JcPenney comes to Malaysia!
Ever wanted to shop JCPenney but can’t because you are in Malaysia?
Well, now you can!!
JCPenney (spelt this way not JCPenney) has opened for business in Malaysia but only for online purchases. What this means for us Malaysians is that the local online store will arrange for the products to be shipped over from the USA right to your home.
I personally thought that the shipping rates were quite reasonable, starting from RM33 for 1 pound and rising up thereafter. If you are buying something light, its alright. But if you are thinking of buying something heavy, then forget it – shipping costs will kill you! Just for reference, 1 pound = 2 dresses and a bit. It isn’t very much at all.
Also, there is a local charge (that they don’t tell you about on the website until you try to check out) of RM10 and RM10.20 handling charge. That’s an extra RM20.20 so total shipping for 1 pound of products is RM53.20. Now, that makes it expensive!
The products available are clothes (men, women, children), lingerie, shoes, houseware and a maternity section. I found the prices of products on the high side after conversion to RM from USD. From what I know, JCPenney is a “normal priced” department store in the USA, something along the lines of our local Jusco or Metrojaya. I was looking at their dresses. RM139 isn’t very expensive for a dress, but once you factor in shipping costs it becomes RM192.20 and you don’t even know if its going to fit you! That said, there are some cute stuff I was eyeing:-
If you register as a customer now, you will be entitled to a FURTHER 25% discount off the purchase price until 11 May 2008. This even applies to the already discounted prices that they are having on the site at the moment. So, some stuff can work out quite cheap. Prices quoted on the site are in RM to make it easier to gauge.
The nice thing is that they calculate you the approximate weight of the products you are ordering so you can adjust your purchases accordingly to cater for the weight and freight charges. I had originally placed a few items in my cart but after I calculated the total shipping costs and worked out the individual prices, I realised I might actually be able to get some similar stuff here for about the same price or cheaper during the sales.
So, I’m not likely to place an order on JCPenney Malaysia soon. But who knows if this information helps you?!