Thursday, January 26, 2012

The New jcpenney: A Lot More than a Lowercase "J"

I find this new logo oddly soothing.

I'm not going to rehash here all the changes going on at jcpenney that you can read about everywhere, including here, here, and here. Instead, I'll talk about buying leggings there yesterday.

The sweater on the left is a.n.a. The I Heart Ronson leggings and boucle jacket are on the right.

I stopped by jcpenney Manhattan Mall to check out the mood of the store while the big rally was going on elsewhere. The store was buzzing with talk and energy. I think retail department CEOs should dress in drag (or incognito, if they are female) and spend a morning in the women's dressing rooms. This will give him/her some interesting perspective. It's one my favorite things about the job, listening to retail staff chatter.

While eavesdropping I tried on a lot of a.n.a, thinking I'd do a cute "A New Approach" story as that's what "a.n.a" stands for. But only the sweater (above) looked OK on me, so I moved on to the I Heart Ronson. That boucle cropped jacket is even better looking in person, and it's $30. The leggings are $10. Both are red tag items, which in the new pricing scheme means that's the everyday price.

When I saw the leggings on the rack and the $10 price, I thought "That's exactly what I would pay for these leggings." I tried them on and thought "Perfect for $10." I then bought them. I didn't for a second think "I'm going to wait till these go on sale." Don't laugh when I say this, but I felt like I had just experienced an honest, straightforward retail transaction. And I felt relieved. Finally, no more sale tags.

These leggings make me think Ron Johnson is really on to something. You?



jcpenney Manhattan Mall lower levels 1 & 2, 33rd Street and Sixth Avenue

1 comments :

Elizabeth said...

It sounds like a smart approach. There's so much manufactured mystery to tags and prices and slashed prices and sale percentages. Just tell us what things cost!

The logo probably feels soothing because of all the blue. Research shows that it's proven to be a psychologically soothing color.