Marketing Case

Case 4: Amazon and J.C. Penney

Please read the following two articles and prepare answers for the discussion questions.

(1)

Amazon Raises Prime Subscription Price To $99 A Year

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303546204579436903309411092

(2)

J.C. Penney's Risky New Pricing Strategy

http://www.businessweek.com/management/jc-penneys-risky-new-pricing-strategy-01312012.html

QUESTIONS:

1. Please evaluate the "$99 prime" price strategy of Amazon. Discuss your detailed thoughts from both Amazon's perspective and consumers' perspective.

2. Overall, why do stores like J.C. Penney have troubles in competition? Please provide an in-depth analysis.

3. Based on your analysis, please propose a set of marketing strategies to help J.C. Penney. Discuss in detail why you choose these strategies.

Note:

* A written case report is required for this case.

* Do some external research.

* The case report should be no less than 2 pages (letter), typed, 12pt, Times New Roman, single-spaced, and 1-inch margins.

* Don’t put case question text in your report. Just number of answers as 1, 2 and 3.

* Due: 11/04, 2015 (Wednesday).

Guidelines for Writing a Marketing Case Report

Objective | Guideline |

Answer Completeness | Complete in almost all aspects that are required; point out almost all elements that are required by the questions |

Case Understanding | Demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of the case text, questions, and theories taught at class |

Analysis Depth and Application | Arguments are considerably insightful, consistently in-depth and accompanied with proper examples. This will be built on the foundation of your clear understanding of the whole case and having enough background information |

Logical and Argument Organizing | The entire case report and every question are well-organized. The flows of argument are well-designed to demonstrate a very clear thinking process and strong persuading...