Jc Penney turnaround

JC Penney, a famous name in US retailing, was founded in 1902 when James Cash Penney opened the first store. But by 1999, it seemed that JC Penney might disappear. Its stores faced competition from Wal-Mart and Target, the big discount stores. It also had a decentralised buying system, which was inefficient. Now JC Penney has turned round. About 50 new stores will open this year. Store sales, which fell in 2000, grew by 3.7 per cent last year, with total sales up 6 per cent to nearly $20bn. Last month, Mike Ullman, the Chief Executive, presented a new branding campaign which says 'every day matters'. His predecessor, Allen Questrom, who took over in 2000 to save JC Penney, helped by selling unsuccessful parts of the company and centralising its buying systems. He also stopped store growth until the problems were solved.

JC Penney then began changing its stores, by offering both discounted products and the extra service which customers expect from a department store.

Ullman knows that motivating the staff, who deal with customers face-to-face, is essential and he is working hard to improve their motivation.

Financial Times

4. Complete these sentences with words from the article.

Alexandra Stich, my p …. , is now CEO of the company. Maybe I will get the job next.

The company is doing well now. The new Managing Director has t …. it r …. in just six months.

The boss f …. the company ten years ago.

It is e …. to have good staff. It's impossible to succeed without them.

5. Answer these questions using full sentences.

a) What happened in 1902?

When was JC Penney in trouble?

Who did it face competition from?

What will happen this year?

What is the new slogan?

What is Ullman working hard to do?

Discussion

What do you think is more important, good service or cheap prices?

Shopping online

Before you read

1. Answer this question.

Do you think more people will shop online in the future? Why (not)?

Reading

2. Read this article adapted from the Financial Times and answer the questions.

July rain brings online shopping increase

The very wet July weather caused an increase in Internet shopping, with online retailers reporting an 80-per-cent increase in July compared with last year. Shoppers spent more than ₤4.2bn on online shopping, a record monthly figure.

Generally, Internet shopping is growing about 36 per cent a year. Several things contributed to July's very strong growth, including the very wet weather. Because people could not travel, they shopped online. Retailers are also trying to make their websites more attractive and easier to use, which helps more people to shop online.

Dixons, the electronics retailer, for example, has become an Internet-only seller, and has seen sales growth of 182 per cent in its first year. Marks and Spencer, the clothing and homeware retailer, improved its website in March and is aiming to double online sales from ₤125m to ₤250m a year. M&S is encouraging online sales by offering certain items only online.

Littlewoods now only sells online and has changed all seven of its websites, making them easier to use. The sites now include things such as videos of fashion shows to keep online shoppers interested.