Skip to content
MarketScale
Demo
‹ Back to IndustriesRetail

MarketScale Retail 02/11/2019: JCPenney’s Identity Crisis

The struggles of once giant retailers like JCPenney and Sears have been well documented, but what’s behind these massive dips for these companies? This week’s episode of the MarketScale Retail Show takes a look at what’s fueling JC Penney’s identity crisis. We also take a look at Saks Fifth Avenue and ask if they’re…

This story was produced through MarketScale. See how Retail teams put it to work with Sales Enablement.

Share
MarketScale Retail 02/11/2019: JCPenney’s Identity Crisis

Get featured

Want to get featured in MarketScale Retail?

Create a free MarketScale workspace and get your company's expertise featured across our Retail coverage. No credit card, no demo required.

Start free

The struggles of once giant retailers like JCPenney and Sears have been well documented, but what’s behind these massive dips for these companies? This week’s episode of the MarketScale Retail Show takes a look at what’s fueling JC Penney’s identity crisis. We also take a look at Saks Fifth Avenue and ask if they’re immune to market shifts or consequences for bucking the latest trends.

Ending Appliance Sales Is Just the Latest Curve in JCPenney’s Decline

This week JCPenney announced that it’s ditching appliance sales. They’re also making furniture available only via its e-Commerce site and at select Puerto Rico stores. The retailer resumed selling home appliances in 2016 for the first time since 1983. Then-CEO Marvin Ellison saw an opportunity to capture appliance sales from struggling Sears stores. But the experiment didn’t work. Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor, says this shift away from appliance sales is just one more chapter in JCPenney’s drama-filled history. Marketscale Retail sat down with the retail sales trainer, author and keynote speaker to discuss.

“The problem is JCPenney no longer knows who its customer is,” Phibbs says.

Our second feature on this week’s show takes a look at two major fashion trends in the industry: designer bags and designer shoes. On this segment, host Elmer Guardado walks us through Saks’ big changes for 2019 and how some of them go against what market analysts are predicting. Is Saks ahead of the game? Is Saks invulnerable to market shifts? He is going to take a look this decision and how it impacts the industry.

For the latest news, videos, and podcasts in the Retail Industry, be sure to subscribe to our industry publication.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Twitter – @RetailMKSL

Facebook – facebook.com/marketscale

LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/marketscale

Your experts belong here

Every story in MarketScale Retail starts with a company putting its merchandising leads, store operations teams, and category managers on the record. Buyers are already reading this topic. The only question is whose experts they find.

Category buyers trust operators, so your merchandising leads shorten the distance between first search and first call.

Get your team featuredSee how it works15 minutes, straight to a calendar.
B2B Weekly

The week in Retail, and sixteen other industries, every Monday.

Ten stories, one-line takes, five minutes. Free.

Retail: are you visible to AI?

Before they reach out, Retail buyers ask AI engines which vendors to trust. Explore how your experts, customers, and partners can become useful content for buyers and AI search.

Free plan

You just read one Retail expert. Your company is full of them.

This article was produced through MarketScale. The same platform turns your merchandising leads, store operations teams, and category managers into the articles, video, and social content Retail buyers are searching for. Create a free workspace and see it with your own people. No credit card, no demo required.

NPS +73 · 1,000+ creators · 38+ countries

What you get, free

Your own MarketScale workspace, up to 10 people
One professional video edit a month for qualifying companies
Media requests to your crowd, remote recording, AI writing tools
$0, no credit card, nothing that expires

More Retail Insights

Suja's CEO says wellness drinks win in produce, not center store

Suja's CEO says wellness drinks win in produce, not center store

Suja Life CEO Maria Stipp argues better-for-you beverages win or lose based on store placement, with the produce department offering an advantage over crowded center aisles by signaling freshness alongside organic produce. She pairs this with packaging guardrails around organic, low sugar and function, plus a commitment of roughly 10% of net revenue to full-funnel marketing aimed at building trust.

  • 01Cold-pressed juice treated with high pressure pasteurization can move from farm to shelf in eight days, matching produce buyer timelines
  • 02Average retailer carries low-teens SKUs despite 37,000 retail locations and 400,000+ distribution points; closing the SKU gap in existing accounts is the priority over new logos
  • 03Suja allocates roughly 10% of net revenue to full-funnel marketing—unusual in the next-gen category—to drive awareness and conversion through omnichannel tools

Sep 23, 2026

Deloitte: Holiday e-commerce to reach up to $319B in 2026–27

Deloitte: Holiday e-commerce to reach up to $319B in 2026–27

Deloitte forecasts U.S. holiday e-commerce of $316.1 billion to $318.9 billion for November 2026 through January 2027, up 7.5% to 8.4%. Total retail is projected to grow 4% to 4.8% to about $1.7 trillion. The faster online growth rate is a planning input for fulfillment staffing and site readiness.

  • 01Last season's total holiday sales grew 4.1% by Census Bureau count, above the 2.9% to 3.4% range Deloitte had forecast in fall 2025.
  • 02Deloitte's 2025 survey found 33% of U.S. consumers expected to use generative AI somewhere in their holiday shopping; product data quality now matters for machine readers as well as human ones.
  • 03Adobe's and Salesforce's holiday projections landed in late September and October last year, so the next two to six weeks should bring corroborating or conflicting numbers to plan against.

Sep 18, 2026

Club stores drove nearly half of the growth in $330B U.S. store-brand sales

Club stores drove nearly half of the growth in $330B U.S. store-brand sales

Circana reports U.S. private-label sales reached $330 billion, with store brands holding 24% unit share and 23% dollar share of CPG. Club stores drove nearly half of the growth. Circana expects share gains to continue through 2026 at a slower pace as national brands sharpen pricing and innovation.

  • 01Club channels account for nearly half of all U.S. private-brand growth, so a store-brand program benchmarked only against supermarket peers is missing where the volume is actually moving.
  • 02A one-point gap between store-brand unit share (24%) and dollar share (23%) suggests private label is no longer priced far below the market average, which changes the margin math for premium-tier extensions.
  • 03The EU's 50% private-label unit share is more than double the U.S. figure, a reference point for how much headroom exists even as Circana expects the U.S. pace to moderate through 2026.

Sep 17, 2026

Explore More Retail Insights

Read more expert perspectives from across Retail.

Browse Retail Hub

For Retail teams

See how Retail teams use MarketScale →

Sales Enablement

Explore Channels

Industry news, analysis, and expert perspectives

Professional AV›Engineering & Construction›Education Technology›Healthcare›Energy›Software & Technology›Retail›Business Services›Industrial IoT›Sports & Entertainment›Transportation›Sciences›Building Management›Food & Beverage›Architecture & Design›Hospitality›Marketing Tech›
Keep exploring

More from Retail

Retail hubMore expert Retail coverage.Explore →Sales EnablementEquip the floor and the field.Explore →BrivoAccess tech storytelling.Explore →State of B2B MarketingWhat is working in B2B marketing now.Explore →

For B2B teams

Your experts could be publishing here

Stories like this one run on content MarketScale captures from real practitioners. See how your team's expertise becomes coverage in Retail and beyond.

Book a 15-minute demo

Or call us. No forms required. We pick up. 214-945-2512