Reuters reports that Ron Johnson, the new CEO of JC Penney, is backing off his "no sales" approach, used as he tries to "wean shoppers off the long-used hundreds of sales events and coupons" that he felt had virtually eradicated any value message being communicated to shoppers. JC Penney instead was calling its promotions "month-long values."
The retailer saw a steep drop in sales during Q1, and Johnson now concedes that "it's just been kind of confusing."
"We're moving away from the word 'month-long value' because no one really understood that, to calling it what we intended to do, a sale," Johnson told a Piper Jaffray investor conference yesterday. Now, the word "sale" will actually be used.
Johnson continues to believe that his long-term strategy, which will turn JC Penney stores into a home for as many as 100 separate lifestyle-oriented shops, is the best one, and remodeling is scheduled to begin later this summer.
The retailer saw a steep drop in sales during Q1, and Johnson now concedes that "it's just been kind of confusing."
"We're moving away from the word 'month-long value' because no one really understood that, to calling it what we intended to do, a sale," Johnson told a Piper Jaffray investor conference yesterday. Now, the word "sale" will actually be used.
Johnson continues to believe that his long-term strategy, which will turn JC Penney stores into a home for as many as 100 separate lifestyle-oriented shops, is the best one, and remodeling is scheduled to begin later this summer.
- KC's View:
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I understand that a lot of people are skeptical about Johnson, despite his credentials as having been a driving force behind the Apple Store. They'll question whether the money should be spent on remodels when sales and profits and plummeting.
But I'm not sure JCP has any choice.
