Word: penney
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Penney and Kohl's are taking advantage of the middle opportunity. "They're cannibalizing the market from beneath them, and they're benefiting from the trickle down from traditional department stores who are trading out of Middle America," says David Wolfe, a fashion-retail consultant for the Doneger Group in New York City. "They're getting it coming and going...
...they're expecting more. For starters, both companies are aggressively expanding and experimenting with new formats. Kohl's opened 65 stores in October on a single day, the biggest one-day opening in the company's history. Penney, based in Plano, Texas, opened 20 stores that same month, most in off-mall locales. Both companies have plans for a lot more: Penney, which operates 1,037 stores, has announced that it will open 50 stores annually through 2008, while the 817-store Kohl's intends to tack on 400 stores to the chain by 2010, some inside urban malls...
...behold a spiffy new map at the door to ease your shopping and a customer-service desk right at the entrance. Clothes are neatly grouped by lifestyle, trendy denim in one spot, work outfits in another. And they're labeled clearly, unlike in older stores. In early fall, Penney even sponsored the MTV Video Music Awards, running a series of live ads during the broadcast. It's a fairly radical move, given the store's uncool heritage...
There's also plenty of action in the retail-technology department. New point-of-sale software at both chains has helped them keep the optimal mix of inventory on store racks, according to Citigroup's Weinswig. "It's increased profit margins and made them more efficient," she says. Specifically, Penney will have installed 35,000 new devices at checkout counters by the end of the year...
...They're both going after the same market--the female. She controls the purse strings." Both chains dismiss the notion of a retail slugfest. But it is clear that each chain is borrowing a page from the other's business model. For example, 22 of the 25 stores that Penney opened in the third quarter were situated in very Kohl's-like locales, a different approach for the mall-based Penney. Myron (Mike) Ullman, the former Macy's honcho who is now CEO of JCPenney, bristles at the comparison. "Let me point out that James Cash Penney opened his first...