SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. -
It was a major overhaul -- last week retail giant J.C. Penney debuted its new brand.
Now business experts are weighing in on what the lower prices mean.
You couldn't turn on the television with out hearing the screams--ever-changing sale prices infuriating shoppers. It was JCPenney's way of announcing its new brand and streamlined pricing structure.
"The gimmicks and the hoops, they're all gone," said Kurt Shellenberger, manager of the J.C. Penney store in South Burlington. Shellenberger says the retailer is ditching coupons and door buster deals. There's now three pricing categories:
- Everyday prices represent the new lower price point offered on all items.
- Month-long values are the items that are discounted that month
- Best Value is the new name for clearance, or the lowest price you'll ever see for a particular item.
"I just think it was time for us to take a new direction and kind of break off from the pack," Shellenberger said.
It's a move local shoppers, like Cathy Anderson, seem to appreciate. "Before there were so many sales and then there was 60-percent off something but you didn't know if it was the sale or the regular price, so I think it simplifies it a lot for the shoppers," she said.
Others are digging the store's new look -- bolder colors and wider aisles were a strategic part of the re-design. "When I first walk in it's like, wow. The room -- It's not cramped anymore and it just gets you excited about all the different places you can shop in here," another shopper, Vicki Eaton.
The store's new pricing structure and look is certainly attracting customers, and business experts say it was a smart move for the company. "I look at it more as a deliberate attempt to capture a greater market share, not as a Hail Mary, we're really in trouble," said Megan Frenzen, a marketing professor at Champlain College. She says the move is bold for a store that's built a brand around gimmicks. "J.C. Penney's hallmark almost has been their sales and their weekly flyers and so it's a major shift for J.C. Penney, but it isn't something that's new in the world of retail."
Although the new direction is creating buzz, Frenzen says it's unlikely to change buyer behavior in the long run. "Short run -- they may see some changes, especially shifting out of the weekly sale model and into a month-long sale model. That will give consumers more time to feel like they are getting the best value that they possibly can," she said.
"It's very drastic," said J.C. Penney's Kurt Shellenberger.
The century old company hopes that drastic marketing move means a new beginning.
