Look at the bright side, it took all of one quarter for JCPenney to revert back.

Penney tries to clarify message on pricing change

J.C. Penney Co Inc is bringing back the word "sale" in its advertising in hopes of stemming a sharp slide in business.

The department store operator has been trying to wean shoppers off the long-used hundreds of sales events and coupons -- as part of a strategic overhaul by Chief Executive Ron Johnson. The chain blames the way it has communicated the strategy for contributing to a steep drop in sales in the first quarter.

Johnson said he recognized that shoppers did not understand the advertising of the new pricing model.

"It's just been kind of confusing," he said Tuesday at a Piper Jaffray investor conference in New York that was also webcast.

The new strategy includes some items on sale for an entire month rather than the shorter-term sales events of past.

But the retailer has avoided using the word "sale," instead calling the events "month-long values." That didn't work.