Lublin, J. S., & Mattioli, D. (2013, Apr 09). Penney CEO out, old boss back in. Wall Street Journal (Online). Retrieved fromhttp://search.proquest.com/docview/1324471578?accountid=28844.

Glazer, E., Lublin, J. S., & Mattioli, D. (2013, Apr 9). Penney backfires on ackman. Wall Street Journal (Online). Retrieved fromhttp://search.proquest.com/docview/1324721270?accountid=28844.

D’Innocenzio, A. (2012). J.C. Penney slashing prices on all merchandise. USA Today (January 27). Accessed 5/5/12 at:http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/story/2012-01-25/penneys-price-overhaul/52787388/1

Mattioli, D. (2012). How J.C. Penney was minted. Wall Street Journal (January 25).

Available 5/5/12 through ProQuest database.

Mattioli, D. (2012). J.C. Penney chief thinks different. Wall Street Journal (January 26).

Available 5/5/12 through ProQuest database.

Reingold, J. (2012). Retail’s new radical. Fortune, 165:4(March 19).

Available 5/5/12 through EBSCO database.

There’s a lot going on at J.C. Penney these days. With a new CEO, Penney, confronted with pressing competition up, down, and sideways in the department store wars, is reinventing itself in terms of merchandising, supply, and pricing strategies. Here we will concentrate only on the pricing aspects of these new directions. However, this is ultimately about positioning; trying to find a space that is responsive to potential customers as well as differentiating the Penney brand from Target, Kohl’s, Wal-Mart, and Macy’s.

These articles shed additional light on the implications of Penney’s new direction:

Beltrone, G. (2012). Ad of the day: J.C. Penney – Peterson Milla Hooks brings its poppy visual style to the retailer’s big new rebranding effort. Adweek (February 3). Accessed 5/5/12 at: http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ad-day-jcpenney-137988

Berfield, S. (2012), J.C. Penney vs. the bargain hunters. Bloomfield Business Week (May 25), pp.21-2. Available 5/29/12 through EBSCO database.

Conte, C. (2012). Stein Mart reducing coupon use, lowering prices, Jacksonville Business Journal (March 8). Accessed 5/5/12 at:http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/blog/2012/03/stein-mart-reducing-coupon-use.html?ana=RSS&s=article_search&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bizj_jacksonville+%28Jacksonville+Business+Journal%29

Stein Mart plans to reduce its dependence on coupons and return to the everyday low-pricing strategy it became known for, with plans to cut prices between 5% and 10% on much of its merchandise. “We don’t want our customers to think they have to use a coupon to get a better price at Stein Mart,” said Jay Stein, chairman of the board and interim CEO.

Girard, K. (2012). Is J.C. Penney’s makeover the future of retailing? Harvard Business School Working Knowledge (March 5). Accessed 5/5/12 at: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6944.html

Halkias, M. (2011). J.C. Penney buys stake in Martha Stewart’s company. The Dallas Morning News (December 7). Accessed 5/5/12 at: http://www.dallasnews.com/business/retail/20111207-j.c.-penney-buys-stake-in-martha-stewarts-company.ece

Should Martha Stewart target markets or mass merchandise?

Talley, K. (2012). Penney CEO says profits won’t suffer. Wall Street Journal (January 27). Available 5/5/12 through ProQuest database.

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Timberlake, C., & Townsend, M. (2012). Macy’s says Martha’s dance card is too full. Business Week (February 28). Available 5/5/12 through EBSCO database.

Your assignment: Develop a report in terms of the following guidelines. A well-written report should have a brief introduction, headings or subheadings, and a brief concluding comment. Note that you should use some keywords as headings or subheadings such as “Key External Factors,” instead of a sentence or a question.

1) Briefly describe J.C. Penney’s new pricing strategy, also providing background on the company and department store industry.

2) Do you think J.C. Penney’s new pricing strategy will work in the long run even it seems not working at the current stage? Support your position in terms of environmental factors such as economy, the competition, and changing consumer behavior.

3) How does this pricing strategy complement J.C. Penney’s new merchandising and promotion strategies? Take into account J.C. Penney’s segmentation, positioning, and branding strategies to explain this issue.

4) What can you learn from this case? Consider this pricing issue from both short-term and long-term perspectives.

Expectations Regarding Your References and Defense of Your Positions

Write clearly, simply, and logically. Your paper should be minimum 3 pages long, excluding title pages and references, but quality of writing is more important than length. Use double-spaced, black Verdana or Times Roman font in 12 pt. type size.

Back up your positions or opinions with references to the required reading found in the Module 1-5 Backgrounds and Ongoing Useful Resources. In using those references, demonstrate your understanding of the concepts presented. Rather than grading on how much information you find, emphasis will be on the defense of the positions you take on the issues. Also remember that:

(1) The “why” is more important than the “what.”

(2) The defense of your positions on the issues is more important than the positions you take.

Do not repeat or quote definitions. Your use of the required reading to support your opinions (that is, contentions or positions) should demonstrate that you understand the concepts presented. Do not include definitions or summaries of the readings or simply describe what the company did. Instead, your responses to the questions should be analytical and should demonstrate that (a) you understand the principles from the background reading and (b) you can apply them to this particular case. Vague, general answers will not earn a good grade.

Avoid redundancy and general statements such as “All organizations exist to make a profit.” Make every sentence count.

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