Posts about JC Penney

Anti-Gay Group Tells JCPenney To Fire New Spokeswoman Ellen DeGeneres
Conservative group OneMillionMoms.com, an offshoot of the American Family Association, doesn't like that JCPenney has hired Ellen DeGeneres as their new spokeswoman. Not because of her dance moves or jokes on her talk show, but because she's gay. More »

JCPenney Getting New Logo & Something Resembling Genius Bars
The revolution continues at JCPenney, better known as that store your mom used to drag you to for back-to-school clothes you didn't want to wear. Last week the company announced it was doing away with many of its sales and going the everyday low price route. Now the retailer's new CEO, former Apple exec Ron Johnson (which sounds like the name of someone in the witness protection program) has unveiled a new logo and plans to turn JCP into something more Apple-store-ish. More »

JCPenney Does Away With Sales In Favor Of Permanent 40% Markdowns On All Merchandise
No more waiting for items to go on sale at JCPenney, as the company has announced it'll be marking all of its merchandise down by at least 40%. The move is part of a new pricing plan aimed at getting customers into its doors more regularly. More »

Macy's Fighting With JC Penney Over Who Gets To Shill Martha Stewart's Housewares
Macy's and JC Penney are in a legal tiff right now, after Martha Stewart's company hopped in bed with JC Penney to sell her housewares in their stores. Macy's is mad because they say they've got exclusive rights on all those taupe towels and ecru egg holders. More »

Which Online Retailers Have The Fastest & Slowest Delivery Times?
Today is Free Shipping Day, which is pretty self-explanatory, but free shipping doesn't mean good shipping. That's why the folks at STELLAservice wanted to know which of the top 25 online retailers were able to get you your order in a timely manner. More »

JCPenney Employee Checks Store Surveillance Footage To Return Lost $300 To Christmas Shopper
A grandmother shopping for her family's Christmas presents was given the gift of the holiday spirit, in the form of a JCPenney employee who did a little detective work to return $300 she'd dropped at the store. More »

Study: JCPenney, Avon, Gap Websites Are Worst At Responding To Customer E-Mails
After years of being trained to dread contacting a company via phone, lest we get trapped in the automated phone tree, customers are turning to e-mail for resolving their customer service issues. And while a new study shows that a majority of the top online retailers did a passable job of replying to customer inquiries, a handful of websites apparently decided to give their e-mail customer service teams some extra time off this holiday season. More »

JCPenney's Black Friday Ad Is Out
If you want to see what kind of deals JCPenney is offering for the Black Friday sale this year, their entire 72-page ad just got uploaded. More »

JCPenney Switches Tactics From Terrible Merchandise To Terrible Ads
JCPenney is rebounding from the recent outbreak of negative press over their "Too Pretty to Do Homework" sweatshirt for girls, with what we're sure they thought is a good, original, funny ad geared toward men. Is it? More »

JCPenney Removes "Too Pretty To Do Homework" Sweatshirt
After a jcpenney sweatshirt that said, "I'm too pretty to do my homework so my brother has to do it for me," caused an uproar among bloggers, the retailer has removed the garment from their website and issued an apology. More »

The 8 Largest U.S. Retailers With The Worst Sales
If we'd told you 10 years ago that Borders and Circuit City would vanish off the face of the planet and Blockbuster Video would be auctioned off to a satellite TV provider for pocket change, many people would have expressed disbelief. But those once-great stores have had their heyday in history, so now it's time to look into the magic 8 ball to see if doom lies ahead for other major retailers. More »

JCPenney Accused Of Manipulating Google Searches
It's a constant battle for retailers to draw attention to themselves online, and JCPenney has been winning the fight due to some blatant search engine manipulation. More »

What Do You Think Of The Stores-Within-Stores Trend?
These days, more and more big box and department store chains are taking a cue from shopping malls by renting out floor space to retailers to create smaller stores within stores. It's a model that has helped some businesses to stay afloat in these tough times, but does it benefit you? More »

Why Is JC Penney Unable To Send Me The Sizes I Actually Ordered?
For those of us who wear very unusual and/or large sizes of clothing, ordering clothes online is a thing of beauty and convenience. Unless you're Matt, and JC Penney's online fulfillment people are utterly unable to read the numbers on a pair of pants and put them in the correct box. Through multiple clothing orders, the retailer has been unable to send Matt the sizes that he actually requests—which I always thought was the entire point of ordering clothes online. More »

