JCPenney CEO Apologizes for Taking Away Your Precious Coupons

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

The numbers are in and it turns out things at JCPenney are just as grim as they appeared: The year-end loss totals $985 million, which includes the 30% drop in sales in the fourth quarter. Investors attribute the fail to the "no-sale" policy that company CEO Ron Johnson introduced in February of last year. Johnson is bearing the brunt of the blame, admitting that it was a little ambitious to try to change his customer's shopping patterns in a year. Hop over the jump for his "apology."

"As much as we accomplished last year, we also made some big mistakes. I take personal responsibility for these. [...] We worked really hard and tried many things to help the customer understand that she could shop anytime on her terms. But we learned she prefers a sale. At times she loves the coupon. And always she needs a reference price."

So how is he righting this apparent wrong? With sales "each and every week," as well as coupons (though the department store will "still call them gifts").

Also, iPods. iPods everywhere. By the end of February, customers can check out anytime and anywhere in the store, since every employee on the floor will carry an iPod Touch. And finally, JCP is planning to complete the 40 or so shop-in-shops by the end of 2013, home goods first, followed by apparel. May the sale gods be with you, Ron.
· J.C. Penney's Losses Grow, Ron Johnson Tweaks Plan [WWD]
· JC Penney Will Roll Out Houseware Shops Before Fashion
[Racked]
· JCPenney Welcomes Back Sales for 2013 [Racked]