J.C. Penney’s Marketing Chief Has Stepped Down

COMMENTARY | Late Monday Night, J.C. Penney’s marketing chief, Michael Francis, stepped down. Francis led the company away from a sales- and coupon-based pricing, to a daily value pricing. Sadly, this change scared off customers and the store has suffered a severe slump in sales.

Francis was previously at Target, a store that offers select apparel pieces, advertised on sale, every week. Yet, the majority of its clothing is at full price. Only the merchandise that remains, at the end of the season, is at a clearance discount. What Target has mastered best is discount designer collaborations with such famous design houses as Missoni, Liberty of London, Issac Mizrahi and other well known designers names. For years, fashionistas have been swarming Target, gobbling up fabulous pieces, at retail prices, on release dates. Target has gathered the attention of shoppers by creating ultra fashionable images and desirable situations. I had friends who had never heard of Missoni before, saw the print and television ads, and were at the store at 6 a.m. to purchase their own bit of Missoni.

Yet, what happened at J.C. Penney? I suspect that the company spent so much time focusing on the price points, but not on the unique, high quality, fashionable merchandise each store had to offer.

For almost five years now, J.C. Penney has tried to change the company’s dowdy image to that of a fashionista. The inclusion of Sephora stores in many of the J.C. Penney stores has been a huge plus. The glamorous, high styling image of Sephora, next to the juniors department, is brilliant product placement. Yet, J.C. Penney failed to properly capitalize on this favorable asset.

Perhaps the biggest mistake for J.C. Penney is not advertising the designers special to the company. One good example is the I Heart Ronson line, by designer Charlotte Ronson. This trendy designer is the twin sister of Lindsay Lohan gal pal and club DJ Samantha Ronson and younger sister to famed DJ and producer Mark Ronson. The I Heart Ronson clothing line is a little edgy, a lot feminine and very fashion-forward. Nicole Miller and Liz Claiborne are perennial classic favorites for the office and party attire and are featured at J.C. Penney. But the biggest draw to J.C. Penney is American Living, Ralph Lauren’s incredibly gorgeous and equally affordable line. Sadly, people are not flocking to the stores to purchase this quality merchandise.

The former J.C. Penney Chief Marketing Officer, Michael Boylson, explained why they did not attached the Ralph Lauren name to the American Living brand. “We really think the American Living brand can stand on its own,” He stated. “If it had the Lauren name on it,” he explained, “I think it would create some confusion.”

I believe Boylson and the team behind the no-marketing marketing of American Living are the confused people. I frequently find the American Living brand on the clearance racks. At Target, the designer items fly off the shelves! At J.C. Penney, the items are waiting to be purchased. In addition to clothing, the American Living home items are gorgeous and well made. I often get compliments on items in my house and when I tell friends about American Living, they are truly surprised.

If J.C. Penney wants to survive this tough time, I suggest the company reboot their entire price advertising campaign and refocus on the designers. J.C. Penney should utilize spokesperson Ellen DeGeneres by having her use her humor and people skills to conduct mini interviews with the designers. Perhaps have her create a little fashion show and invite other fashion experts to showcase what this company has to offer. J.C. Penney should also create a bit of buzz and hold a special release, in the same spectacular way Target and H&M; do. The company could feature a new line, play hip music and use edgy models to get consumers excited. This should entice fashionistas everywhere, who are interested in buying fashionable clothing at affordable prices, not haggling over value pricing or coupons.

J.C. Penney has the goods. Now I hope this company has the wisdom to develop a strategy to draw shoppers into the stores.