JCPenney Opens Up The First Facebook Store
JCPenney just snagged the "anchor store" spot on Facebook, becoming the first retailer to let shoppers purchase crap directly from their Facebook page application through a fully integrated e-commerce platform. More »

JCPenney Denies Leaking Personal Info On Website, Doesn't Really Answer Our Question
On Friday, we brought you the story of John and his wife, whose personal info ended up in the shopping cart of another customer. Over the weekend, a rep for the retail store responded to Consumerist's request for comment, even though they didn't exactly answer the question we'd asked. More »

Is JCPenney Giving Your Personal Info To Strangers?
Consumerist reader John is more than a little upset with JCPenney. He claims that the department store's website is in such a state of disarray that shoppers' sensitive, personal information is showing up in other shoppers' accounts. More »

JC Penney's Computer Won't Let It Hire me
A reader writes in about her frustrating experiences trying to get hired at a JC Penney salon. She spoke to her prospective boss and got the impression that she would be good to go, but the automated application system keeps throwing her curveballs. More »

Confessions Of A Department Store Credit Card Upseller
J works at JC Penney and isn't comfortable with what he describes as the company's conniving ways of convincing customers to apply for awful credit cards they don't need. More »

JCPenney Switching To Priceless Catalogs
When JCPenney killed off its traditional Big Book catalog last year, the result was a drop in sales on its website, says the retailer's chairman. Based on that successful strategy—wait, what?—JCPenney says it's killing off its remaining 12 specialty catalogs as well. Instead, it will start mailing out thinner "look books," which will contain a subset of merchandise and no prices. More »

Christmas Comes Early To JC Penney
You know it's too early for Christmas decorations when even the people who are paid to be prematurely cheery admit it's way too early to get geeked up for the holiday. More »

How To Get The Best Deals At 10 Major Retail Chains
Everyone wants a bargain, which is why more Americans shop at discount chains like Target and Walmart than at any other type of big store. But a new survey of more than 30,000 subscribers by the Consumer Reports National Research Center reveals that folks are also finding low prices at department stores, warehouse clubs, and general-merchandise retailers. We recently reported on why consumers shop where they do. More »

Man Convinces JCPenney To Honor Online Price
Gerry and his wife tried to buy a pair of sneakers that the JCPenney website had listed on sale. While other products were marked "online only," this particular pair of sneakers was marked "also in stores," so the couple assumed that the price would be the same. Naturally, the store's employees refused to see the logic of this argument. More »

Shoplifter Forgets Baby
A note to shoplifters: When doing your thing, don't leave behind any item that could incriminate you, such as, say, your 10-month-old infant. More »

Shrink Ray Hits JCPenney Clothing Now, Too?
Kyle just wrote to us that the 36" sleeve on a Large Tall sweatshirt from JCPenney has been reduced to 35". It's not just a manufacturing accident, because the new length is printed in the retailer's sizing charts. But Kyle says for years he's had no problem with JCPenney shirts, and that this all started happening within the past year or so. More »

JC Penney Destroys Unsold Clothing On Orders From Ralph Lauren
H&M went through public shaming when they were caught shredding and throwing away brand-new merchandise instead of donating it to charity. Now a JC Penney store in Pennsylvania has reportedly done the same thing. Company representatives admitted to the Pittsburgh TV station that exposed the destruction of merchandise that this is official company practice, but only for items from the Penney's-exclusive Ralph Lauren Living line. More »

J.C. Penney and Home Depot Discover Strange New Concept Called "Customer Service"
Whaaaaa? The Wall Street Journal says J.C. Penney and Home Depot have been investing in better customer service training, because apparently some egghead thinks it might increase sales. Penney started it back over the holiday shopping season, by giving cash bonuses to employees who improved their customer service scores. Home Depot should be rolling out some new improved customer interaction this month, where cashiers will ask if you found everything you needed and will call up the right department on your behalf if you didn't. More »

Watch Out, The J.C. Penney Security Guard Has A Gun!
If security guards start carrying guns at department stores, I'm going to stop referring to them as rent-a-cops. Not because they've suddenly jumped up on my respect-o-meter, but because they might open fire. At a mall in Virginia last Sunday, a J.C. Penney security guard pursued a shoplifter into the mall parking lot and fired a gun into the air. The shoplifter was arrested, and the police confiscated the guard's gun. The store won't say whether it was owned by the guard or issued by management. More »

