JCPenney struggles

Predicting the demise of Sears & Kmart since 2017!
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JCPenney struggles

Post by SamSpade »

Honestly it pains me to even start this thread -

To me it seems like they should benefit from missteps from Sears, closures of Bon Ton... But there is still a large dependency on apparel, accessories, footwear which Americans seem to be buying less of or using e-commerce more aggressively.

Macy's has reported some positive news this year but no roses from JCP.

Marv Ellison was poached by Lowe's and the company did not have a single replacement ready.

Of course he was previously successful at Home Depot. https://www.schaeffersresearch.com/cont ... f-earnings
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Re: JCPenney struggles

Post by arizonaguy »

I like JCPenney (prefer it to Kohl's actually) and I do hope that they survive.

I think Ellison was moving things in the right direction, but Wall Street may not have had enough patience.
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Re: JCPenney struggles

Post by mbz321 »

SamSpade wrote: May 24th, 2018, 7:01 am Honestly it pains me to even start this thread -

To me it seems like they should benefit from missteps from Sears, closures of Bon Ton... But there is still a large dependency on apparel, accessories, footwear which Americans seem to be buying less of or using e-commerce more aggressively.

Macy's has reported some positive news this year but no roses from JCP.

I think in general, JCPenney is having problems because people simply aren't going to malls anymore. I pass two Kohl's on my way to the mall, and while I prefer JCPenney, it's not a big enough difference for me to drive to a mall. I know JCPenney has some 'big box center' locations, but they waited way too long to start the shift from malls. Not to mention it seems the majority of JCPenney's mall stores are simply dated and a bit run down. JCPenney is about as middle of the road as it gets, and it seems Kohl's, Target, and other discount clothing stores have taken their customers, and the addition of appliances really hasn't helped much despite heavy promotion.
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Re: JCPenney struggles

Post by Super S »

mbz321 wrote: May 24th, 2018, 8:48 pm
SamSpade wrote: May 24th, 2018, 7:01 am Honestly it pains me to even start this thread -

To me it seems like they should benefit from missteps from Sears, closures of Bon Ton... But there is still a large dependency on apparel, accessories, footwear which Americans seem to be buying less of or using e-commerce more aggressively.

Macy's has reported some positive news this year but no roses from JCP.

I think in general, JCPenney is having problems because people simply aren't going to malls anymore. I pass two Kohl's on my way to the mall, and while I prefer JCPenney, it's not a big enough difference for me to drive to a mall. I know JCPenney has some 'big box center' locations, but they waited way too long to start the shift from malls. Not to mention it seems the majority of JCPenney's mall stores are simply dated and a bit run down. JCPenney is about as middle of the road as it gets, and it seems Kohl's, Target, and other discount clothing stores have taken their customers, and the addition of appliances really hasn't helped much despite heavy promotion.
JCPenney is interesting as there are some 1960s vintage stores which have been remodeled over the years on the inside, but have received virtually no exterior updating. A good example is Southcenter near Seattle. Really the only change to the outside has been an updated sign and maybe some painting. Macy's is in the same boat with some of the former Bon Marche stores. They look modern enough inside, but you do see things like air vents and other things that show a store's true age. And one thing that bugs me is some locations have mens fitting rooms with no locks.

I think their appliance departments need some retooling. For starters, they are not staffed particularly well, and selection is limited by the fact that the Whirlpool family of brands is absent. Whirlpool can be hit or miss on quality, but it is a recognized name, much like Maytag, Amana, and other brands that Whirlpool has acquired over the years.

Some of the larger JCPenney stores really need to have a dedicated Customer Service/Returns desk. I don't know how many times I have been held up by people making returns when waiting to pay. The centralized checkout in some of the newer stores is a good start but needs to be implemented further.

WIll JCPenney survive? Maybe. The chain has adapted to some extent over the years and often recognizes when they make mistakes, but sometimes it does take a long time to recognize that.
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Re: JCPenney struggles

Post by storewanderer »

I have never liked JC Penney and am not surprised they have gotten to this point.

At this point I am beginning to wonder if Sears clothing business may somehow outlive them. Pretty hard to imagine that, but, the next move they make will really be a tell all.

Who becomes their next CEO is probably going to be a make or break thing for them. Will they bring in a strong merchant with strong experience in clothing, or will they do another route? How easy will it be to find that person, also?

