J.C. Penney

Today's world is a transparent one. Shoppers can search for price information while in-store and find another price locally or order online — all with nothing more than a smartphone and the appropriate app. Clearly competing on price, while only partially effective 20 years ago, is an exercise in futility today.

J.C. Penney Co. named another former Apple Inc. employee to its executive ranks to assist in the retailer's vast transformation under new Chief Executive Ron Johnson.

Terry Lundgren, Macy's chairman, president and CEO, offers insight into retail trends and his company's business strategy. He also comments on the challenges faced by Ron Johnson, CEO of J.C. Penney.

Being fair and being loyal aren't the same thing. But can one engender the other? The question hit me when reviewing J.C. Penney's annual report, which reveals its new pricing strategy, Fair and Square, could produce a fair number of zeros in the coming months — i.e., declining sales. As coupons, price cuts and other discounts have essentially trained consumers not to pay full price (and to wonder what the full price on anything really is), the retailer walked away from the madness. Fair and Square, it said: everyday low pricing, with just two sales a month on out-of-season wares.

The retail industry continues to evolve at a fast pace into something where brick-and-mortar stores no longer stand independently of digital, mobile and social technologies. Store retailers are losing sales as consumers use mobile devices and social networks while they're physically in-store to seek advice, reference product information and online reviews, and, ultimately, purchase products online or even at another store. Online retailers like Amazon.com and Zappos.com are taking advantage of this trend to lure consumers away from more traditional retailers.

Retail needs to adapt or die. That was the call to action sounded by Eddie Lampert, founder of ESL Partners, which controls about 60 percent of Sears Holdings. Lampert said changes in the retail industry have been great for consumers, but there's a question about whether they've been great for businesses. “J.C. Penney is in need of reinvention, Sears is in need of reinvention, Best Buy [is] in need of reinvention,” he said. “And that means that you’re going to have to try new things. That doesn’t mean you're going to be successful, but you have to try to change.”

J.C. Penney is running mobile ads inside the Hulu Plus iPhone application that let users shop via the retailer's mobile site. The J.C. Penney ads promote the company's new month-long sales that are part of a larger rebranding move.

It's kind of fun to think of a teenaged Ellen DeGeneres working an after-school mall job at the local J.C. Penney, no? As the new spokeswoman for the chain, DeGeneres put together this clever advertorial which films her return to her former place of employment: the Penney's in her hometown of Metairie, Louisiana.

Nothing delights us more than when brands offer amazing customer experiences. So it's wonderful to see retailers with character scoring high on the Media Logic’s Retail Social Index in January.

J. C. Penney has announced the promotion of a number of current executives and the appointment of several highly respected retail veterans who will be at the forefront of redefining the J.C. Penney brand and shopping experience.