J.C. Penney, Stick to Your Guns on Pricing

When J.C. Penney announced its radical no-sale "Fair and Square" pricing strategy at the beginning of the year, comp-store numbers started tumbling soon thereafter. The retailer announced earlier last month that it would backtrack on the plan a bit, having concluded (correctly) that consumers like the word "sale." Then its top marketer abruptly resigned. There's speculation that CEO Ron Johnson will have to cave and return to incessant couponing and sale events. I hope not.