JCPenney Tries Out Mobile Coupons In Houston Stores

—>If you live in the Houston area, you can now use your mobile phone to redeem coupons for JCPenney through a trial-partnership with Cellfire. You have to register with Cellfire in order to receive the promos via SMS or email, and if you register today you'll receive a mysterious "$10 in$tant gift" [sic].  More »

New York Times Wishes It Had Not Published "Snotty" JC Penney Review

—> The NYT is now expressing regret over publishing Cintra Wilson's "Critical Shopper" review of JC Penney's new Manhattan store. The column was simultaneously hateful and boring, offering astute observations such as the fact that middle class people shop there and that the store carries clothes for the average-sized woman.  More »

J.C. Penney In Manhattan Harbinger Of Fashion Apocalypse, Fat Suburbanites

—>Cintra Wilson set out to write a lighthearted, snarky article about the arrival of J.C. Penney in Manhattan for her "Critical Shopper" series, and somehow ended up insulting nearly everyone who read the article. Those who took offense included, but were not limited to: overweight people, tourists, plastic mannequins, people who are attuned to rampant classism, residents of "middle America," diabetics, and anyone who has ever found an attractive article of clothing at a J.C. Penney.  More »

This JCPenney Coupon Doesn't Understand The Term "No Exclusions"

—>Hey, JCPenney, an asterisk isn't a get-out-of-jail-free card. You can't just say anything you want and then asterisk it away into meaninglessness. Here, we've fixed it for you.  More »

JC Penney Emails You To Let You Know They Won't Email You

—>Reader psionix bought some PJ's from JC Penney for his wife and, upon checkout, chose not to receive any emails from JC Penney. The retailer then emailed him to let him know that they won't be emailing him, and asked him to fill out a survey on why he didn't want to receive any emails from them. Here's what they sent:   More »

Is JC Penney Going To Close Some Of Its Stores?

—>This is rumor only, folks, but a tipster tells us that JC Penney plans on closing 11 stores this year, and that they're freezing salaries on all employees. The retailer isn't doing as badly as some of its competitors—it has no debt maturing in 2009, for example, and plans to have $2 billion in cash on hand at the end of this month—but considering CEO Mike Ullman has said he's planning business conservatively for 2009, it wouldn't be that surprising if it turns out to be true.  More »

JC Penney slashed its forecast today. The retailer blamed the economic slowdown for its poor sales performance.

"J.C. Penney counts half of American families as its customers, and they are feeling macroeconomic pressures from many areas ... [and] the sharp decline in sales is reflective of these trends. While the economic stimulus package may provide some temporary benefit, we expect the continuation of a difficult environment over the course of 2008."

[Wall Street Journal]  More »

This JC Penney Coupon Is Very Versatile
As I recall, you did something on useless Sports Authority coupons. JC Penney is no slouch either. From one I got in the mail:  More »

JC Penney: Excuse Me Sir, "The Big & Tall Section Is Over There..."

Yesterday I was shopping at JCPenny in Cary, North Carolina. Was browsing through some of the racks, picking up some new outfits for work, when an employee approached me to ask if I needed any help. I told him no thanks, and then he said to me "Well, the Big and Tall section is over there" and points me to a different part of the store...   More »

Latest ACSI Survey Is Out: You Really Like Dollar General

—> The American Customer Satisfaction Index has released its latest scores of retail businesses, so we thought we'd take a look at the department store rankings by constructing a handy graph. When it comes to customer satisfaction, apparently Dollar General is doing something right—and Wal-Mart, as usual, is doing lots of things wrong.   More »

[JSStudios]  More »

Over 17 Million Items Recalled For Lead Contamination In 2007

Ladies and Gentlemen... Boys and Girls... The final tally for lead recalls is in.   More »

Walmart Instigates Back-To-School Season Price War

—>Walmart will offer 10 to 50 percent discounts on 16,000 items to boost sales during the lucrative back-to-school season. The cuts are part of Walmart's broader plan to abandon its pursuit of the upscale market, which "confused customers," and return to its core business of undercutting competition and instigating price wars.  More »

Many Unhappy Returns

—>Mouse Print's got a roundup of some of the stricter return policies.  More »

Black Friday Ad: JC Penney

They're coming through hot and heavy now.  More »

How Do You Prove You're Not Dead?

Continuing our foray into the consumer macabre, a reader complains about being dead.  More »

JC Penney Gets Anorexic

—>Whilst flipping through the Sunday circulars, reader Thomas B. was surprised to see JC Penney's new clothing line called, "a.n.a. : A New Approach."   More »