I’ve shopped at JC Penney’s since I was a kid, which is why I’ve been wary of the marketing and pricing plan adopted by fairly new CEO, Ron Johnson. Johnson decided to end sales and coupons — yes, I know, sometimes these things are simply marketing tools, not real reductions — in favor of competitive pricing all the time.
How did customers react? Not well, which, frankly, was predictable if you know the Penney’s customer base.
Despite Johnson’s claim that he would not return to the tried-and-true Penney’s approach, he’s been forced to acknowledge market forces and bring back the sales customers are demanding.
Moral of this business story: market forces prevail.
