In Street Clothes, J.C. Penney's Sales Staff Goes Missing

Best Buy’s sales force wears blue shirts. Apple “specialists” are garbed in branded tees. J.C. Penney associates can wear whatever they want. The un-dress code is a legacy of ousted Chief Executive Officer Ron Johnson, the former Apple retail chief who espoused a hipper, less formal vibe for J.C. Penney. The strategy has a flaw evident to many who have shopped at the department-store chain lately: You can’t tell the sales staff from everyone else. That made it hard to ask for assistance or pay for purchases because Johnson also removed many cash registers and put checkout devices in the hands of hard-to-find store workers.

As Johnson successor Mike Ullman tries to reverse a sales collapse at the century-old department-store chain, he’s restoring some retailing basics he learned during his previous stint at J.C. Penney’s helm. Before the back-to-school shopping season starts in July, store workers will be outfitted with red Penney lanyards. The company also is considering changing the relaxed dress code. “We want to make sure there is no doubt who works for us,” Ullman says.