I was going to post this back in November, and then decided to hold back. Today I passed a huge billboard near Penn Station for jcp, and found myself saying… REALLY??? So decided to resurrect…
Almost as bad as Overstock.com trying to change their name to O.com. You saw how long that lasted. J.C.Penney has brand equity they could have banked on had they focused on that legacy, brought it back to life, upgraded stores, improved merchandise and focused on the customer, service, and appealed to what people remember. Bringing in Ron Johnson as CEO, whose personal legacy was built with initiatives at Apple and Target was recognized as a mistake from the get go by many. He does not have a clue how to run an operation like JCP… he came from power houses where launching unique ideas, with an already loyal and incredibly strong retail presence, was a whole different ball game than reviving a fading brand.
Unfortunately for the shareholders, Johnson is insisting that the customer who shops at Target, Macy’s or even Nordstrom’s will have any interest in shopping at J.C.Penney. He decided that he could recreate the “magic” he created at Target and Apple (places that already were the shiny penny, no pun intended) instead of recognizing the obvious difference with regard to the J.C.Penney Brand. It would be like trying to remake Hyundai or Nissan into Mercedes or Porsche.
Check this out: MediaPost Publications Penney Takes Pounding; Kohl’s Solid; Nordstrom Shines 11/12/2012
– Jeff Namnum, Elaine Ginsberg Saffran, Tami Cannizzaro and 32 others like this.
– Jeremy Pepper: I’ll say not as bad – as it was O.co, not .com … see, it was so bad you had the wrong URL!
– Ted Rubin: That’s exactly what I said Jeremy Pepper 😉
– Candy Tai: they are trying to be a Macy’s if you ask me! They should have stuck to what was working all along
– Shaaz Nasir: this is almost as rough as the “new” gap logo that came out a while back…they had to pull it due to a rampage of angry feedback from everyone that has eyes.
– Marsh Cochran Sutherland: I wonder if they showed their O faces on ads…
– Jeremy Pepper: Well, Macy’s and Bloomie’s are former shells of what they used to be. Having actually gone into JCP, I have to give them credit for what they’re trying to do and how clean and nice the store is now, and organized. I’m just not sure they have the time to make it a reality.
– Ted Rubin: Who sells them on these ideas… and gets paid for it???
– Kayla Block: O was bad because “The Big O” has a different meaning. But really, JCPenny is a brand filled with dust and decay. I think it was a good move.
– Ted Rubin: They are also pushing away the customers they need the most. Now they are changing the name and trying to build a completely new brand from scratch. Good luck with that.
– Marty Coleman: I disagree Ted. I was just telling my wife this week that the new ad campaign and logo of JCP has actually made me think I should stop by there to get some new things I need. I love the new logo, so much better than the Gap effort of a few years back.
– Carole Baker: Can I just say that the song they picked for their TV ad (not sure of the song title)…”bang a gong, get it on”…always makes me dance on the coffee table…good pick!!
– Tiffany LaBanca: Still not shopping there..
– Xiaomin Maggie Wu: Why is the CEO still there?
– Andrea Bates: Interesting. I thought they had that logo for a while, and never realized it was supposed to be the “new name” …
– Ted Rubin: The name Overstock had brand equity, as does JCPenney. Build on that, make is current. JCPenney didn’t need a revolution, it needed an evolution.
– Melissa Garcia: JC WHO? ROFL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
– Alyson Miller Seligman: I really like the rebrand. “O” was a mess for a number of fairly obvious reasons, but JCP has a great, clean ad campaign and corresponding collaterals, and I’m now interested in shopping there. The key is ensuring the in-store experience matches what they are portraying (a much harder, expensive and time-intensive process)
– Ted Rubin: It reminded me of Old Navy commercials
– Jamie Smith: I didn’t mind JCP for the logo but to try and make people call it that is just stupid. The O for Overstock.com was wrong for SO many reasons
– Julie Meyers Pron: I’m going to disagree, Ted. They’re rebuilding and rebranding. They’ve changed focus and it’s evident with their marketing efforts, their newer stand-alone storefronts and their product. In the 90s, I toured their corporate HQ and execs from the marketing dept. guest lectured in my classes. They are a very different company now vs. then. At the time, they were focusing nearly 75% of their efforts on family values because that was most important to their number one demographic: Hispanic families. Now that that market is shopping for more sophisticated items, they need to become more sophisticated as well. They’re changing because they need to survive.
– Jacqueline Cromwell: My husband’s exact words when he sees the commercial is “I hate them, I hate them so much;)”. To say we find it dumb is an understatement;).
