Image Courtesy of JCPenney
August 19, 2025
Can New Brands and Pre-Tariff Pricing Help JCPenney Leverage BTS Season Into a Turnaround Hinge Point?
JCPenney is betting big on the latest extension of its “Yes, JCPenney” and “Back-to-It” campaigns, targeting the lucrative back-to-school season as a potential hinge point for its turnaround efforts.
According to a company press release put forth by the retailer, a significant push for consumers to buy into an “ultimate style reset” for fall is on the table, complete with brands ranging from Nike, Aeropostale, Volcom, Hurley, and JS Jessica Simpson positioned front and center as part of a “new brand vanguard.”
“We’re not just selling clothes; we’re redefining the season,” said Michelle Wlazlo, JCPenney brand CEO. “Whether you’re headed to class, the office or just owning your daily grind, we’ve got the brands and looks to help you show up with confidence. Because looking good should never feel out of reach.”
The pivot in marketing strategy comes as the business is facing tumbling sales. According to Retail Dive, first-quarter results saw JCPenney’s net sales decline by 4.3% YoY to $1.3 billion, and net losses also increased in size by 9.5%, to $69 million.
JCPenney’s New Brand Vanguard and Ad Campaigns Place Emphasize on Style Trends
Trying to bring a sense of cool relevance back to JCPenney, the company press release outlined that sportswear labels like Nike, adidas, Puma, and Champion would be joined by debuting brands like Aeropostale, Volcom, and Hurley. JS Jessica Simpson was slated to “make major moves with exclusive designs” for the retailer.
Overall, the company also displayed its take on current fashion trends for the BTS set, including a focus on denim, baggier designs, and “outerwear with main character energy,” borrowing a bit of zoomer slang. Prints, including racing-related graphics and tree camo, were conjured forth as differentiators.
Two ad campaigns, “Morning Routine” and “Drop-off” — the first aimed at students and the latter toward parents — are also poised for broadcast, with a campaign running throughout August via cable TV and Hispanic channels.
In an interview with Marketing Dive, Catalyst Brands (JCPenney’s operating parent) chief customer and marketing officer Marisa Thalberg spoke to a rejection of the traditional retail marketing approach concerning this latest campaign.
“We’re not going to [use] the same old retail marketing playbook,” Thalberg said.
“I wanted to be fresh, self aware and acknowledge that … it’s time for you to get in the know and stop sleeping on J.C. Penney,” she added.
Beyond the move to market itself as a style solution for BTS consumers, the retailer also noted that it would be maintaining pre-tariff pricing on back-to-school essentials, despite ongoing price pressures related to the trade measures.
Discussion Questions
Will the combination of JCPenney’s efforts see BTS season mark a sales turnaround for the retailer? Why or why not?
Why are people “sleeping on JCPenney,” as Thalberg implies? What needs to be done to get consumers to “wake up”?
Is it wise of JCPenney to focus on trending styles and brand debuts / collaborations as a differentiator?
Poll
Loading …BrainTrust
Gene Detroyer
Professor, International Business, Guizhou University of Finance & Economics and University of Sanya, China.
Mark Ryski
Founder, CEO & Author, HeadCount Corporation
Jeff Sward
Founding Partner, Merchandising Metrics
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There is no doubt that JCPenney is putting in significantly more effort. Many stores have been refreshed, operational standards are stronger, marketing is sharper and more engaging, and the assortment is being bolstered with better selections and brands. All of this is directionally correct, but the challenge is that JCPenney is working to undo years of missteps that eroded its relevance. As a result, any course correction will take time to translate into meaningful numbers – especially with competitors like Primark, Old Navy, and Uniqlo making strong advances of their own. That said, every journey begins with a step forward. And under Michelle Wlazlo and her team, JCPenney is finally taking those steps.
Whatever new strategies JCPenney considers, it must overcome the following obstacles:
The image of JCPenney as a retailer of middle-range, value merchandise, has been well established for many years.
1. Most of JCPenney’s stores are located in regional malls, which are closing and disappearing.
2. Taking this approach may set JCPenney apart from its competitors who may focus more on traditional retail strategies or discount pricing.
JCPenney is able to attract fashion-forward customers who are seeking unique products by emphasizing trending styles and brand collaborations.
Nevertheless, this strategy must be balanced with maintaining competitive pricing and quality to continue to appeal to a broad range of consumers.
Whatever new strategies JCPenney considers, it must overcome the following obstacles:
a) The image of JCPenney as a retailer of middle-range, value merchandise, has been well established for many years.
b) Most of JCPenney’s stores are located in regional malls, which are closing and disappearing.
Taking this approach may set JCPenney apart from its competitors who may focus more on traditional retail strategies or discount pricing.
JCPenney is able to attract fashion-forward customers who are seeking unique products by emphasizing trending styles and brand collaborations.
Nevertheless, this strategy must be balanced with maintaining competitive pricing and quality to continue to appeal to a broad range of consumers.
JCP needs to sell things people want to buy, be that BTS season or before BTS season or after school starts. Which is a long-about way of saying they’re not going to turnaround on some single event. I’m sure we all wish them well, but endless back-seat drving is becoming tedious: obviously they’ll try everything that time allows for…hopefully they’ll find a few things that work.
The back-to-school season is an opportunity, but it’s also a highly competitive time. This is especially true given how many retailers are trying to capture as many sales as possible prior to any potential negative tariff pricing impacts. I think JCP is right in trying different and more aggressive positions, but the ultimate measure is sales — does the market respond by visiting their stores and converting. The Back-to-school season is not make or break for JCP — given their recent results, every day is make or break.
This is a sound strategy, but tied to the wrong duration. JCPenney should reframe this as Year One of a three-year brand rehabilitation strategy rather than a single-season turnaround attempt with a BTS hinge. Realistic and aligned expectations must be in place, supported with a sufficient financial runway and the strategic patience to deliver meaningful market share recovery over multiple cycles.
“We’re not just selling clothes; we’re redefining the season,” said Michelle Wlazlo, JCPenney brand CEO. “Whether you’re headed to class, the office, or just owning your daily grind, we’ve got the brands and looks to help you show up with confidence. Because looking good should never feel out of reach.”
This sounds just like something a “Brand CEO” would say. JCP is fighting an decades long momentum going in the wrong direction. One season will not solve it. There is n o trunaround for the future of JCP.
For BTS, shoppers’ alternatives are far beyond your mama’s department store.
I’ve been seeing improved product offerings in JCP for a while now. But that’s through the eyes of a retail analyst who is looking for evidence of evolutionary change. The problem is that this new and improved product is hanging on the same dreary fixtures in the same dreary store environment. (The exception might be in Kids where they do seem to have elevated their game, especially for BTS.) So what kind of shopping experience is the day to day customer feeling…??? It’s not just product, or just execution, or just marketing. It’s all of the above, and for a long enough, sustained time period that the new look and feel erases the old, dreary look and feel. We all know that’s a long, expensive process. I’m rooting for them, and the whole middle market.