J.C. Penney, which drove customers out of its stores by eliminating sales under previous CEO Ron Johnson, may have found another way to keep shoppers away. This time, the chain was found to be placing stickers with higher everyday prices on top of its previous, lower everyday charges. By raising its everyday price, Penney's sales would now appear to be offering even greater savings. Unfortunately, according to reports, closer inspection shows the chain's sale prices are now often higher than the original everyday price.
According to John Matarese of WCPO in Cincinnati, he purchased a men's short sleeve shirt on sale for $13.99 marked down from $20. What appeared to be a great deal turned out not to be when he removed the $20 sticker to see the shirt was originally sold for $10.
"That's awful," Sue Jackson, a shopper in Dallas, told WFAA when she was shown a men's shirt with a $50 sticker on top of one reading $30. "I never thought they would do that, especially after all the trouble they just had."
Penney defended its Hi-Lo pricing model as being consistent with industry practices.
"We now understand that customers are motivated by promotions and prefer to receive discounts through sales and coupons applied at checkout," according to a statement from the department store chain. "So we are returning to a promotional pricing model that is commonly used in the industry to give customers the value they are looking for when they shop with us."