You know that deserted wing in your least favorite mall in your city? If you're lucky, there might be an odd tenant like a shoe cobbler or The Scrub Outlet still hanging around. Well, that's usually where you'll find JCPenney. Up until, three or four months ago, I had completely forgotten about JCP. (By the way, doesn't it sound hipper like that, "JCP"; it sounds like the nickname for a teen starlet, pre-rehab of course.) I didn't know anyone still shopped there except maybe my mother-in-law...and literally that's it (which I guess would make for a great shopping experience).
JCP totally snuck up on me a couple of months back with its CEO appearing on TV news shows to tell shoppers about changes in its stores. The chain has undergone a season of rebranding and the first and most receptive change to a shopper is their new "fair and square" pricing system. It's more like the "always low prices" approach you see at Walmart. Instead of guessing what is on sale this week and finding out which rack to take off however much and bringing in some coupon, now the price is clearly marked on the tag and that price would be marked down with stickers as weeks went by and new product came in. Well, that's great, but that didn't make me jump up, get into my car, and head to JCP. Especially since the store was closed that early in the morning, and, quite frankly, I had no idea where in the Raleigh area a JCP was. So that was filed away under "Nice try, Corporate America, but it looks like you're still gonna fail" and I made breakfast.
Then they really got me. Every week in my Sunday paper, I started to find their ad, circular, whatever you call it. This is important because I'm a visual learner, and one of the little things I look forward to is reading and browsing the paper when my carrier has a good morning and gets it to me before church. Now, these circulars definitely looked hip and cool. Very simple, minimal but with bold colors. After a couple of weeks, I especially enjoyed getting ideas for outfits from its pages which featured brands like Betseyville and Olsenboye. I was more and more curious with each week's copy but still not enough to finally figure out where a Raleigh location was.
Then the day to visit came. I noticed that they had $6 Okie Dokie jeans for boys and Carter needed some, so we decided to check them out. I was surprised to learn that our JCP was located at hoity-toity North Hills. We parked in the underground garage (love it, feels so city!) and walked in with little expectation. Holy cowza! Maybe it was because we came in where the fancy furniture showroom is located, but I didn't feel like I was in a washed up, crowded "Penney's"; I was visiting a brightly hip, roomy JCP. It was more Target/H&M than the stuffy bombardment of Belk and Macy's or the mess of Sears, and I really liked that. The salespeople looked so normal with casual jeans and simple name tags. They even have WiFi!
On our visit yesterday, I bought some Olsenboye brown buckle boots on clearance and a JCP brand fitted 3/4-sleeve jean button-up shirt. When the sales lady asked if I had a JCP credit card and Carter was playing with the applications for one, I was tempted in the first time in several years to apply for a store credit card. It was definitely time to leave. I felt myself getting sucked in. It's a very good thing that JCP is all the way at North Hills.
My recommendations for JCP to be even better:
- Put in a mini coffee shop like Starbucks in Target.
- To avoid the cheesiness of shopping carts but giving a way to carry your purchases, (especially with a coffee in your hand) provide mesh bags like Old Navy.
- More circulars! I haven't seen one since the holidays.
Any surprising stores tickle your fancy?
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