– Jeremy Pepper: Gonna be the hater here on some of you – have any of you been in the store since the Apple guy took over? Seen what he’s done inside the stores, helped change the customer service and looks and feel of the stores? If not, keep the comments to the branding only and not about the stores themselves.
– Kim Trimble: I went into JCP last week and it was awful. It looks bland, empty and frankly their clothes (save a few brands like Nike, Liz Claiborne, etc) look cheap. The layout has been overhauled and just doesn’t “flow” at all. Not surprised. Target went through a few months of that with Ron Johnson, he did something right with Apple, but now he has jacked JCP up.
– Melissa Garcia: YES Jeremy Pepper I have and I rarely shop there any more. Even the styles have changed.
– Ryann ‘Donnelly’ Thornton: I actually like the JCP thing
– Julie Meyers Pron: Kim, was it a newer standalone or an old store? Their new ones are apparently working well. but, yeah. It’s hard to teach old dogs…
– Zipporah Lubin-Sandler: I too like the rebranding. I am not a discount store shopper, and my perception of JCP vs. the old school JC Penney is much more FRESH. It’s not JUST about a new logo, if you look at the way that they’re merchandising the clothing line, it’s very current looking.
– Melissa Garcia: There is nothing in there that I would wear anymore
–Jodi Sonoda: JCP reminds me of KFC. Now I want chicken and a polo shirt. Does JCP sell chicken? Are the chickens in polo shirts? Why do I think JCPenny only sells polo shirts? What were we talking about?
– Zipporah Lubin-Sandler: Really? Because they carry Nicole Miller, Liz Claiborne, Betsey Johnson, and more.
– Melissa Garcia: I guess I just like different styles.
– Jodi Sonoda: For the record, when we used to head state side when I was a kid my Nana always had us stop at JCPenny. She loved it, I found it stuffy. I havnt been in one without her because it was “Nanas kind of store”. The new branding intrigues me to say the least, I’d go in just to see if it’s still “Nanas kind of store”.
– Neil Rubenstein: Almost as bad is the operative word…not much could be as bad as O.com (unless you are Oprah—and then is makes sense)
– Kim Trimble: Julie it was a newer standalone. And like I said, their brands were fine, it was the JCP lines that looked bad.
– Michelle Conrad: What ever happened to the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” attitude? I thought Mr. J. C. Penney himself had a great thing going, and then…he died, a bunch of wanna-be’s took over and thought they could reinvent the wheel. Last time I checked thesquare peg STILL doesn’t fit into the freaking round hole, folks! And by the way…forgive my crude commenting in the mixed company here, but unless they have products and a service that’s going to give you one…why “O?” Giggle;*}
– Ted Rubin: Good luck, especially with the NO SALES strategy… they are trying to go upscale and the market is just not there. JCPenney is trying to reverse a sharp drop in traffic and plummeting sales after its new pricing strategy spearheaded by CEO Ron Johnson has done nothing but confuse the shoppers they have left and drive them away. Johnson is killing what’s left and changing everything he can to back up his story that this remake will take years and buy himself more time. Meanwhile the stock is tanking due to plunging sales, a confused brand image, and loyal customers flocking to other stores.
– Jack Wagner: They brought in CEO from Apple and CMO from Target to make this rebranding effort. I see a problem in the current market not to offers sales as part of the strategy. Big box stores will continue to struggle unless they figure out how to compete with all of the new commerce players with lower customer acquistion costs.
– Ted Rubin: JCPenney has brand equity they could have banked on had they focused on that legacy, brought it back to life, upgraded stores, improved merchandise and focused on the customer, service, and appealed to what people remember. Bringing in the guy whose personal legacy is the Apple and Target was recognized as a mistake from the get go. He does not have a clue how to run an operation like JCP… he came from power houses where launching unique ideas, with an already loyal and incredibly strong retail presence was a while different ball game than reviving a fading brand. This amount to a retail disaster and he is getting himself in deeper every day.
– Zipporah Lubin-Sandler: I agree with the No Sales strategy being stupid. But the new stores are merchandised more like upscale department stores, with in-store shops that are colorful and very shopable. You may be right about the market not being there though, as people who shop at Nordstrom and Bloomies wouldn’t go to a JCP, and the Walmart crowd is looking for a bargain (rather than style). This is an ongoing problem for not just JCP, but Sears and other mid-range sellers. People want either end of the spectrum – bargains or luxury – the mid-range sellers are the ones struggling for a market. It’s a shame, because they have so much to offer.
