To lure in buyers, J.C. Penney takes goal at off-price shops

J.C. Penney is on a quest to show the tables on off-price retailers, which have been taking market share from shops for years. 

In a brand new marketing campaign dubbed “retail rejuvenation,” described as a journey from “retail regret to retail redemption,” Penney touts its apparel as extra modern and its dwelling items as in higher form than what might be discovered at its low cost rivals.

The premise of the marketing campaign is that, relatively than a treasure hunt, procuring at off-pricers is a multitude and the finds are errors. From Aug. 28 by way of Aug. 30, buyers who remorse a purchase order made elsewhere can drop the merchandise off at a J.C. Penney retailer and get $15 off a $50 buy, the corporate mentioned in a press launch Monday.

J.C. Penney is driving this dwelling in a tongue-in-cheek spot with six folks apparently hooked on off-price procuring. A passive-aggressive retreat facilitator works to interrupt the spell off-price shops have on them, then will get them to chant, cult-like, in favor of Penney as a substitute.

“Will you carry on with your destructive deal-hunting ways, or will you get a great deal on a better, more fashionable life from J.C. Penney?” she asks the group. “Joseph, do you choose this stray off-brand skillet with a giant scratch on it, or this eight-piece ceramic cookware set by celebrity chef Martha Stewart?”

The division retailer has an uphill climb. Off-price giants like TJX, Ross and Burlington constantly report rising gross sales and proceed to increase their already massive footprints. J.C. Penney’s gross sales proceed to slip, falling almost 5% in its most up-to-date quarter.