J.C. Penney Hopes to Set Itself Apart from Discount-Driven Department Stores

We've all been there: mentally calculating whether that sweater or blender will be cheaper with a 20%-off coupon and an early-bird discount today or the 40% holiday discount a week later. Either way, we know that in another month, the item will be on clearance anyway.

Well, J.C. Penney is promising to change all this. Starting Feb. 1, the American department store will introduce the "new" J.C. Penney, based on everyday standard low prices rather than frequent, complicated sales.

In an interview that ran in the Jan. 26 issue of Wall Street Journal, J. C. Penney's new CEO, former Apple executive Ron Johnson said he thought of the concept after he subscribed to the store's customer email list. Soon he was being bombarded with incessant sales announcements. He read through recent company reports and discovered the average J.C. Penney customer only shopped at the store four times a year, and that 75% of items sold were sold at prices at least 50% below retail. Using these startling statistics, and by researching his company from the perspective of the consumer, Mr. Johnson was able to identify the store's biggest weaknesses.

J.C. Penney's new advertisement reflects customers' frustration with sales and the company's new sale-free outlook, while at the same time building anticipation for the Feb. 1 changes.