Not many companies have gone through as much upheaval and changes in identity as J.C. Penney over the past few years. Changes in direction in just the past year are enough to make your head spin.
In early 2012 new CEO Rob Johnson got all sorts of media attention by announcing that the company was not only rebranding itself but reinventing itself. The result? Since March 2012, their stock (JCP) has fallen 42%. But the biggest problem rises above branding. Rotman School of Management Dean Roger Martin of the Harvard Business Review says that the company has no real strategy. "The problem with J.C. Penney is that it serves no compelling customer purpose."
Has anyone even shopped at a JCPenney recently? Neither have I. Target, Costco and Macy's have clearly defined brands. Penney's is where I bought my "school shoes" back in the sixties.
Here was their new branding spot in the spring of 2012...channeling what Target had already been doing successfully (and better) for years:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJbCerJivgM
It was around this time that CEO Johnson announced they would no longer have coupons or sales. Here's a clever spot from June 2012 with an entirely different branding message (Enough is Enough) from three months before:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/marketshare/2012/06/15/jc-penneys-epic-rebranding-fail/
The result? Revenues fell 32% in one quarter. Steve Olenski, writing recently for Forbes.com asked "should it really come as any surprise that the #1 reason people follow brands via social media is games, contests and promotions? No. Just as it should come as no surprise that people want sales and coupons from their retailers."
Business writer Max Nisen notes that "a real strategy is built around answering a difficult question: What can this company do better than anyone else? At this point, the company's not really trying to answer that, and it's not trying to beat anything but the old version of itself. That's not a plan that wins."
"It might just be easier to launch an entirely fresh and new department store from scratch, rather than attempt to drag a 110-year-old brand into the future," says Brad Tuttle at TIME. "As J.C. Penney sales (and stocks) continue to decline, it's clear that "the much hyped transformation just isn't occurring quickly enough."
But what I find is that their stores still largely resemble the JCPenney my grandmother knew. Even their website lacks the compelling invitation to purchase:
http://www.jcpenney.com/dotcom/index.jsp
Finally, the next confusing (and expensive) piece of branding appeared in The Oscars a few weeks ago.
This 1:30 gem, entitled "Yours Truly" wants us to believe that JC Penney is not the store of your grandmother, your mother, coupons, no coupons or trendy boutiques. In fact, it's a store that truly doesn't know what it is or why we should shop there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RTOYH7eXGA (Your Truly, JCP)
The spot is as pointless as it is pretty. No one in the spot is over 25, and I would guess that no one in that spot would ever shop at Penney's.
Perhaps it's time to stock up on "school shoes" for the Baby Boomers. Oh, wait! I forgot. That ship has sailed. The rest of are shopping at Target, Macy's and Costco. We know what those stores stand for.
Does Penney's?
--Rich Brase
rich@richideas.net
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