« I’m STILL Having Problems With Comments | Main | Rent or Own? The New Cable Dilema »
JC Penney’s = Perpetual SALE!
By JLP | June 6, 2007
I find it humorous that JC Penney’s sends out all these mailings with “SALE” and “BONUS SALE” splashed all over them. It would be one thing if they sent these out every once in a while so that they were memorable. However, it now seems like JC Penney’s is ALWAYS having a sale.
Could this spell trouble for the company or is it brilliant marketing? I suppose if their regular prices are high enough, then marking them down so that they qualify as a sale, might make sense. I remember last year my wife picked me up a couple of shirts from Penney’s. They weren’t anything fancy but I remember they each had manufacturer’s suggested retail prices of $48. However, I remember her paying something like $20 per shirt, which was a heck of a lot less than MSRP. My wife thought she got a good deal while I thought she paid full price for what the shirts were actually worth. In other words, MSRP means nothing.
The problem I can see JC Penney’s getting into with all their blowout sales, is that they are cheapening themselves and turning their company into a discount chain.
What do you guys think? Do you think running perpetual sales is good or bad for JC Penney’s?
Topics: Miscellaneous | 14 Comments »
June 6th, 2007 at 1:50 pm
I worked for Penney’s as a sales associate not to long ago. I can tell you one thing, their marketing always made for some hefty shoppers. I remember during those ‘Back to School Sales’, people were buying piles of clothing as if Penney was giving them away.
June 6th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
Is JC Penny’s pushing the same items in every sale, or are different items on sale each time? I know that Dell and Godaddy are always running sales: Dell is selling different, specific items; Godaddy is selling foot-in-the-door products to get you to buy more later on. Those kinds of perpetual sales make sense.
The notions of “retail” and “wholesale” have gotten so blurred that they are merely words now. That is almost certainly a bad development.
June 6th, 2007 at 3:12 pm
Hee! I’m pretty sure that JCPenny’s has been having a sale for about 2 years. I know that I bought some blankets for 50% off around Christmas 2005 and they were having their once-a-week sales all the time back then.
JO, I find that Penny’s rotates the items that are for sale. Though some things are rarely on sale, whereas others are on sale once a month. It’s not the only store that does this. If you shop at HobbyLobby, you’ll find that certain items (ex. scrapbook paper) are offered for 50% off, at least one week a month. I not sure what the underlying business model is, but it seems that it is becoming more and more common.
June 6th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
What are they putting on sale? I actually don’t shop at JCPenny, but I imagine clothing needs to move pretty quickly. You have to keep a large inventory of seasonal items in stock as well as the ‘in’ clothing styles. It makes sense then that they would be trying to move older and out of season clothes out rather quickly, hence the constant sales. It also helps that those people drawn into the sales may also pick up one or two of the regular priced trendy pieces.
I generally shop at the small discount stores that buy overstock from the big department stores. Some stores, like in the malls, have sections of older styles that are thrown in a bin or hung randomly on sale racks, where $50 shirts are sold for $5 or $10.
June 6th, 2007 at 5:07 pm
If there’s something I really want from Penney’s I never buy it full price anymore. I know it will go on sale in the next 4-6 weeks. I think they’re shooting themselves in the foot with the constant sales.
June 6th, 2007 at 5:37 pm
I don’t shop at Penny’s because none of the stores near me have accessible changing rooms, and my wife needs a grab bar. It’s a small thing, but more than one Penny’s near me is pathetic that way. That’s enough of a pattern to send me elsewhere.
June 6th, 2007 at 7:29 pm
Joseph A. Bank also has a sale almost every week.
June 6th, 2007 at 7:32 pm
Yankee Bill and I joke about this all the time. “Gee, JC Penney is having a sale this weekend, what a surprise”
June 6th, 2007 at 9:19 pm
any sales is a good sales. Who care if it’s making them cheapening.
June 6th, 2007 at 10:25 pm
More on perpetual sales… I shopped for a vacuum cleaner recently at Sears. They have two models at the same regular price. According to the specs on their web site, one comes with a crevice tool and the other comes with an upholstery brush. However, in the store I found that both vacuum cleaners actually come with both attachments. When I asked why they would do that, the salesman told me that if they had just one of the models and it was on sale every week, then they couldn’t advertise it as being on sale, but by having two model numbers advertised as different, they could legitimately have one on sale every weekend. It was interesting to see how easily one can get around the advertising rules.
June 7th, 2007 at 9:13 am
What is full price? Furniture stores have always had perpetual “going out of business” sales, or the first Tuesday of the week sale. When you mark up a price so you can have a “sale” to sell it at the price you really desire to sell at, is it a sale? That is why post Christmas sales now begin before Thanksgiving. Another of my thoughts is medical costs and the reduced costs negotiated by a network provider. When managed care first began here in the very early 90′s, we saw a true savings on our client’s health premium due to negotiations. Now I believe the price of medical service is marked up enough that medical providers can negotiate a “35% reduction” for a particular network. I sit on the board of a large (1500 employee) governmental body’s health benefit plan. I see most providers willing to accept Medicare allowable rates for the plans claims adjudication. I see that as the true cost of providing care. NOW, IS Medicare allowable pricing going to be marked up so even that can be negotiated for a “savings” to our seniors?
As I have lived by, the price a willing buyer and a willing seller can agree upon is the price of a product. So, When is a sale a sale? A sale is an advertising device to draw interest in that establishment. Negotiating in Mexico is a good example of that finding the true price of a piece of merchandise.
I apologize for the length.
June 7th, 2007 at 9:48 am
JC Penny’s does always have sales, but htey seem to rotate which merchandise is on sale at a given time. EA makes a good point about just waiting for what you want.
What I do like about Penny’s is that our store (I’m assuming it is the same at other stores) includes a 15% off coupon on the back of the receipt for filling out a 5 minute survey on-line. They also frequently send out coupons in the mail.
I wouldn’t pay full-price for their clothes, but I htink very good deals can be found there.
June 8th, 2007 at 9:33 am
Weekly Roundup – 06/08/07
Well, this is my last weekly roundup as a 35 year old — I’ll be turning 36 over the weekend. Oh well, at least I’m still in my mid-30s… As for a birthday celebration, we’re headed out of town and will be spending the weeke…
March 29th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
Sir, I reasently went bankrup. I did not go on J C Penneys. I have had your card for 35 years. I have never been late. I went bankrup 2 times before. I would never go on you. I have was paid up to Feb. I use your card for everthing. I was hopping we could come to some arrangement, and I could keep the card. They took away two other cards but I can do with out them. I am looking fordward to hear from you. Thank you, Kenneth Varner