Current initiatives like appliances, Sephora, I just do not think those fit with the core JCP customer at all. Also the ongoing decline in the quality of private label men's clothing, specifically the Stafford label, vs. where it was pre-Ron Johnston, is something that they really need to reverse.
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Re: JCPenney struggles

Post by mbz321 »

storewanderer wrote: May 26th, 2018, 12:00 am

Current initiatives like appliances, Sephora, I just do not think those fit with the core JCP customer at all. Also the ongoing decline in the quality of private label men's clothing, specifically the Stafford label, vs. where it was pre-Ron Johnston, is something that they really need to reverse.

From what I understand, Sephora has actually been a huge draw into their stores, but unfortunately, it seems like many are going in just for that and are ignoring the clothing and other items.
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Re: JCPenney struggles

Post by storewanderer »

They've been calling Sephora a huge draw for years. Yet their sales numbers keep declining. I don't really believe what they are saying.

In the store here in Reno, they installed the Sephora (they did it in the middle of the floor, not along a wall) and created a really bad boxy first floor. The navigation of this floor is one of the worst I've ever seen in a department store. It also created a "blind" exit point into the parking lot since the Sephora "structure" completely blocks staff's view of the exit, which has been a loss prevention issue for them as well. Sometimes they have a security guard at that door now. Before there was a cash register at the door but now there is no room for it because the back of the Sephora "structure" comes too close to the door. So you enter the store and all you see is the back wall of Sephora in front of you (other women's clothing to the left and right). This particular entrance is their most trafficked entry as well due to being in the front of the building and next to Cheesecake Factory. Feels like walking into an elevator when you enter the store.

I cannot impress enough how badly spaced the first floor of this store is. It has women's, children's, jewelry, shoes, the old catalog desk, Sephora... then upstairs has men's and home (home moved in from across the road when they closed the freestanding Home Store and as a result kids and women's intimates got moved downstairs) and upstairs is very spacious. They should have looked at the store's layout in the 80's and reverted to that; upstairs had men's, home, kids, women's intimates, and the first floor was the rest of women's, along with shoes and jewelry. It flowed much better. When Sephora moved in, they changed nothing upstairs, but squeezed the stuff on the first floor together even more than it already was.

However in Reno, right about when JCP installed Sephora, the mall Sephora closed and moved out to a different shopping area (the one with Dillards). So it is possible this particular location got those customers who used to go to the one in the mall. I wonder if that was just a coincidence.
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Re: JCPenney struggles

Post by storewanderer »

I decided it would be fun to throw a little bit into the JCP stock slot machine despite my reservations about the chain and its operations. I do think if they can recruit the right new management, something good could happen. Let's see what happens.
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Re: JCPenney struggles

Post by cjd »

The JCPenney store here was closed for quite a while after hurricane Irma. I'm not sure exactly how bad the damage was, but apparently the store was emptied and all of the carpets were replaced. That seem to be the extent of the renovations other than new ceiling tiles.

Since it reopened, it seems like the selection is smaller than it was. The young men's department is nearly entirely "cheap" items such as $5 tee shirts, tank tops or shorts. Nothing much higher end. Also lots of clearance racks that don't seem to sell, it's always the same items.

The men's department has been rearranged a bit too and last time I noticed a big clearance area.

The checkout desk in the kids department was removed when the store reopened. The housewares department is smaller, while the toy section got a bit bigger. It also seems to me that the shoe section is way smaller than it was.

This location has a salon but no Sephora and they don't sell large appliances. The customer service counter/catalog desk was removed a long time ago and replaced with walls of luggage.

However last time I stopped by, I noticed that jewelry counters had been replaced and rearranged at the center of the store, so maybe there is something going for the location.
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Re: JCPenney struggles

Post by SamSpade »

More unpleasant corporate news from JCPenney this week:
https://money.cnn.com/2018/09/28/news/c ... index.html
The company is now missing a CFO and a CEO. Who is on that company board? :-? The stock price is approaching Sears.

It's interesting how whenever the media reports on JCPenney, the photos used tend to be pre-2011 changes or during the Johnson era (ie. this JCPenney paper shopping bag with the red, white, blue JCP logo).

Things that happened under Ron Johnson's management that other retailers have used:
  • Ellen deGeneres as spokesperson - Walmart is now doing this, although somewhat quietly and online only that I've seen (unless on Ellen's daytime talk show too)
  • Trying new or different brands as 100% replacements - Walmart's women's and children's departments (men's simply "refreshed" George), Kroger's "dip"
  • Everyday pricing without coupons - WM was already that model; Kroger appears to have adopted it in apparel when introducing "dip"
  • Popup stores within stores - mainly higher-end places like Nordstrom
  • Mobile checkout - well, to be fair, I think Nordstrom Rack had this first.
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