Brands That Will Disappear in 2012

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whirlcool

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I buy most of my clothes online from JC Penney. I've ordered from them dozens of times and never had a single problem. Tried to order a few clothes and bath towels from Sears a couple of years ago and had one rotten experience after another with their online store. I'm sure it's hard for retailers to know what to do in this new age of shopping, as well as the miserable economy. Businesses like Best Buy now realize they didn't change enough, while a big change for JC Penney hasn't been working out for them.
 
I think Best Buy's biggest problem is that they have become an internet showroom. People go there to look at the merchandise and then order it online from another retailer who has cheaper prices or even Ebay.

After not shopping at JCPenny for many years in the past two years we have gone back there again. We like it. The merchandise is of good quality at a fair price.
 
A friend of mine told me on Tuesday the person who came up with the terrible marketing tragedy at JCP had already resigned. Is this true or was it just gossip?
 
Ron Johnson (formerly of Apple) is still there, it's the marketing director Michael Francis (formerly of Target) who got the boot, or as they say in the industry "left abruptly". It was Francis who came up with the new pricing strategy.

Strangely enough, JCP didn't lose any money during the Q1 2012 but their in store margin fell from 1.5% to 0.2% during the change. But the main victim was their stock price which fell to a 21 month low during all of this. Investor confidence has been shaken.

I think the JCP board of directors was hoping to cash in on some of the Apple synergy to improve the brand's image.

To tell you the truth, I wouldn't be surprised if you start seeing Apple Stores popping up inside JCP stores at some point in the future.

www.oregonlive.com

A hitch in J.C. Penney's plan: A fundamental problem or just a hiccup?

Penney's shares are a 21-month low as its marketing director exits suddenly. Some analysts see weakness, others say it's part of a process that'll take a year to play out.
www.oregonlive.com www.oregonlive.com
 
Has Anyone Noticed?

It's been a while but I've not seen any of the commercials Ellen made to promote JCP's new pricing strategy. Could she have known after a short period of time that it wasn't working and pulled them, or possibly another source that did it?
 
Since 2012 Is Halfway Over, Don't You Mean 2013?

Best Buy physical stores are horrible IMHO. Everytime one enters they are full of teenager and young adult staff far more interested in chatting amounst themselves, testing/playing with/ shopping new tech gear, or anything else but assisting customers. Those that work in the big ticket item sections (televisions, computers, etc..) must work on commission as they will try to sell you anything that cost allot of money, even if they cannot tell the difference between brand "A" or "B".

Brick and mortar stores are simply no match for the Internet. Year after year sales of the latter increase whilst the former are sliding off a cliff for most areas of the market. The only way to do well with a physical location is to have very high end and or exclusive merchandise with a very tight distribution system.

American Airlines:

One of the last big legacy carriers. The company should have went through bankruptcy when every other airline was doing so to shed costs, but they didn't and now must cope with very high fixed costs including labour while competition such as Southwest and Jet Blue are doing well.
 
I live 2 miles from American's headquarters. It's like they're not even trying to be cost effective. American is the anti-Southwest, whose headquarters are about 15 miles east. My brother is very conversant on the differences. I'll just quote the few I can remember from what he told me.

* Southwest taxis on one engine. Uses half the fuel. American taxis on two, by policy.

* Southwest flies one platform, Boeing 737. One set of parts, one set of manuals, one set of mechanic and pilot training, one simulator. American flies a few of everything. Multiple support and training lines.

* The backbone of American's domestic fleet is the least efficient aircraft still in use, MD-80. It can't be updated because there is no room between the fuselage and engine nacelle. It's also the noisiest, by FAR. Trust me, I live in the flightline. Southwest's 737 is among the MOST efficient.

* Southwest pays pilots by completed trips. American pays pilots for time from engine start to engine stop, leading to unnecessary delays.

* American maintains an adversarial relationship with employees. Southwest maintains a teamwork relationship.

* Southwest has seldom had a quarter where they lost money. American has seldom had a quarter where they MADE money.
 
I hate stores like Best Buy. Or at least, I hated Best Buy the last time I went through one, which is many, many years ago. I hated their competitors, too. I always hated the way the sales people swooped down on me in such stores, obviously hungry for a commission from a sale.

Then, I have noticed that at many large stores the sales people really don't know much about what they are selling. So why buy there if one is going to have to learn about the product? Why not do that learning, and buy as cheap as possible over the Internet?
 
As far as American goes...

We were taxiing on one engine on DC-9's back in the mid 70's when I was with North Central Airlines. Just start the engine when you are 3rd or 4th in line for take off so it gets warmed up in time.

