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JCPenney: A Sign Of Bad Judgment

Written by Evan Schuman
August 1st, 2012

Sometimes, even when people are doing something absolutely proper, the way they do it can send the opposite message. Case in point: How JCPenney tried to take down the sign from a California store it was closing. Specifically, a blowtorch crew was sent at 10:30 PM to remove the store’s famous neon sign—and the crew covered up their vendor name with a rag, in addition to covering their truck’s license plate. Yeah, that just screams “I’m not doing anything wrong, and you can’t prove I did it.”

The chain had reason to be cautious when removing the sign, because of some intense neighborhood protests against the store’s closing. Why provoke the crowd? But getting caught trying to take the sign down secretly? Hardly a crowd-pleaser.

Posted in IT Strategy/Industry
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