I knew it wasn’t just me. It seems like I’m flooded with e-mails detailing the latest epic sale at a major retailer every, single, day and I’ve tentatively grown to understand that at places like the Gap, I’d be a fool to pay full price for anything. But if you think about it, the thrill of a sale isn’t quite as nice as going into a place like Forever 21 and just shopping through clothes that are already priced for a modest budget. JC Penney appears to be of the same mindset, so they’re trying something new: lowering the prices of all their merchandise by 40%, forever. 




…Not to mention rebranding under the guidance of new CEO Ron Johnson, a recent transplant from media giant Apple. So, how will they compensate for the difference? Well, by killing the sales for one thing. After all, why would you need one as an excuse to shop if you knew everything would be awesomely inexpensive year-round? Also, I don’t know about you but I get a little sick of the same commercials on loop that use every holiday, even the obscure ones, to market the day’s “OMG NO WAI” sale encouraging consumers to scoop up the goodies before the sale is kaput, you know, till next weekend. That much advertising has to get expensive after awhile. Penney’s is also cutting the fat in other places, like the typical “.99″ suffix for instance. Their price tags will now be in whole amounts, a subtle but respectful gesture in terms of caring for the customer.

I guess we’ll all start to think of JC Penney like we do an outlet mall. The goods are always priced at sale price, so of course you’re going to hit Penney’s (bringing new meaning to their name) before Macy’s or anywhere else for that pair of shoes you wanted. Sounds miraculous to me, but with epic discount emporiums like Filene’s Basement closing (and breaking bargain-shoppers’ hearts by the thousands) in recent years, it’s tough to imagine the bottom line not suffering in a move like this.

But we trust you, JC Penney. We trust that you’ve crunched the numbers and, while I’ve never actually been much of a Penney’s shopper, you can bet I will be now [via NYMagazine].

What do you think of this seemingly insane move on JC Penney’s part? Will you become a Penney’s shopper now, if you weren’t already?