Carol Spieckerman

Penney to Switch to EDLP?

January 23, 2012

FROM RETAILWIRE:
According to reports, J.C. Penney will shift from a high-low pricing model to something closer to everyday low pricing (EDLP) as a central thrust of its reinvention under new CEO Ron Johnson. Should Penney switch to an EDLP model? How will Penney's stores and marketing have to be reinvented to enable the EDLP model to succeed?      [more...]

Penney's isn't the only one. Walmart returned to its EDLP roots and Lowe's announced a similar no-games pricing strategy recently as well. None are doing this out of the goodness of their hearts, of course. The fact is that, in an omni-channel world of radical price transparency and hyper-localization, the alternatives are untenable. The "L" in EDLP stands for "low," not "lowest" so there is plenty of wiggle room, particularly for Penney's with its mega stable of private and proprietary brands. They are better positioned to execute this strategy than national brand-reliant competitors.