Posted on 01/12/2013 5:36:33 AM PST by oh8eleven
"Penney’s sales at stores open at least a year plummeted more than 30 percent through most of the crucial holiday season, sources close to the company told The Post this week."
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
You left out the obvious. Filling a clothing store with shapeless, downright ugly women’s clothing that looks like it is designed for the obese, is not the way to get the fairer sex to flock to your establishment. Particularly when you color that clothing in tones that make said women downright nauseous.
As far as the color blocks, if memory serves those were intended to represent months of the year; the plan was to have light boxes throughout the stores to illuminate the store with the “color of the month”. Who knows what they were thinking there... apparently they believed that their customers were so stupid they could better keep track of months by color rather then by name. Given that Obama was reelected that may have been the only aspect of their marketing strategy they had right.
Way to go! So proud of you and your service to our country thru your active support of your Marine husband.
Military wives are essential to the morale and well-being of our forces, and as a Naval aviator’s wife myself (as well as my being a USAF officer), our bonds of love for our military spouses get stretched way more than civilian wives could ever understand! Maybe a policeman, CIA or FBI agent’s wife could understand, but how often do they kiss their husbands goodbye and know they won’t see them for months, won’t know where they are going, won’t be able to talk to them upon demand, will worry about them going into harm’s way, will have to support other wives in the same situation, will have to be mom & dad and keep things going?
Big hug from this military wife! We are sisters because of our circumstances, and that makes us part of a family of patriots.
There is a reason certain formats have become standardized, and the USPS plays a role. They could be paying a very dear price for this futile effort to stand out, for an area in which standing out may not be received as a positive. I'd imagine they're blowing off a postal discount or two in so doing. I'd also imagine the incidence of mangled printed matter in the mailstream is higher, too. All for a very illusory benefit or none at all.
Back to the color block thing, there is a basic thought behind identifying selling periods that is time-tested, and that would be traditional seasonality. Tying your promotions to an event or holiday, studying your historic trends and sales metrics, and creating a compelling story with product that is timely and proven as far as desirability. It answers the question that goes through everybody’s head when opening the mailbox and seeing a catalog. Why are you sending me this, and why should I care? What's in it for me? This is true for e-mail blasts and splash pages also.
But no, traditional anything has been chucked out the window in favor of ... what?
From all outward appearances and their quarterly financial performance, it would appear the "efforts" were to see how quickly a small number of "marketing and retail geniuses" could drive a 100 year old retail company into bankruptcy.
Well, midmarket D&S is a tough place to be these days. They’re getting squeezed from below by “better” discount chains like Target and above them, the regional, traditional department stores know their turf far better as far as product and merchandising. They’re defending that turf aggressively.
Sears is sucking wind, too. JC Penney would be experiencing an existential challenge even without this bizarre, flailing attempt at Oprahfication. So, it’s not all the fault of the strategy, if such can be called strategy, but it couldn’t have come at a worse time.
I'm with ya' on this.
I just need time to go spend that $25 gift card I got years ago, though.
I wonder when they recognize revenue from a gift card?
Apparently passing out "pins" isn't bringing the customers in. This guy demonstrates the "peter principle" in action.
Last time I walked into a Penney’s (at least a decade ago) they had Spanish & English signs for each department in big lettering.
So they’ve been pandering for quite some time.
Their clothing was always mediocre at best (their catalogs from the 70s are a hoot).
This latest mis-step probably has J.C. rolling in his grave.
Maybe adding a JCP line of petroleum jelly and AIDS remedies would help draw in their target demographic.
I sure like that sign. My uncle worked for A&P for years in the 60s-70s.
Gheeze - no BARF alert?
Sales to gays increased 100%.
GayCPenney - put some ice on it
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