J.C. Penney: Creating America's Favorite Store
INTRODUCTION:
In 2013, this department store has been celebrating being in business for 110 years. It also once lured its customers in with its famous discount pricing strategy and coupons. The retailer is J.C. Penney, a fixture at shopping malls across the country. In 2012, J.C. Penney rebranded itself by making the announcement that it wanted to become America 's favorite store by creating a specialty department store experience (JCP, 2013). Founder James Cash Penney began the company with a Golden Rule: treat others the way you want to be treated Fair and Square (JCP, n.d.). The well-known retailer has grown to nearly 1,100 stores and boasts a workforce of more than 116,000 full and part-time employees (Strand, 1998). JCP operates in the continental United States, Alaska, and Puerto Rico. Loyal consumers flocked to the giant big box store where it sold women, men, and children 's clothing along with jewelry and household items such as appliances and home furniture. Over the years, the giant retailer has polished its marketing finesse. JCP 's current catchy advertising line: "Creating America 's Favorite Store" (JCP, n.d.). In corporate America, there are four different market structures: pure competition, pure monopolistic, oligopoly, and monopoly. J.C. Penney falls under the pure competition market structure which is defined as many sellers supplying identical products (Douglas, 2012, Ch. 7). J.C. Penney humble beginnings started as a dry foods store and branched out over the years as a successful chain department store competing against other stores such as Sears, Macy 's, and Dillard. J.C. Penney 's corporate culture includes social responsibility to its consumers, its employees, its suppliers, and to the environment. However, over the two several years, J.C. Penney has endured an economic downturn which began after the hiring of former Apple executive Ron Johnson in late 2011 and his subsequence firing in early 2013 ("J.C. Penney 's
In 2013, this department store has been celebrating being in business for 110 years. It also once lured its customers in with its famous discount pricing strategy and coupons. The retailer is J.C. Penney, a fixture at shopping malls across the country. In 2012, J.C. Penney rebranded itself by making the announcement that it wanted to become America 's favorite store by creating a specialty department store experience (JCP, 2013). Founder James Cash Penney began the company with a Golden Rule: treat others the way you want to be treated Fair and Square (JCP, n.d.). The well-known retailer has grown to nearly 1,100 stores and boasts a workforce of more than 116,000 full and part-time employees (Strand, 1998). JCP operates in the continental United States, Alaska, and Puerto Rico. Loyal consumers flocked to the giant big box store where it sold women, men, and children 's clothing along with jewelry and household items such as appliances and home furniture. Over the years, the giant retailer has polished its marketing finesse. JCP 's current catchy advertising line: "Creating America 's Favorite Store" (JCP, n.d.). In corporate America, there are four different market structures: pure competition, pure monopolistic, oligopoly, and monopoly. J.C. Penney falls under the pure competition market structure which is defined as many sellers supplying identical products (Douglas, 2012, Ch. 7). J.C. Penney humble beginnings started as a dry foods store and branched out over the years as a successful chain department store competing against other stores such as Sears, Macy 's, and Dillard. J.C. Penney 's corporate culture includes social responsibility to its consumers, its employees, its suppliers, and to the environment. However, over the two several years, J.C. Penney has endured an economic downturn which began after the hiring of former Apple executive Ron Johnson in late 2011 and his subsequence firing in early 2013 ("J.C. Penney 's
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