"All washes - half price, every day" - JC Penney's failed strategy.

On a recent road trip in my home state of NC, we passed through a small town with a puzzling sign outside of a small laundry.   The handwritten sign said:

All washes - half price, everyday.

My first reaction was - what a stupid marketing strategy!  Surely customers would see through it.  But then I realized that this is exactly the strategy that JC Penney has used for years.  The retailer's recent deviation from this strategy led to a near collapse of its stock price and the firing of its CEO.

Read more about why Penney's customers are like laundry customers in rural NC.