Area shoppers have long known that if you want a good deal on a new dress, a colorful sweater or a nice pair of shoes all you have to do is wait for the local J.C. Penney store at 1826 S. Main in Maryville to have a sale.
But though the 111-year-old retail chain's philosophy of quality merchandise at a fair price remains in place, Penney's dizzying array of discounts offered on an almost a daily basis will disappear on Wednesday, Feb. 1.
That's when the long-standing system of weekend sales, one-day sales and coupon discounts will give way to a new pricing structure that store manager Janise Shaffer says should add value and predictability to the Penney shopping experience.
Under a strategy known as "Fair and Square" Penney will permanently mark down all of its merchandise by at least 40 percent so shoppers no longer have to wait for sales to get bargains. Essentially what used to be the sale price will now be the regular price.
In a corporate announcement earlier this week, Penney executives explained that the new strategy is intended to eliminate hundreds of sales each year in favor of a more streamlined, customer-centered approach.
So what does that mean for Maryville shoppers? Shaffer said items will now be marked as Every Day-priced merchandise, Monthly Values and Best Price, what used to be called "clearance."
That means only 12 sales a year, each lasting for an entire month.
"It's going to be easier and more exciting for customers," Shaffer said. "We are reimagining J.C. Penney from square one."
According to its corporate release Penney also plans to use whole figures when pricing items. In other words, you won't see jeans with a price tag of $19.99, but rather $19 or $20.
In anticipation of the new pricing system, Shaffer and her staff have been working to open up narrow aisles, rearrange merchandise and install signage and other elements designed to promote the store's new direction.
"Visually it's going to be a lot more exciting," said Shaffer, who has a degree in commercial art and a long background in floor design and merchandise display.
New J.C. Penney television ads touting the pricing scheme began airing a few days ago. The company also has a new spokeswoman — Ellen DeGeneres — and a redesigned logo consisting of a red box containing the initials JCP. Also new is a 96-page catalog to be mailed each month to 14 million customers.
