Can J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (JCP) Turn Things Around? – Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT), Target Corporation (TGT)

Plus, Wal-Mart has an identity, which is something that J. C. Penney lacks. Customers walk into a Wal-Mart store in pursuit of getting the best possible low prices every day. Same goes for Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT). While it competes with Wal-Mart in the low-price category, Target is often considered more upscale and carries designer brands that Wal-Mart may not have. And customers are often willing to pay the difference. JCP does not have such a distinctive draw, especially since its products can be found at most rival stores like Kohl’s.

Moving forward
Johnson did say during the conference call that the company would start offering sales every week inside its stores. But I’m not certain that this will work, especially since the prior attempts failed. I’d like to think positively. But why would anyone get excited about recycled decisions? Granted, the company has to do something. And to his credit, Johnson acknowledged making some mistakes. But why go back to the pool of failed ideas?

Investors are beginning to lose patience – and rightfully so. The company was a disaster when Johnson arrived, and a case can be made that (relative to expectations) JCP is worse off today. These shares are going to remain in limbo for the next several quarters. It’s going to require a strong stomach to buy this stock, and it requires more than 20/20 vision to see the glass-half-full side of this story. If these shares can stay above $15 before the first-quarter report, it would be a small victory.

The article Can J.C. Penney Turn Things Around? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Richard Saintvilus.

Fool contributor Richard Saintvilus owns shares of Apple. The Motley Fool recommends Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple.

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