What\'s Wrong With JC Penney?

JC PENNEY'S

RESEARCH PROJECT PROPOSAL -- JC PENNEY'S

Research Project Proposal - J.C. Penney's

JC Penney's

Overview of Organization

The J.C. Penney Company was once the dominant player in the retail industry as it was founded in the beginning of the twentieth century. However the company is now a holding company for struggling department store operator J.C. Penney Corp is still one of the largest department store and e-commerce retailers in the United States, J.C. Penney Corp. operates some 1,100 J.C. Penney department stores in 49 states and Puerto Rico. There are also about 10 Foundry Big & Tall Supply Company stores. These stores were launched in 2011 (Hoover's, 2014). J.C. Penney stock used to move back and forth between twenty-five and forty-five bucks but it started to crater at the start of January 2012 until it bottomed out in the latter half of 2013. However, the stock has since stabilized and is hovering around ten dollars a share. Revenue has also taken a major fall but it has also stabilized. Indeed, the company made $17.2 billion in 2012 but only $12.9 billion in 2013. However, while there was a fall for FY 2014, it was sonly another one billion rather than the six to seven billion the year before (Yahoo Finance, 2014).

The company has tried a number of things to revitalize its position in the industry after market share has plummeted. Recently, the company hired former Apple Senior Vice President of Retail Operations Ron Johnson as their new Chief Executive Officer. However, he was terminated after only seventeen months on the job. This was partially due to the volatility that has occurred in the company and the industry in general. Also, the retail industry has been through many innovative evolutions. However, Johnson's failed strategies also had a lot to do with the turnover (IBT, 2013). JC Penney's was formerly one of the innovators of mass marketing as it would print large sales books that were direct mailed to individual homes. Since its peak companies such as Wal-Mart have applied significant pressure by becoming the dominant low cost leader in the industry.

The author of this report worked part-time as a floor manager in the woman clothing section. The author started working for JC Penney's during the Christmas season. While working in the women's clothing section and at the management staff meetings, the author observed people working for the store while possessing a "just get a paycheck" attitude. Part of this stems from the fact that the retail industry is somewhat expected to be a downer for employees who work in the field. This can even be true when speaking of people at management levels as the long hours and mediocre pay can drag down the morale of employees. There is some debate as to whether or not this is a drain on company profits or not. Regardless, bad morale makes for a dicey place to work and thrive. Given that, it would behoove JC Penney to break the never-ending cycle of people phoning in their work, so to speak, to just get a paycheck and get out (Abbott, 2003).

To further the points made above about JC Penney, the management staff also had the same attitude about working for the brand. It seemed that the other management staff who had been employed for some time did not seem to pay attention to the attitudes of the workers. Some of the staff actively discusses how it used to be in the company's "glory days." J.C. Penney's is still a solid company. However, the author of this report believes the management staff in the location where the author worked is so focused on competing externally that they have forgotten what made the brand successful in the beginning. The author of this report shall focus the research on developing people and processes internally. The author of this report believes that this will solidify the company's position externally.

Preliminary Problem Statement