J.C. Penney's Risky New Pricing Strategy

J.C. Penney CEO Ron Johnson recently unveiled ambitious plans to transform the 110-year-old department store chain into a 21st century retail powerhouse. Leveraging his experience at Target and Apple, Johnson aims to create 80 to 100 highly-branded “stores within a store” (e.g. a Martha Stewart boutique). Channeling the spirit of Apple’s Genius Bar, every J.C. Penney will also have a “Town Square” offering complimentary services to customers as well as promotions such as free hot dogs and ice cream in July.

The lynchpin of J.C. Penney’s revitalization is a new “Fair and Square Every Day” pricing strategy. The plan stems from Johnson’s realization that three-quarters of everything sold at J.C. Penney is typically sold at a 50% discount from list price. Instead of using deep discount sales to attract customers, starting this week the chain will simply offer three prices: (1) “Every Day”, (2) “Month Long Value” (theme sales such as back-to-school related products in August), and (3) “Best Prices” (clearance). Prices will also now end in “0″ instead of “99″ and price tags will list just one price (instead of including the de rigueur “previously sold at a higher price” convention).