This feels like an over-simplification, and not translatable to other examples. JC Penney had an established group of customers who liked what it offered - and

This feels like an over-simplification, and not translatable to other examples. JC Penney had an established group of customers who liked what it offered - and for many, this presumably included liking (even enjoying?) the coupons and sales approach that was offered. In changing the model, JC Penney totally disenfranchised the whole group of customers who liked that approach. (It doesn't matter why they liked it, or whether other people also like it... it just mattered to JC Penney at the time that lots of customers did get some sort of gratification from it.) Does this mean that no business can therefore ever succeed without a coupons and sales model? Of course not - and there's plenty of successful businesses with a different model. They're just started with a different model, and therefore appeal to a different customer base from the start. The message of this example isn't that "people don't want low prices, they want bargains". It should be that "you change major aspects of your business model that your established customers like, at your peril".