Why Ron Johnson, Apple's old retail boss, left JCPenney

[YanniDepp]

Some interesting insight here. Looks like Ron underestimated how attached a retail giant could be to its shady pricing policies.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/19/jcpenney-prices_n_4986649.html

 

[quagmire]

Amazon does a similar thing as well, though not universal. See the Blendtec Designer Series. Amazon says list price is $659, and they are selling it for $454 a savings of 31%. But, the list price for the Designer Series is $454 from Blendtec.

http://www.amazon.com/Blendtec-Desi...=UTF8&qid=1395796844&sr=8-3&keywords=blendtec

 

[maflynn]

Ron Johnson was fired from JC Penny because he drove the company into the ground.

As for the linked story, if anyone thinks that JC Penny doesn't hike the prices just so they can show huge discounts, then they must know the most not to be aware of retail.

Nearly every store does this to some level, JC Penny does it more then others however.

 

[rdowns]

Ron Johnson was fired from JC Penny because he drove the company into the ground.

As for the linked story, if anyone thinks that JC Penny doesn't hike the prices just so they can show huge discounts, then they must know the most not to be aware of retail.

Nearly every store does this to some level, JC Penny does it more then others however.

JCP was well into the ground when Ron Johnson arrived. He tried to change them into a modern retailer and when the going got tough, they decided to retreat to their previous failing business model

 

[maflynn]

JCP was well into the ground when Ron Johnson arrived. He tried to change them into a modern retailer and when the going got tough, they decided to retreat to their previous failing business model

They were in trouble to be sure, but his pricing model alienated JCPenny's loyal customers and failed to attract new customers.

On the surface, I'd say his pricing model was a blast of fresh air, but its hard to compete against other retailers advertising 20 to 40% off sales (even though the actual price is not any lower then JCPs).

Overall given what I've read and seen first hand shopping for my kids, its not just price that is killing JCP but rather selection, and style.

 

[balamw]

Amazon does a similar thing as well, though not universal. See the Blendtec Designer Series. Amazon says list price is $659, and they are selling it for $454 a savings of 31%. But, the list price for the Designer Series is $454 from Blendtec.

With Amazon it's always a bit tricky, because you can't always immediately tell if it's Amazon, a third party selling via Amazon's warehouses or a third party altogether.

The Amazon.com price I see for the blender is $389.95, though it's out of stock.



I don't have a jcp by me now, but it's a shame they didn't seem to keep their stuff together. Back in the early 2000s they seemed to be gaining some momentum.

B

 

[Rogifan]

Johnson's problem was he changed pricing before he changed the stores. So the stores still looked like crap, with crap merchandise but all the sale/clearance signs (and the coupons) were gone. Johnson should have worked on upgrading the stores and merchandise before tinkering with pricing. And maybe as the different 'stores within a store' were built out those individual stores could introduce different pricing. But Johnson was right about pricing. Rather than taking a $15 item, putting a $30 price tag on it and then marking it off 40% just charge me $18 and be done with it. But people love going into their Kohls and having the check out clerk circle all the money the supposedly "saved".

 

[maflynn]

But people love going into their Kohls and having the check out clerk circle all the money the supposedly "saved".

In khol's defense they do have good prices, my wife does not like to over spend and looks for the best selection at a good price. Khol's wins on both counts.

 

[quagmire]

With Amazon it's always a bit tricky, because you can't always immediately tell if it's Amazon, a third party selling via Amazon's warehouses or a third party altogether.

The Amazon.com price I see for the blender is $389.95, though it's out of stock.

View attachment 466331

I don't have a jcp by me now, but it's a shame they didn't seem to keep their stuff together. Back in the early 2000s they seemed to be gaining some momentum.

B

Yeah I have seen it lower than $454 directly from Amazon. But, the supposed list price is $659 which is flatly wrong, even if you get a price lower than the real $454 list price.

It's a bit misleading.

 

[maflynn]

It's a bit misleading.

But that's retail. I'm not defending the action as much as pointing out that is a common practice. No one worth their salt looks at the MSRP price. Nearly every retailer inflates the price just to show how much you'll save.

My girls love to shop at Justice a clothing store that is in my area (not sure if they're national or not). They have day in and day out, week in and week out, sales that are from 40 to 60% off. Not one parent in their believes they're getting a deal. The difference, they have a selection my 8 years love which cannot be said of JCP

 

[thejadedmonkey]

It's a shame, because JCP was the only department store I even remotely liked shopping at, in the mall.

I don't think I'm that unusual, and I'm the target 18-35 year old male. They should have kept him.

 

[balamw]

Yeah I have seen it lower than $454 directly from Amazon. But, the supposed list price is $659 which is flatly wrong, even if you get a price lower than the real $454 list price.

It's a bit misleading.

Yeah, but that list price didn't necessarily originate with Amazon. Often times the item listing is created by a third party seller at a price higher than retail for items that Amazon doesn't sell, this then remains the comparison price.

This happens a lot for "hot" items Amazon doesn't sell directly.

I have also seen cases where a third party will add in the shipping costs that they would have received on their own site into a "free shipping" cost on Amazon.

The Blendtec is an example of that, given that on their website I'd pay $450 for the blender and and extra $20 more for the cheapest shipping option.

B

 

[quagmire]

Yeah, but that list price didn't necessarily originate with Amazon. Often times the item listing is created by a third party seller at a price higher than retail for items that Amazon doesn't sell, this then remains the comparison price.

This happens a lot for "hot" items Amazon doesn't sell directly.

I have also seen cases where a third party will add in the shipping costs that they would have received on their own site into a "free shipping" cost on Amazon.

The Blendtec is an example of that, given that on their website I'd pay $450 for the blender and and extra $20 more for the cheapest shipping option.

B

Ah ok. So even though when it is in stock, it will default to Amazon's selling option, that $659 is from a third-party? Got it.

 

[rdowns]

In khol's defense they do have good prices, my wife does not like to over spend and looks for the best selection at a good price. Khol's wins on both counts.

Kohl's is a worse offender of this practice than JCP.