There's a lot going on at J.C. Penney in recent years. With a new CEO, J.C. Penney, confronted with pressing competition up, down, and sideways in the department store wars, is reinventing itself in terms of merchandising, supply, and pricing strategies.
Here we will concentrate only on the pricing aspects of these new directions. However, this is ultimately about positioning; trying to find a space that is responsive to potential customers as well as differentiating the Penney brand from Target, Kohl's, Wal-Mart, and Macy's.
Case Assignment
A well-written report should have a brief introduction, headings or subheadings, and a brief concluding comment. Note that you should use some keywords as headings or subheadings such as "Johnson's pricing strategy," instead of a sentence or a question. Read and cite article listed above, supplemented with any other articles related to J.C. Penney, and develop a report addressing following issues.
Briefly describe Johnson's pricing strategy, also providing background on the company and department store industry.
Explain why Johnson's pricing strategy did not work. Support your position in terms of environmental factors such as economy, the competition, and changing consumer behavior.
What do you think Johnson could have done better? Take into account J.C. Penney's segmentation, positioning, and branding strategies to explain this issue.
Compare J.C. Penney's current pricing strategy and Johnson's pricing strategy, based on your research on the most recent situation of J.C. Penney. How do you think J.C. Penney would perform in the next five years? Take into consideration the relationships between pricing and other aspects of the marketing effort such as a change in merchandising, logo, atmospherics, use of celebrity spokespersons, and so on.
Write clearly, simply, and logically. Your paper should be 750-1500 words long, excluding title pages and references, but quality of writing is more important than length. Use double-spaced, black Verdana or Times Roman font in 12 pt. type size.