The NYT is now expressing regret over publishing Cintra Wilson’s “Critical Shopper” review of JC Penney’s new Manhattan store. The column was simultaneously hateful and boring, offering astute observations such as the fact that middle class people shop there and that the store carries clothes for the average-sized woman.

Among JC Penney‘s other perceived weaknesses: “obese mannequins” and the use of Helvetica Light in the logo.

From the NYT:

Bill Keller, the executive editor of The Times, was unhappy, too. The column, he said, “would make a fine exhibit for someone making the case that The Times has an arrogant streak.” Keller said his mother was a Penney’s shopper for much of her life, and she would have found the review “snotty.” He told me that he wished it had not been published.

JC Penney wasn’t thrilled either:

Darcie Brossart, vice president for communications at J. C. Penney, said, “We found the review very offensive to our customers.” The average American woman, she said, wears a size 12 and weighs 150, and the company stocked the Manhattan store initially just the way it stocks its others in the metropolitan area. Smaller sizes sold out quickly, Brossart said, and the mix will be adjusted to meet demand.

The Insult Was Extra Large [NYT]

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