JCPenney’s $1 billion worth of upgrades will be spread around the business, including in new mannequins and on-figure photography.
“This investment allows us to really showcase our fashion,” said Michelle Wlazlo, Penney’s executive vice president and chief merchant.
Wlazlo is discussing Penney’s raison d’être and how the business is improving its customer experience. She highlights the recently enhanced fashion photography for online product and store imagery, clustering new mannequins on the selling floors, storytelling, producing how-to videos, steadily adding beauty brands to the recently rolled out JCPenney Beauty departments, and forming collaborations with celebrities and stylists, among other advancements.
A former senior-level merchant at Target, Wlazlo makes the case for a Penney’s on the mend, though within the industry the debate goes on whether the retailer can maintain relevance after years of top-level management changes, strategy shifts and reversals, meddling by shareholder activists and private equity owners, and a bankruptcy.
Still, there’s new life in the venerable, 120-year-plus old Plano, Texas-based retailer in the aftermath of its purchase by Simon and Brookfield Property Partners in 2020 for $800 million, lifting the business out of bankruptcy and cleaning up the balance sheet. For Simon and Brookfield, Penney’s, an anchor department store in more than 600 locations, is important to the health of shopping centers and it’s prudent to invest in the business.
According to Marc Rosen, Penney’s chief executive officer since November 2021, the company is on strong financial footing, regaining relevance, and even poised for growth, though being privately-owned, Penney’s does not disclose sales or profits making it hard for outsiders to get a precise read on the health of the business.
Rosen’s mantra is a Penney’s “wholly committed to serving hardworking families across…
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