The problem with the MD80 is that it is not very fuel efficient. It's just a derivative of the DC-9. Delta inherited a bunch of -9's from the NW merger. The deal with those is that the aircraft are owned and paid for. Same with AA & the MD80's. Delta is going to get rid of the DC-9 soon and buy the former Airtran 717's which is just an advanced DC-9 with much more fuel efficient engines. AA already has plans to phase out the MD80 (or Super 80 as they call it) with the new advanced 737s when they build them in the 2016 time frame.

AA has always had the reputation of treating their employees like pieces of meat.
Several years ago the CEO of AA made a plea to the employees for a pay cut. The employees resisted but eventually gave in. The CEO gave himself and others on the BOD a 5 million dollar bonus for getting the pay cuts. That Thanksgiving weekend AA had a work slowdown and sick out by employees to "thank" the management for that stupid move.Flights were delayed by hours and hours and a lot even canceled during one of the busiest weekends of the year. It cost AA a lot!

And while Southwest has made money in most every quarter for the past 41 years(they had a few losses along the way) they have the highest worker productivity in the industry. If you hire on with Southwest you better be prepared to work your ass off. If you don't you'll soon be gone. They are unionized and the management gets along with the unions just fine. Their employees now make some of the highest salaries in the industry. And like any aging airline their costs are rising. This is the biggest problem for Southwest right now. There is even talk of outsourcing some jobs at some of their smaller stations.
 
American Airlines

I am very good friends with the Vice President of US Airways in flight services and he told me that it is highly likely that they will buy American Airlines and fly under the American Airlines banner. US Airways will go away!
 
US Airways Has Been Making Noises About Buying American

Even going as far as striking deals with various unions,but so far they've put nothing offically on the table. For it's part one of the reasons American Airlines finally went into bankruptcy was to "clean house" and keep the company out of US Airway's clutches.

@whirlcool

Can understand why AA would keep their old aircraft flying. After all as you say they are bought and paid for so there aren't lease payments and or funds going out for new aircraft purchase. However one of the reasons they are dinged by the flying public, especially frequent high flyers/business travelers is the age and often condition of their aircraft.
 
My brother says--on exactly what authority I don't know--that many AA MD80s are leased and that one result of bankruptcy is getting out of the lease terms. MD80s are a LOT cheaper to lease than 737s, because basically nobody wants them. If OSHA regulated air travel, hearing protection would be required in the last 5 rows. There is NOTHING in the commercial fleet as loud as an MD80, inside or out.
 
And may I add in addition to the noise, especially in the back there is nothing as cramped as a full MD80.

AA had over 250 MD80's and I am sure that some of the newer ones are leased.
The AA MD80's are usually 86'-94 builds, certainly not the oldest in the sky. Some of the DL DC-9's are 74-76' builds. But around 2000 when NW had them they were completely overhauled and good for another 15 years or so.

Yes, AA is known for somewhat shabby interiors which leads to the public perception of an old outdated aircraft. When NW was around the -9's were kept in tip top shape. Most passengers never knew they were flying on a 41 year old airplane.If you think the AA MD80's are shabby you ought to see the insides of a AA 757! Torn & worn out seats. Some bins held up by duct tape, etc.

I don't know if a merger with US would be a good thing for AA. Until very recently US was a mess too for the same reasons AA is. Surly employees, shabby equipment, late flights, etc. I know the AA below the wing crews and the F/A's are onboard for the merger. But there have been improvements over the past two years. But please US stop calling that 1/3 sized danish roll you serve on your transatlantic routes "breakfast"!
 
interesting reading

All this reading is kinda interesting. Of all the airlines, i have US and AA for frequent flyer programs. I was on the fence about dumping AA but im hold off to see who they end up merging with or get bought out by. AA usually has good priced flights to the west coast where my corporate office is located but it mean i have to drive an hour to get to the airport, and parking at that airport is so high it should be illeagal. US flighs out of both Boston and Providence and unless im going to the west coast, Providence is always the airport of choice.
 
I'm gonna have to talk to my FA friend at AA about this - she's been there years (after being rejected for not being "pretty enough" for Braniff) and is trying to get out.

Luckily we have Abt (Family name, not A.B.T.) in the Chicago area. I have very narrow doors and many fridges won't fit through, plus our elevator is tiny, and the delivery men took the doors off and back on for delivery which Sears et al won't do. The saleswoman was truly helpful and knew her stock (she was also pleased I'd done my homework) when I went in to replace the Westinghouse with a Frigidaire. I'd wanted a bottom freezer but they just wouldn't fit through the doors, even with the door taken off, even though I had room for it in the kitchen.
 

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