J.C. Penney to Revise Pricing Methods and Limit Promotions

J. C. Penney’s new leader has a vision for tomorrow’s shopping experience. But the retailer is still stuck with yesterday’s stores.

Ron Johnson, who oversaw Apple’s retail strategy before starting at Penney this fall, said on Wednesday that his first steps as chief executive would be to get rid of the nonstop promotions at the store and move to three kinds of prices (everyday, monthly specials and clearance). He announced a new designer partnership with Nanette Lepore, and a new spokeswoman and advertising star, Ellen DeGeneres. He also introduced a new logo, and new color-saturated advertisements that barely mention price.

Within four years, he said, the stores would be completely redone, each divided into about 100 small boutiques with a service center that he called “town square” at the center. “We haven’t given the customer enough reasons to love us,” he said in an interview.