over the next 6 years opened many stores throughout the mountain west. In 1913 he incorporated the business, moved to New York for better access to suppliers. By 1915 he had opened up 83 stores. He survived during the great depression because of the use of materials and leadership practices, higher quality for lower price. They grew to 1496 stores by 1936 and sales reaching $1 billion in sales by its 50th anniversary. Around 1961 is when they started incorporating themselves into shopping centers and strip malls.

In this segment, the retailer J.C. Penney will be analyzed against the department store retail industry, with particular emphasis placed upon their competitors, Macy’s and Kohl’s. The major components to be discussed will include the general external environment (i.e. demographics, economics, politics, legal requirements, technologies and global expansion), the industry environment, the competitive environment, the driving forces and the key factors for success within the industry. In terms of the general external environment, the retail industry is a multi-trillion dollar business in the United States alone and maintains operations primarily due to consumer spending. Such purchases rely upon the disposable income of

In what ways does Trader Joe’s demonstrate the importance of each responsibility in the management process- planning, organizing, leading and controlling? They have created their own University for future leaders. By controlling who they promote, only within the company, and planning room for advancement from the day you become an employee shows the value they take in their staff. For example, imagine you start as a cashier and it’s your first day on the job. It can bring great comfort knowing that your manager started in exactly the same role. Not only provides management with the ability to relate to their employees but also the employees to look to the manager’s leadership and mentoring for success.

Based on J.C.Penney’s current situation, and the above issues, we recommend the following strategic models.

Implementing newer strategies could result in possibly more confusion for customers---which could lead to a future decrease in sales; changing the management could affect the company financially as well. I’ve listed the SWOT Analysis of JC Penney below:

JC Penney Co. Incorporated was founded in 1902 in Kemmerer, Wyoming by James Cash Penney and William Henry McManus. Today JC Penney offers a range of family apparel, jewelry, shoes, accessories, and home furnishing products through a chain of department stores and their company website. JC Penney, headquartered in Plano, TX, operates in the United States and Puerto Rico, with a total of 1,108 stores. JC Penney also offers its products through a catalog channel. Each channel serves the same type of customers and provides generally the same merchandise mix. JC Penney’s business is conducted through a single segment, but revenues are reported by product category. In addition to their product categories, the

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.