Filed under: JC Penney, Retail, Apparel, Coupons, Shopping Trends
J.C. Penney’s disastrous sales plunge under CEO Ron Johnson has been widely attributed to his “fair and square” pricing strategy, which did away with the vast majority of its sales and coupons. But many shoppers say they’ve ditched the the retailer for an entirely different reason: They just don’t like the clothes anymore.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve received dozens of emails from readers identifying themselves as former J.C. Penney (JCP) customers. And the vast majority of them said its new apparel offerings were the biggest reason they’ve stopped shopping there.
“I have been a customer of JCP for over 20 years. The only reason I still go there is because of the salon,” writes Jacqueline Price. “I do not buy any merchandise in this store since they did away with all the lines I loved, such as St John’s Bay [and] Gloria Vanderbilt.”
Another reader, Kris Christensen, echoes the sentiment that the retailer is ditching the clothes she loves in favor of new collections that don’t appeal to her.
“J.C. Penney was the last store to sell clothes for women that were reasonably priced and well made,” writes Christensen. “If emptying out the stores of decent clothing and stocking them with the cheapest made rags possible is the great change he was talking about, he’s finding out he was wrong.”
We’re guessing Johnson would bristle at the suggestion that J.C. Penney’s new apparel collections are “the cheapest made rags possible.” If anything, he’s attempted to upscale the retailer by bringing in well-known brands like Martha Stewart Living and by dedicating floorspace to boutiques featuring the likes of Levi’s and Izod.
But those fashion-forward brands apparently don’t appeal to the disgruntled shoppers who wrote to us.
An Elderly Exodus
Interestingly, most of the readers who emailed DailyFinance are older; and these customers feel the new J.C. Penney is abandoning their demographic.
“Penney’s is trying to attract a younger, hipper customer, but frankly its loyal customer base is older, heading into elderly,” writes Katherine Troyer. “The company has dropped many of the brands and clothing styles favored by older people on a budget.”
Another reader identified herself as a senior citizen and bemoaned that J.C. Penney “threw their loyal, mostly older customers out.”
Yet another ex-customer wrote in to complain that the retailer is now dominated by “edgy styles only a 16-year-old can wear.” She added that she’d taken her business to Sears (SHLD) and Kohl’s (KSS).
A Critical Darling, a Popular Failure
We did get a few favorable opinions on the new apparel.
“I’m 56 and love the clothes,” writes Meredith …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance