J. C. Penney's Pricing Strategy

J.C. Penney in the early 2000s represented a “brick & mortar” retail powerhouse known for its large diverse selection that competed well with similar retailers such as Kmart and Sears. However, in 2011, the New York Times exposed J.C. Penney to an internet search scandal involving the tampering with rankings on search engine results. Yet, this was not the only shortcoming in the marketing of their stores. J.C. Penney was also caught manipulating its pricing merchandise to make its sales more appealing. Since the scandals, J.C. Penney has undergone many important shifts in focus on how it would attempt to market its products. For instance, led by its new CEO Marvin Ellison, J. C. Penny has managed to rebound its sales in 2016 and bolster its …show more content…
Penney has a history of selling a wide range of items from small home appliances to huge selections of clothing brands, including private labeling clothing brands. In addition to home appliances and clothing, J.C. Penney is also a known retailer for cosmetics, electronics, footwear, furniture, houseware, and jewelry. J.C. Penney continues to have a desire to sell these products; nonetheless, after a 33-year hiatus, they began to sell large home appliances again. By selling a wide range of items, expanding its selection, and reforming its pricing strategy, J.C. Penney will definitely create a strong cornerstone for its overall marketing …show more content…
Penney has continued to utilize the shopping complex location for most of its stores. There has been minimal change where J.C. Penney chooses to base its retail stores because their current locations naturally promotes shopping. Although there is progress being made in the technological field, it is hurting the ideology of physically shopping at retail locations and replacing it with online orders. As a result, J.C. Penney has made improvements, including its efforts to resolve the search engine scandal exposed in 2011 and to have its website be the preferred location for customers that favor online shopping. For instance, J.C. Penney has supported its online presence through its extensions of promotions and events on its website. Due to technical advances, J.C. Penney had to expand sales beyond its storefronts to the website. This expansion of marketing strategy does not indicate an abandonment of its physical establishments because the storefronts are also partnering with successful brands, such as cosmetic leader Sephora, which helped J.C. Penney’s 4th quarter performance in 2015. Nevertheless, it is difficult to judge the performance of these new additions using data from holiday