So says the headline of a new article at Seeking Alpha, which is worth a read. I’m not trying to beat JCP up — I actually got some great deals there in December, and sale/clearance shopping has been pretty good as of late. But the article makes some good points about JC Penney’s product lines and audience:
Nobody in my generation or my child’s generation is going to have the same fixation on Martha Stewart or her products. In the era of Target (TGT) offering up hip and quirky looking styles and brands like Thomas O’Brien and Threshold, J.C. Penney is looking backwards, not forwards, by wasting time dealing with Martha Stewart’s brand. The price points of the alternate, more stylish brands are what they need to be focused on to take these housewares into a new period for their respective stores.
The styles that are selling for my, and future generations are along the non-gaudy yet still hip lines. This is why stores like Anthropologie continue their success while brands like Martha Stewart continue their slow, inevitable fade into oblivion. Yet – J.C. Penney continues to waste time, money and resources on Martha Stewart.
I agree. I cringed last year when JC Penney’s then-CEO was telling everyone that Martha Stewart’s new line would “save” JC Penney and turn it around. That hasn’t been the case, so why continue to push Martha on an audience that isn’t buying?
