Introduction
The primary purpose of this work is to study the methodology used to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the J.C. Penney enterprise. The theoretical and methodological basis of the research is the author’s work in management theory, marketing, economics, methodological guidelines, and resources of the global Internet. The paper briefly tells the history of the J.S. Penney company’s origin, what this organization specializes in, and what state it is in now.
Further, a SWOT analysis was carried out: the weaknesses and strengths of the company, its capabilities, and its main threats were identified. Materials and scientific articles on marketing and economics are analyzed. As a result of this research, it can be concluded that the company has quite a lot of weaknesses that prevent it from developing fully. However, there are ways to rectify the present state of affairs with the help of perceived opportunities for the company.
J.C. Penney: History and Origin
JCPenney started out as a tiny unknown store in Wyoming and sold clothes. In the course of the company’s development, it occupied the square meters of several hundred shopping centers and became a network of the largest retail stores around the USA. A modern manager needs to have a clear and complete understanding of the system of favorable opportunities and threats of the external environment, on the one hand, and of the strengths and weaknesses of the organization’s internal environment, on the other.
Having formed the information potential based on their synthesis, organizing the subject’s responses in the form of effective actions at a qualitatively new level is possible. Such an analysis should be carried out within the framework of the organization’s strategic and tactical management. That is why, in this research, it is essential to analyze the weaknesses and strengths of the organization, as well as threats and opportunities.
JCPenney is an excellent example of a booming business with locations across America. The opening of the very first small store took place in 1902 (Humphrey et al., 2019). In 1973, JCPenney opened a two-thousandth store, becoming one of the largest employers. The store sells household items, clothing, cosmetics, appliances, and jewelry. For many years, the chain of stores has flourished and developed.
The structural crisis at JCP has been brewing for ten years, during which four directors were replaced (Humphrey et al., 2019). The people of the chairs destroyed the business one by one: they canceled coupons and sales, trying to attract wealthy buyers; they introduced sales of household appliances, and as a result, all these brought losses (Humphrey et al., 2019). The larger the company, the higher the price of managerial error, which means that the incentives for changing insufficiently effective management are stronger.
In addition, big companies have a higher degree of publicity, which may favor a faster management rotation. Solving the company’s efficiency problems principally depends on the effectiveness of its management. The key factors determining the management mechanism in the company and the achievement of specific performance results are the ownership structure, the characteristics of the board of directors and the CEO, as well as the fact of the change of the head.
Previous and current managers of companies — the leaders of these companies – have a significant influence on the actions of companies. They have personal motives to participate in competition between companies and, therefore, create new ideas and promotions to promote the organization. The current manager, Myron Ullman, is trying to lighten the management environment and facilitate communication (Humphrey et al., 2019). He has created a special website that makes accessing the necessary services and products easy. Carrying out professional activities as leaders of companies, each business owner and the leading manager of the company applies the main elements of this potential — the level of professional competence in matters of participation in the competition.
J.C. Penney: SWOT Analysis
Strengths
If one talks about J.C. Penney, they have a unique trading offer, favorable prices, and more flexible and convenient conditions for receiving services (Regine, 2022). This can also contain well-established business processes, technological production, a good marketing strategy, and more. Moreover, the company’s strengths include the high quality of raw materials production. One of the indicative factors of the fact that the company is on top is the huge flow of customers.
Consumers are the main critics of such a business, as much depends on them. Moreover, it is important to determine how long the company has been on the market. Consequently, the rich heritage of J.C. Penney is an indicator of its strength, as the company has been in the retail sector for a hundred years (Humphrey et al., 2019). Over the years, the company has developed its own database of suppliers with whom it cooperates on mutually beneficial terms. Marketing campaigns under the auspices of J.C. Penney also affect the success of the analyzed retail chain.
Weaknesses
A weak side, depending on how important it competes, can make a company vulnerable. The weaknesses of the analyzed company include the low level of sales in recent years. The reasons may be the appearance of new and strong competitors on the market, as well as the coronavirus pandemic, which has negatively affected most businesses. Moreover, the company has a small market share compared to its competitors. This can be attributed to the main weakness of J.C. Penney as it is directly related to the development and growth of the company (Humphrey et al., 2019). Thus, the company has a fairly low price for its shares. Therefore, investors are not attracted to the shares of this company, which is also a big disadvantage.
Opportunities
Capabilities of J.C. Penney include the expansion of the product line and the introduction of profitable promotions and offers that will attract new customers and regular customers. Moreover, a good opportunity for the company is to enter the world level (Regine, 2022). While the retail chain is represented in the USA, for a successful business, it is necessary to target countries with emerging economies (Humphrey et al., 2019). This will entail the growth of the customer base and will help to assert itself at the international level.
Threats
Threats are trends or events in the external environment that cause a significant decrease in sales and profit indicators in the absence of an organization’s response. Among the threats to the company is the rapid growth of competitors in the online market, which can negatively affect the development and popularity of J.C. Penney. Unfavorable business conditions, such as the economic crisis and inflation, pose a threat to the company and can negatively affect it.
At the moment, the American retail chain J. C. Penney, specializing in the sale of clothing, shoes, and accessories, has declared bankruptcy after the coronavirus pandemic. This is a necessary measure due to the negative consequences of the spread of the pandemic. The main reasons for the company’s bankruptcy, first of all, include the inability to fulfill its debt obligations on bank loans. An equally important reason was the inability to pay for the lease of retail, warehouse, and office space. J. C. Company Penney was forced to lease space used for commercial activities. Since many landlords did not want to provide benefits for lease payments, entrepreneurs were forced to terminate commercial real estate lease agreements.
Conclusion
In conclusion, each company must conduct a SWOT analysis to identify the weaknesses and strengths of the company, its further opportunities, and threats. J.C. Penney’s company began its development more than a hundred years ago and has its customer base to this day. The study identified the main problems and weaknesses of the business and noted what should be paid attention to in order to achieve success.
References
Humphrey, P., Harbin, J., & Matthews, B. (2019). The future of JC Penney: is it too little, too late? Journal of Marketing Perspectives, 1, 61-74. Web.
Regine, K. (2022). Sosandar: focusing on convenience and the consumer. In SAGE Business Cases. SAGE Publications: SAGE Business Cases Originals. Web.