J.C. Penney Wants Old Customers Back and Ditches Plan of Luxury
J.C. Penney customers left in the last few years because stores were up scaled and coupons were eliminated. Its new plan of getting back on its feet is meant to undo exactly that. CEO Mike Ullman, who returned to the department store 18 months ago, told 200 analysts in New York Wednesday that J.C. Penney will no longer take the high fashion route and that he wants to win back its old customers. 'Our goal is to earn a market position of loyalty beyond reason, become the preferred shopping choice for middle America', he said. In order to make these new, or old, customers happy, the store has reestablished merchandise assortments. Changes were made in lineups of private brands, which include Arizona and St. John's Bay, big national brands, such as Nike and Levi's, and exclusive items. It has introduced lines of fashion for the young crowd, aiming to compete with millennial-friendly stores like Zara and H&M. It has also been expanding the presence of Sephora, which is already in 500 J.C. Penney stores. Chief Marketing Officer Debra Berman said she will try anything it takes to motivate customers to come back. 'We realize the path to recovery is to recognize what we really had on our hands was an issue of trust, a broken trust. Like any good marriage counselor will tell you the path back is going to start with reclaiming intimacy; in this case, customer intimacy, and that starts with listening', she said. So far, however, customers are not responding and J.C. Penney had to cut its third quarter same-stores sales forecast on Wednesday. It's also anticipated that J.C. Penney will close several stores.
