Topic: a case study

Strategic Direction: J.C. Penney wanted to be "America's favorite store" and the company that treated its customers "fair and square" according to the traditional values of the Golden Rule Stores (MarketLine, 2012, p. 24). The company was in the business of physical and online department store sales in the fashion and home goods market segments. Subsets of the department store included women's apparel, men's apparel, home goods, men's and women's accessories, children's apparel, footwear, make up, and fine jewelry. Some stores ventured into services, offering design consulting, wedding registries, hair styling,optical offerings, and portrait photography (MarketLine, 2012). In its bid to recoup its losses after the Johnson debacle, J.C. Penney invoked its trusted history, positioning itself as the department store that listened to its customers and was a "better place to shop." It strove to meet the needs of families through its private label brands and selections for all segments of the population. It also sought ethical suppliers and chose to "give back" to improve relations with local communities. J.C. Penney's strategic goals included profitability, growth, increased market share, efficiency,accuracy of inventory, appropriate levels of quality, and customer-oriented service. Aligning its 2,500 domestic and foreign suppliers with its objectives was i-tive for ordering the right goods at the right time in the right quantities through its pur-chasing subsidiary. Maintaining quality and having all of its suppliers operate ethically was of utmost importance, thus the company operated inspection offices in 15 countries to implement these objectives (MarketLine, 2012). to achieve a competitive advantage, J.C. Penney focused on differentiation and location. It used customer service and strong private label brands as well as national brand name offerings to create points of distinction. Offering these brands within the store and opening its doors to partner boutiques, J.C. Penney became a retailer with "shops within the shop." The company competed on "rice, quality, style, service, prod- uct mix, convenience, and credit availability" (MarketLine, 2012, p. 21). It used a basic defender strategy to maintain market position, yet the company was not a technologi-cal leader--it did not make innovative changes to push its stores to new levels. It did, however, try to adapt to the current environment and make its traditional philosophy fit new trends.

Competitors: J.C. Penney operated within the Department Store industry, a sector that included large, multi-department retail and discount stores retailing a wide range of general merchan-dise such as apparel, jewelry, cosmetics, and home furnishings/household products, but excluded supercenters and warehouse clubs. According to Mintel, this industry had 64.9 billion in sales in 2011 (Mintel, 2013). By definition, the retail industry was always highly competitive with few barri-ers to entry. J.C. Penney's strongest rivals in the apparel and home furnishing retailers industry included Macy's Inc., Kohl's Corporation, Sears, and other department stores. Macy's had the highest percentage of the market share, approximately $16.3 billion (or 21.73%), followed by Kohl's with $11.3B (or 15.06%), and lastly J.C. Penney with $2.6B (or 3.47%). Kohl's and Sears were traditionally considered low-end department stores and Macy's was seen as high end, while J.C. Penney was traditionally viewed as the middle of the market in terms of pricing. The remainder of the market was held by smaller companies' department stores (Yahoo, 2013).

Macy's Inc.: Headquartered in Cincinnati, OH, with 175,700 employees working in 850 stores in 45 states, Macy's was, in 2013, the top competitor in the apparel and home furnishing retail industry with $277 billion in sales for the year ending February 2013. A retail company operating stores and websites under two brands, Macy's and Bloomingdale's, its operations purveyed a wide range of merchandise from apparel and accessories for men, women, and children to home furnishing and other consumer goods. The company

expanded globally unoer Bloomingdale's stores and through license agreements with Al Tayer Insignia in Dubai. Macy's had always attracted customers by offering superior selections and convenient locations. The company also had high-end makeup boutiques within its stores, the store within a store configuration that J.C. Penney wished to emu-late (Yahoo, 2013).

Kohl's Corporation With over 1,150 family-oriented department stores and a website, and 30,000 employees, Kohl's Corporation, headquartered in Menomonee Falls, WI, was another major competitor in the apparel and home furnishings retail industry, selling apparel, footwear, and accessories for women, men, and children; soft home products; and housewares. Kohl's apparel and home fashions were designed to appeal to classic, modern classic, and contemporary customers. The company had $19.279 billion in sales for the year ending February 2, 2013, and it was thus well-positioned as the second-largest player in the apparel and home furnishing retail industry. Kohl's began reaching out to technologically savvy customers by equipping all the stores with Wi-Fi, continuing to improve digital mobile sales platforms, and building the infrastructure to allow shipping online from its stores (Yahoo, 2013).

Sears Holding Corporation: Sears Holding Corporation, a retailer with 2,019 full-line and 54 specialty retail stores in the United States and 475 full-line and specialty stores in Canada had, as of February 2013, approximately 246,000 employees in the United States and approximately 28,000 employees in Canada. At that time, Sears was the leading home appliance retailer in The United States and offered a broad range of apparel labels as well, including Land's End, Jaclyn Smith, Sandra Lee Levi's, etc. The company operated in three segments: Kmart, Sears Domestic, and Sears Canada with $39.85 billion in revenues for the period ending February 2, 2013 (Yahoo, 2013).

Sustainability and Technology: In October of 2013, J.C. Penney reported that over 500 of its stores qualified for Energy Star certifications. According to Katheryn Burchett, SVP of Property Development, stores that proudly display the ENERGY STAI label generate fewer greenhouse emissions than non-certified structures, and each certified building saves the Company thousands of dollars in energy costs every year" (JCPenney, 2013). The improvements were important for both cost reductions and company perception, particularly from an environmentally sustainable perspective. Social media (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, and YouTube) also presented marketing opportunities that capitalized on the latest digital technologies, which J.C. Penney worked hard to leverage as aniffective means to market and connect with consumers. J.C. Penney was looking to implement RFID technology in its inventory management systems under CEO Ron Johnson, but in early 2013 the company elected to move away from the initiative as part of a cost-saving effort. Implementing RFID tags would have enabled J.C. Penney to reduce costs, but the initial investment was too large for the company to take on as it tried to bounce back from major losses.

Question1: Based on the information above what is " Marketing " that has been used?