Can JC Penney Be Saved?

This is all my personal opinion, however I have shopped at JC Penney for years, and it's where I get my hair done. 

There is some good news on the horizon for the company - if they play their cards right.

A little background: JC Penney has been around since I can remember, and a lot of my furniture and clothing as a child came from JC Penney.

This evening I went to the local store (I didn't buy anything and I'll later tell you why) and then checked out their web site. One of the big problems - and it's a key problem they have - is defining who their customer is.

The store closest to me is at Tempe Marketplace, which is an outdoor mall located not too far from the ASU campus. For this reason, you do find some areas of the store that are obviously geared towards this demographic. One downside to this, though, is the only ASU items I could find were in the Men's sportswear department, I guess women aren't allowed to be fans. The rest of the store is geared towards the upper middle income family - Mom, Dad and the kids. Question #1:  Do they exist in this location?

They have done a good job with the renovations, I like the direction they are going with the different labels under one roof. They have also brightened up the look to make it pop visually with light and color. I liked the mannequins in the center of the aisle, however I'm wondering if people with wheelchairs have issues with those.

There is some inconsistency, however, with the layout of the store. There is an entire front section - with really nice designer areas - for women, men have a few designer areas including a shop for suits (they may want to re-think the grunge looking sales clerk in a cotton undershirt who was there helping customers when I was there). Wonderful areas for children (they could do more with the infant area), but the Women's Full Figure area is still an issue.

I'm full figured, so this is a sticky point for me. They used to have some cute clothes in full figure, but they got rid of the few designers who made clothes I like. They have the cute JCP label and Worthington for business. Here's the problem with both: All of their pants have low waists on them, which is not only immodest apparel, it can be an embarrassment for the customer who buys these items only to find their stomach or backside sticking out. It's not flattering for a full figure body. At least not in my eyes. They have another label, however those high-waisted pants only come in 100% polyester - bad news if you are in 100 + degree heat.

Forget about buying a full figured dress that doesn't make you look like you're wearing a sheet, or might actually have sleeves on them, unless you are planning to wear a business suit to the next family picnic. Obviously they haven't looked at the numbers in their target demographics, or they might realize there are a number of customers who have full figures. Who knows, perhaps they might win some customers over from Catherines or Lane Bryant by putting a little more effort into what is offered there, instead of making it look like an afterthought?

The other issue stems from the old JC Penney vs. the new. They got rid of the home furnishings (unless you count the vacuum cleaner and nick nacks), but they kept the drapery section. Why? I know back in the day, you used to get a designer to come to your home to help you pick out the drapes, but I don't know that they do that anymore.

I will also add that most people want to pick out window coverings when they pick out the paint for a room, unless the window covering is supposed to match the duvet. I could see having a few duvet sets with accompanying window treatments, but unless they plan on bringing in the updated furniture selection JC Penney has online, there is no point in keeping an entire drapery department there. It's wasted space on the showroom floor that can be used for items that are more profitable.

Along these lines, how is JC Penney planning on showcasing the furniture they have online? Most people want to see it before they buy it.

One other thing that I think would generate some buzz and get some people in the door is to have a Spring and Fall Fashion show there, as well as some weekend demonstrations of products by celebrity guests. They are introducing a line called Martha Stewart Celebrations - party decorating type of stuff - would Martha or someone from her Magazine come out to give a presentation? They have some other name brand items - kitchen items, clothing lines - would people from these companies come out to demonstrate their products or give some fashion tips? This is how they can get people into the store, and turn the store into a destination location.

Again, just a few thoughts, but as there has been local news coverage, I thought these were fair points and questions to bring up.

Addictive

I had forgotten how addictive genealogy is until I found my father in the 1940 US Census this evening, and ended up finding out more about his mother than the family knew. Wow.

Disney Digital Books

Dear Disney Digital Books,

You have been sending me ads for your ebooks for a while, and though I think they are cute, I do have a question/idea for you:

Would you ever consider making a series of ebooks with stories based on Disneyland attractions, past and present?

I would love to see an interactive ebook based on the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of The Caribbean, but I would also love to see one based off of Mission To The Moon and Adventure Into Inner Space.

Those I would pay money for, if they were well thought out and made.

Thank you.

ANWA Conference 2013

Today was the final day for the ANWA Conference for this year. If you don't know, ANWA is for the American Night Writers Association - for LDS (mostly women) writers. There is an annual conference and while finances prevented me from attending last year, I was able to afford a Saturday only admission. It didn't disappoint, at all.

For starters, their web site posted not only the schedule of classes, but also posted many of the handouts for the conference in advance. This allowed me to look at the information provided for the sessions I couldn't attend, and I'm glad I did.

One of the sessions talked about the archetypes used in fiction, and the patterns they use. This was from author Jennifer Griffith, which she referred her handout to Heroes and Heroines: The Complete Guide to Archetypes:

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Writers-Heroes-Heroines-ebook/dp/B003FCVEGY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1361677782&sr=8-2&keywords=complete+writers+guide+to+archetypes

I found this book as a Kindle, but found and purchased it through iBooks for my iPad. I've been reading it through part of the week prior to today, and it is a fantastic resource if you are looking to write fiction and need some character development.

Other great speakers were other authors, agents and publishers on a variety of topics, including some very helpful classes to get your readers hooked starting with the first chapter and information about what publishers are looking for. It gave me great insight!

Update: The link didn't work (I was trying to post this from my iPad), so here it is again: Heroes and Heroines This is definitely a must have book if you are writing fiction. It has been great reading!

Blast From The Past

Help Requested

A good friend of mine, whose Laurie blog is among my friends on the left side of this page, has had to undergo some major surgery to remove cancer. She is going to be down for two months, and is going to need some help with the finances in getting through the recovery period. Her friends and family in the Snowflake/Taylor, Arizona area are going to be selling Navajo Tacos for anyone who would like to purchase them, the proceeds going to help Laurie as she recovers. Here's the link to the information: Navajo Tacos

Child Actors

Everyone wants to be a star, right? At least that may be the dream of some kids. I was watching television today when I heard about a report where a Disney Executive is telling the interviewer that the network is not responsible for raising these actors, it is the parent's responsibility.

Here is the link to the article: Gary Marsh in The Hollywood Reporter

While I do agree on many levels with this, I just couldn't help but see the irony in this statement, given the history of The Walt Disney Company and how Walt himself handled child actors who were contractually under his wing.

This, of course, hails from the era of the Hollywood Studio System, where the motion picture studios looked at the actors as property of the studio, and governed both their personal and professional lives. While the actors (male and female) considered this to be too much, to the studios it protected the pictures they were making.

From Wikipedia


A little something about child stars now:



For the child stars who have had trouble assimilating to adulthood, there is help through an organization designed to help child stars called A Minor Consideration (AMC).

Their website: A Minor Consideration

Not everyone saw this as a hinderance, though, there are some stars, namely a few of the child stars under Walt Disney himself, who remember with fondness the attention he took to make sure they were okay, even as they got older.