You're a Funny One, JCP
JCPenney has been a lot of things in its 110-year history: Western merchant, discount retailer, purveyor of trendy fashion and catchy jingles, lone department store in my Grandma’s town in Colorado (“See if they’ve got it at Penney’s,” she used to say.)
Now we can add one more: Funny.
The Plano, Texas–based department story kicked off its new no-sale pricing strategy with an ad campaign that pokes fun at department stores ubiquitous “Big Sale!” strategy.
JCP’s new policy doesn’t exactly end promotions at the company’s 1,100 stores, but it does streamline the process a bit. In recent years, American department stores have been hosting a seemingly endless cycle of sales. With this move, JCP seems to be stepping off that crazy merry-go-round.
Beginning Feb. 1, JCP will offer three tiers of pricing: everyday, regular prices; “month-long values”; and “best prices,” which will be offered on the first and third Friday of every month.
It’s part of a plan the company is calling “Fair and Square Pricing,” and is being spearheaded by the company’s new CEO, Ron Johnson, who came to JCP by way of Apple and Target.
“Every initiative we pursue will be guided by our core value to treat customers as we would like to be treated—fair and square,” Johnson said at a recent event announcing the new strategy. “We want customers to shop on their terms, not ours,” Johnson said. “By setting our store monthly and maintaining our best prices for an entire month, we feel confident that customers will love shopping when it is convenient for them, rather than when it is expedient for us.”
It’s certainly a radical departure from the status quo. It will be interesting to see if it works—and if it does, if other retailers follow suit.
