An Overview Of J. C. Penney Corporation

Section One

An American Retail Icon

J.C. Penney Corporation, Inc. (JCP) has been a household name since the early twentieth century. Founded in 1902 by James Cash Penney, JCP experienced steady growth through its early decades, adding a variety of merchandise and stores throughout the United States. Their diversification of merchandise and services enabled them to compete with other national department store chains like Sears, Roebuck & Co. and Montgomery Wards & Co. (Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, 2017). In 1973, JCP reached its peak with 2,053 retail stores in operation (J.C. Penney Company, Inc. History, n.d.).

In 1963, JCP entered the catalog sales market; by 1993, they were the largest catalog retailer in the United States (J.C. Penney

With Johnson at the helm, a major overhaul in marketing, re-branding, and re-designing all JCP stores across the United States was accomplished within a matter of months.

Market Testing

Undoubtedly, Johnson was able to transform JCP’s image quickly since he did not deem it necessary to market test his ideas. “Seasoned J. C. Penney executives urged Johnson to test his strategy on a smaller scale before going whole hog. His reply was ‘we didn't do that at Apple, and we're not doing it here’ (Tuttle, 2013)” (Harbin and Humphrey, 2015, p. 134). “The idea that people would show up at J.C. Penney just to hang out, and that its old-fashioned shoppers would be comfortable with Johnson’s radical plans like the removal of checkout counters almost seems delusional” (Tuttle, 2013, para. 16).

Fair and Square

Johnson’s lack of appropriate experience suited for a transformation of JCP, coupled with his refusal to connect with the customer’s needs, equaled disaster. Johnson’s hubris expressed itself when loyal customers did not respond positively to JCP’s pricing changes. He “offered the arrogant assessment that customers needed to be “educated” as to how the new pricing strategy worked”(Tuttle, 2013, para. 20). Had Johnson’s vision for the new JCP been correct, his extreme ego may have been tolerated (Harbin and Humphrey, 2015).

The Path to Recovery According to Douglass (2013), J.C. Penney implemented a crisis management plan following Johnson’s departure. The first thing they did was reinstate sales and coupons in the stores. Second, they utilized advertising, television, and social media to apologize to its customers. Third, they asked customers to return to their stores, and thanked them when they did (Douglass, 2013, paras. 7-9). "We brought back the things you like about J.C. Penney ... and now, we're happy to say, you've come back to us. We're speechless, except for two little words. Thank you.” (Douglass, 2013, para. 9). Today, J.C. Penney continues to struggle. Tremendous revenue loss, employee layoffs, and store closings continues to beleaguer the once department store