Community Chat

[ECBG]

@Foxxee 

I totally understand what you are saying.

Years ago, at Belk, I never shopped Amazon, they were just "out there".  Thank goodness they were around when everything was closed down, though.

We used walmart dot com a good bit too!

It seems JCP bit the dust pretty much on their own.  I'm glad that these dinosaur stores won't be on the roadsides crumbling and are going to be repurposed.

These buildings need to be repurposed if they can be.  

[millieshops]

JCP has been in financial trouble for at least 25 years now. At one time I had 4 friends who worked management with JCP. All of them either retired early or were downsized right around 2 decades ago.   

[Porcelain]

There's no point in going into a store like that anymore. All of the stores in that category sell the exact same stuff made overseas. There is no differentiator that would make someone choose JC Penny over Walmart or Kohls.

It's much more convenient to search on "scoop neck pima cotton 3/4 sleeve t shirt medium" on Amazon than to go into a mall and try to find the section of the store where there might or might not be the item you want.

Retail is based on dog eat dog competition and there is nothing special enough about these big box stores to enable them to compete with each other or with online sales.

[AuntG]

I'm a fan of JCP but I haven't been to our mall in two years.

[millieshops]

@Spurt   JCP was already in serious trouble when they hired him.   There weren't many even willing to try to turn the ship around.  Sometimes it doesn't pay to settle!

[mspemberley]

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@ECBG wrote:

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@godi wrote:

Boy it is sad to see all the stores that we boomers remember from childhood close.  I miss Sears, Gimbles, Montgomery Ward. More closing in the future I'm sure. 

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@godi 

I remember when the CEO of JCP decided to "discount items on the floor" and quit printing coupons.  

He didn't realize we were a coupon society (about 8-9 years ago and suddenly, their parking lots were empty.  I could see their upper front from where I parked when I worked for Belk after hurting my back at Dillards.

It was SO sad!!!

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I mentioned that doomed coupon "experiment" in another thread a few days ago. That CEO was out-the-door in less than a few years. I'm sure that sad chapter in JCPenney history is a case study in retail management training. 
I'm sad to see JCPenney struggling. It was one of my favorites places to shop while my kids were growing up. That and Sears...😕

[Spurt]

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@millieshops wrote:

@Spurt   JCP was already in serious trouble when they hired him.   There weren't many even willing to try to turn the ship around.  Sometimes it doesn't pay to settle!

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@millieshops 

At that point they still had time to turn this around, even when online shopping started to take hold and erode some of their revenue it was still in a much better state of affairs than after he implemented his ideas,  (I know I had a relative that worked for JCP at the upper management level)....electronics are a different animal than regular retail--what a BAD hiring! 

And look at the background of who QVC hired to replace Mike George when he leaves...another "techy"....yep, QVC's website and technology needs some work, but more impotant they need a different strategy on the retail front what they are doing now isnt working too well....the pandemic and the quarantine helped them some but now things are opening back up and QVC is back to what they were financially....SMH!!!

[millieshops]

@Spurt   I know they still had a bit of time when he took over, but the chances were pretty slim.

like you, I knew people who worked for JCP in its better days.  Played cards every week for years with one of the first women to ever work on the corporate level.  By the time I knew her she was managing a store in Nassau County on Long Island.  She took early retirement even before I retired in 1999 because she thought she saw the future.  Two of her adult children also worked JCP on the management level--  lost their jobs even before that unfortunate hiring.

Although I dislike the disappearance of companies that have been a fixture of my town/area all my long life, it's more because they represent stability than that I actually shopped them all the time.  That's certainly true for JCP.  I remember going there with my mother to help pick out fabric for new school clothes- I'd guess that memory is no later than 1950.  Since 2000?  Maybe I bought a pair of stockings one year- maybe.  Sadly for companies, nostalgia doesn't automatically sell.

[Spurt]

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@Foxxee wrote:

Penney's has had problems for quite some time. They need money to turn around and when enough isn't coming in, banks and investors are hesitant to get involved, they can't invest in making necessary changes.  

Bankruptcy is clearing out much of their debt, but how will JCP do going forward?

Once a company begins showing decreased sales for a few years, they sometimes are unable to pull out of it.  Customer "word of mouth" is very powerful.  Shoppers often won't continue buying when they hear negative feedback from others. Research shows it takes up to 10 years to restore their good image.

I think Amazon has been the cause of some retailers to close.  Walmart was accused of this for some time, but its target market is low income even though all incomes shop there.  Amazon targets all incomes with some retailers accusing it of becoming a retail monopoly. 

Now, Amazon wants some of JCP's stores.  Amazon always seems to be nipping at other retailers' heels hoping to swallow them up.  

Maybe, it should be broken up to give other retailers a fair competitive marketplace.  

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@Foxxee 

People have talked about breaking up the Amazon companies since they are pretty much violating anti-trust laws--and their tentacles have extended into not only retail, but groceries, pharmacueticals, banking and even extending into areas of technology....they broke up Ma Bell and people said Amazon should be required to do the same....

And shoppers need to comparison shop---an Executive actually smirked when he said that consumers think that Amazon always has the lowest price and thats what they count on... what Amazon's strategy is they will lower the price on one item to beat a competitor and then raise the price on other items to make up for it.....People have even commented here on the Forums that they've seen the price increase on an Amazon item that they had their eyes on....COMPARISON SHOP FOLKS! 

One thing that didnt work for them was live shopping that they tried.....apparently they see where even QVC has an edge--- to demonstrate the product live to customers---they tried some live shows, but the format wasnt quite right, so they tabled it, but they said they are working on a revamp and consider it to be a valid idea for their future...But QVC doesnt utilize their platform to the max PROPERLY to their advantage....instead they repeat products too often, or run to long with the demos or repeat the TSV too much in one show....and are making the shows more about entertainment rather than giving details and benefits of the product.....

[Spurt]

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@Porcelain wrote:

There's no point in going into a store like that anymore. All of the stores in that category sell the exact same stuff made overseas. There is no differentiator that would make someone choose JC Penny over Walmart or Kohls.

It's much more convenient to search on "scoop neck pima cotton 3/4 sleeve t shirt medium" on Amazon than to go into a mall and try to find the section of the store where there might or might nmot be the item you want.

Retail is based on dog eat dog competition and there is nothing special enough about these big box stores to enable them to compete with each other or with online sales.

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I agree, retailers need to set themselves apart something special to get people to shop in-store---Just like JCP used to be the place to go for drapes/curtains.....AND another problem now when a customer goes to the store, more and more the stores stock less on their shelves and told the customer to order online--so the customer felt why bother even going to the store-SO THEY SHOT THEMSELVES IN THE FOOT!!! SMH!!! I know our Combo Home Goods/TJ Maxx Store in a shopping center does a booming business even during the week its ALWAYS crowded...and on weekends==WOW!!! the checkout lines are so long, but people wait because their prices are so good and they have name brands too...