– Ted Rubin: And have you gone into a store… there is less only glitz nd less customer service than there was before Johnson entered the picture. They are trying to build a new image, and it looks pretty, but the engine doesn’t work.
– Julie Meyers Pron: I don’t want to make this political, but I just have to point out that what Zippy is saying about mid-range sellers struggling because they aren’t at the end of either spectrum … it’s similar to what the political moderates are saying again and again this past week. Lost in the middle with so much to offer. And, Ted, I agree, if the “engine” isn’t working, there is a definite problem. A company can’t live on Sephora alone.
– Ted Rubin: Unfortunately for the shareholders, Johnson is insisting that the customer who shops at Target, Macy’s or even Nordstrom’s will have any interest in shopping at JCPenney. He decided that he could recreate the “magic” he created at Target and Apple (places that already were the shiny penny, no pun intended) instead of recognizing the obvious difference with regard to the JCPenney Brand. It would be like trying to remake Hyundai or Nissan into Mercedes or Porsche.
– Lee Sherwood Esmond: Gotta tell you – I love the new JC penny merchandise. I have bought several really cute outfits there and the shoes are great. it is a nice shopping experiencing.
– Abbey Huret: Ted, This “rebranding” exercise has been on an endless loop since the mid-80s. At the time, no major brands would sell anything to them except private label because they were reviled as unsophisticated and too low brow. I did an internship with them mysenior year and wrote a white paper on what they needed to do to reach their desired target market — I was asked, ‘what would we have to do to get you to shop here’. Well … I didn’t then and I still don’t. I worked for them as a buyer after graduation and later covered the company as an equity analyst and had many conversations with senior management and found that very little had changed. The consolidation (and departures) of major players such as A&S, Gimbels, Allied, Bonwit Teller, Alexanders, etc. which forever changed the retail landscape was one of countless opportunities Penney has had to become a break-out player. Suddenly manufacturers were courting the mass market discounters (Target, Sears, Wal-mart and Penney) they once disdained and giving them their marquis brands vs. dumbed-down private label goods. Penney simply couldn’t get out of their own way and they still can’t. Johnson’s aspirations are no different than prior CEOs who aspired to compete for the Macy’s customer. The stores are still uninspiring and the merchandise is squarely middle America. Not that there’s anything wrong with that — maybe that is in fact their market. But they need to decide who they are, find their voice and stick with it.
– Hannah Schwartz: Trying to be KFC?
– Tami Cannizzaro: Macy’s and Target have invested big time in analytics to better understand their customer and refine their brand positioning. Sounds like ‘JCP’ is shooting from the hip!
– Charles Strickland: I don’t know Ted? I think you might be wrong on this one. it looks like even on your post people refer to it as JCP. lol
– Ted Rubin: That’s just an easy way to write here Charles… IMHO. Possibly one of the reasons they thought it would work.
– Robert Formentin: JCPenny lost its identity a long time ago. I don’t even know what they sell anymore –
– Tracy Crinion: I feel that JCP’s stores don’t reflect their new brand. I’ve been to two locations since the initial rebranding, and it seems like they’re trying to eat Kohl’s lunch – similar clothing & prices without the celebrity lines. But their stores are dark and depressing, and poorly organized. One employee out of the half-dozen I encountered was energized and friendly – the rest were all ‘old brand’ and had NO interest in serving customers.
– Ted Rubin: Hey everyone, check this out: Penney Takes Pounding; Kohl’s Solid; Nordstrom Shines… https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/186986/penney-takes-pounding-kohls-solid-nordstrom-shi.html?edition=5338
– Samantha Klein: if another company re-brands itself with no clear strategy behind it (and with a lower cased logo) – i am going to write in all lower case letters in everything i do (work emails, meeting notes, etc) for the next 6 months…maybe this will result in me being provided with an incredible opportunity to revive a brand – if so, i will actually create a team to develop a tested, sustainable and innovative STRATEGY behind it, so that, for once, it will become successful and be loved again by consumers everywhere.
– Jack Wagner: Internet sales tumbled 37%- this is not a good sign for the re-branding efforts…
– Dani Ticktin Koplik: equally as stupid is the square graphic they had attached to the jcp. very confining,rigid and uninteresting
– Abbey Huret: JCP is also their stock symbol … having worked in finance, that is common shorthand for companies (in slides/notes, I still refer to Nordstrom as NOBE, Home Depot as HD, Best Buy as BBY). I’d be the first to say that does NOT translate into branding and marketing — just me embracing my inner geek.
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