In their attempts to draw in customers and become more of a one-stop-shop, struggling department stores across the country have entered into partnerships to host store-within-a-store concepts: from Macy’s LensCrafters shops to Best Buy’s Verizon and AT&T “experience stores.” Now, JCPenney is jumping into the fray, launching Nike stores in 600 of its locations around the country. [More]
JCPenney
JCPenney Now Wants To Sell You An HVAC System Too
By 12.22.16
Mall stalwart JCPenney isn’t just for socks and chinos anymore; the retailer has been edging into the appliance territory once dominated by competitor Sears for a while. But apparently edging in on Sears’ turf isn’t enough, and JCP is considering honing in on something a little more Home Depot, too. [More]
Racist Tirade Proves To Be One Way To Get Banned From A Mall
By 12.21.16
What kind of behavior can get you banned from a public place like a mall? Being caught on camera verbally abusing other customers is one way, as a woman in Kentucky recently found out. [More]
Former JCPenney CEO: Sales Have Become A Cancer
By 11.29.16
Just days after JCPenney handed out a very limited number of $500 coupons to lure shoppers to stores on Thanksgiving, the retailer’s former CEO made it clear that he believes that similar promotions and sales could ultimately harm department stores. [More]
JCPenney Handing Out $500 Coupons To Lure Shoppers On Thanksgiving
By 11.11.16
Even though JCPenney is starting its Black Friday sales online next Wednesday, the retailer is still hoping it can convince some folks that they’d rather be shopping in physical stores on Thanksgiving than spending time with loved ones/taking turkey-induced naps by offering up coupons worth $500 off to the first people to come through the doors. [More]
Here Are The Trends We See In This Year’s Black Friday Ads
By 11.4.16
Every year, the Black Friday ad flyers for major retailers “leak” online, giving shoppers an opportunity to pore over them well before the hefty Thanksgiving newspaper arrives on their doorsteps, if they receive a Thanksgiving newspaper at all. [More]
JCPenney Kicks Off Black Friday The Wednesday Before Thanksgiving
By 11.2.16
Last year, JCPenney waited around until Thanksgiving Day to begin its Black Friday/Shopping Frenzy Week deals. This year, the department store chain has decided that’s way too late, and plans to start its deals even earlier: all of its advertised specials for Black Friday will be available on Wednesday. [More]
JCPenney Isn’t Exactly Hiring Greeters, But Everyone Gets On The Sales Floor
By 10.10.16 — Updated: 10.11.16
If you’re shopping at JCPenney at midday and notice that there are more employees than usual swarming the sales floor and being friendly, don’t worry: the store has probably not been taken over by pod people. Instead, it’s a new initiative that the chain is trying, called “Power Hours,” which is neither a lunch promotion nor a church service. [More]
That Was Quick: 6 Top CEOs Who Have Been Unceremoniously Kicked To The Curb Since 2013
By 9.23.16
Upon hearing the news this morning that American Apparel CEO Paula Schneider was resigning from her post, we couldn’t help but feel a twinge of deja vu. After all, she’s far from the first top executive to cause a stir with a sudden departure. [More]
Thieves Steal $11K Worth Of Jeans Over Two Days From JCPenney
By 9.21.16
Is there a thriving black market for Levi’s jeans? If there is, then a group of thieves from Georgia have quite a haul to add to it after pilfering $11,000 worth of the pants from JCPenney. [More]
Department Stores Remember That You Can’t Get Spa Treatments Or Lunch On Amazon
By 8.15.16
You can now order just about anything online, but there are some things that can’t be delivered in a box on your doorstep. If department stores and their business model are going to survive, experts say, they need to change their offerings and sell more products that can’t be purchased online. [More]
Retail Rivals Pulling Out Their Own Deals In Effort To Compete With Prime Day
By 7.12.16
Just because Amazon is calling today Prime Day doesn’t mean other retailers can’t offer their own discounts and deals, too. As such, a whole bunch of retailers are pulling out specials designed to lure shoppers today, while carefully avoiding any mention of “Prime Day” [More]
What Are Shoppers Buying Since They Aren’t Buying Clothes?
By 5.23.16
It’s bleak out there for a clothing retailer, with sales slumping at many chains, leading some — American Apparel, Aeropostale, Pacsun, among others — to declare bankruptcy. So if we aren’t shopping for items to clad our bodies, what are we shopping for? [More]
Former JCPenney CEO: Should Have Stayed With My Plan Despite $6B Loss
By 5.16.16
Former JCPenney CEO Ron “No Sales Here” Johnson may have cost the retailer $6 billion in sales during his tenure, but the executive believes his plan could have turned around the company, eventually. [More]
Why Is JCPenney Trying To Be More Like Sears, When So Many Sears Stores Are Closing?
By 5.16.16
In a previous era, JCPenney and Sears competed against each other for sales in just about everything from apparel to appliances to towels and sheets. Gradually, the rivals’ paths diverged somewhat: JCPenney focused on clothing, while Sears lowered its price point to push its core business of tools and appliances. So why, with Sears in the process of closing so many of its stores, is JCPenney once again going head-to-head with its old nemesis by getting back into the appliance game? [More]
JCPenney Officially Reentering Appliance Arena: Expanding Offerings To 500 Stores
By 5.9.16
At the beginning of the year, JCPenney announced it would once again dip its toes into the appliance business by testing sales of ovens, refrigerators, washers, and the like through pilot programs in three states. That experiment apparently went well, as the retailer now plans to expand the offerings nationwide and begin tests of other home-focused products, including flooring and window coverings. [More]
Report: JCPenney Slashed Workers’ Hours, Took Other Drastic Measures To Cut Costs
By 5.6.16
According to a new report, JCPenney had to work fast to cut costs recently after sales were unexpectedly sluggish last month. Some of the drastic measures the department store took included telling managers to cut workers’ hours, freeze overtime, and ban store markdowns. [More]
