JC Penney store worker fired after revealing 'fake sales practices' claims chain is trying to silence him



Bob Blatchford lost his job last July after discussing sales strategies on TV

JC Penney has filed arbitration petition against former employee for discussing confidential business information

A Florida store worker who was fired from JC Penney after revealing sales strategies claims the chain is trying to silence him.



Bob Blatchford appeared on the Today show last July to disclose how prices were nearly doubled before the same items went on sale at the original price.

After firing the custom decorating studio coordinator, the store has filed a petition claiming his statement on their prices was confidential business information.



Speaking out: Bob Blatchford lost his job at JC Penney two days after appearing on Today, above, to discuss sales prices

Blatchford claims the chain is targeting him to try to prevent him from speaking out more about the sale practices.



When he appeared on Today, he said: ' I saw a lot of pricing teams going through the store, raising the prices, mostly doubling - towels and clothing. T hen they would go on sale, and they wouldn't always go on sale for 50 percent off.'

' Not only was it a fake sale, but they were actually paying more than they would have been previously,' he added.

After being fired, Blatchford tried to get unemployment benefits, but his application was contested by JC Penney.

While the price strategy Blatchford talked about is considered by many as an open secret, the store has filed a petition with the American Arbitration Association, the Huffington Post reported.

Trade secrets: JC Penney has filed an arbitration petition against its ex-employee who is accused of sharing confidential information

Priced up: A cookware set originally sold for $200 was marked up to $250 and then put on sale at the first price



In it, the chain described Blatchford's revelations on Today as 'trade secret, proprietary and confidential business information'.

JC Penney also accused Blatchford of having an 'unbalanced vendetta' against them, and claimed he had a 'love of media attention'.

It told Huffington Post it was forced to file an arbitration petition to protect customers, and claimed Blatchford had confidential business and customer records.

Around the time of his appearance on Today, JC Penney had reverted to its old pricing strategies after replacing its chief executive, Ron Johnson, who had pledged to eliminate 'fake prices'.

Sales dropped by $4.3 billion and customers of the 112-year-old chain complained.

Johnson's successor reinstated the coupons and sales strategy to win back customers, which led to consumer groups started to investigate the discounts.



Competition: JC Penney tries to attract customers with sales and coupons

According to the Huffington Post, several examples of sales prices that were higher than the original price were found.



One such example was a stainless-steel kettle that had been $40 was priced up at $58 before it appeared in the sale at $39.99.

JC Penney and its retail competitor Kohl's were accused in a lawsuit of violating consumer protection guidelines in California.

