Well I at least understand the reasoning behind the JcPenney attempted overhaul. They decided that the bargain hunting shoppers aren't all that profitable. Okay - so they quit offering bargains and set their prices at some standard amount and now they are trying to attract a different crowd of shoppers. They seem to want some sort of trendy, less price conscious shopper who views shopping itself as entertainment with coffee and ice cream bars and Pilates! right there in the shopping aisles.
But it seems to me in order to make this work you have to convince your new market crowd that JcPenney is now this trendy, fun, destination type of place. Somehow they are going to have to get rid of the image that the JcPenney store is where your Mom and Grandma go to buy their curtains and sweaters and replace it with the belief that the hip and trendy crowd goes there for the experience as much as the merchandise.
I just don't buy into it but I'm obviously not part of their new desired demographics. I view the concept of stopping for a Pilates and ice cream break while shopping for new bras and panties to be about the equal of a voluntary root canal on the chart of fun.
And from the reflection of their recent revenue numbers --- all the old bargain shopper crowd has left in droves and they haven't yet managed to bring in their new desired demographics.
Maybe they just need to hang up huge photographs of a bunch of nearly naked teenagers and dim the light like Abercrombie or something.