JC Penney seems to be taking a step back from the many new
initiatives that we saw in place in the summer and as a result, we
were not as blown away as we were then. Some brands have been scaled
way back and a few new ones have been given a soft entrance onto the
floor.
In men’s we noted that Nickit has been relegated to barely one rack
while a new menswear line called Solitude was put in its place. This
new line seems to be an Americanization of the Havanera line. The
offerings were decidedly men’s and really not very directional or
inspirational. Assorted woven shirts and some knit tops were part of
the mix. Online we found a young men’s line called Made For Ipod that
is basically a jacket that is made to hold Ipods and in store we were
pleasantly surprised by the new Avirex line. You may remember this as
the original military bomber jacket line fo the 80’s but here at JC
Penney it is a great main stream line with plenty to choose for the
mid market male.
In Junior we found that the Miss Bisou assortment was also scaled
back in favor of seasonal offerings like jackets and other outerwear.
In the kids department we were pleasantly surprised to find the
XGames property as a full on assortment of apparel, accessories and
even a nifty bike. This property should perform well here and it is a
perfect compliment to the existing Arizona merchandise that dominates
floor space.
In summer we were excited about the pop up retail cubes that we found
throughout the store. This time out we saw what looked like the
beginning of a holiday pop-up strategy that focused on quick and easy
gift ideas. These cubes were scattered throughout the store and
typical contents included a tee and fleece top set for men with
holiday or team related graphics. We did not see anything near the
scope of the push that we saw for spring break related merchandise on
the floor.
Online we did see a big push for homecoming dresses for juniors. We
would have loved to have seen this all American event advertised on
the floor or better yet, we would have loved to have seen some of the
online visuals used in store as a POP display pushing the event and
to drive home the concept that JC Penney is the place to shop for
this and other special occasions.
Take a look at some of the best new items from the store floor.
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