Working with PMH, JC Penney created a personality and color
palette for each month that will be carried throughout marketing,
in-store displays and even external lighting on stores. By focusing
on one month at a time, Mr. Francis said, JC Penney can highlight
important consumer events, such as Valentine's Day, Super Bowl or
the Academy Awards. A 96-page perfect-bound book featuring relevant
products will be mailed to consumers monthly, in addition to
traditional newspaper circulars.
"We have the opportunity to capture the consumer's imagination
on a monthly basis," Mr. Francis said. "Owning the month is a
significant opportunity for us."
Mr. Johnson also highlighted the retailer's plans to return the
department store into a store that actually has departments. In the
coming months and years, shop-in-shops will be rolled out across
brands and categories. Beginning in August, two to three shops a
month will be rolled out for the next three and a half years, until
JC Penney eventually operates with 100 unique shops. Mr. Johnson
said 30 are actively in development. Martha Stewart's shop, slated
to launch next year, is one of those.
Ms. Stewart said that Messrs. Johnson and Francis'
"entrepreneurial initiative" prompted her to want to work with JC
Penney. She said she looked forward to working with the retailer in
the coming years and didn't acknowledge the lawsuit Martha Stewart Living
Omnimedia faces from Macy's .
Meanwhile, Ms. DeGeneres will appear in five yet-to-be-revealed
commercials and will promote the retailer on her show. JC Penney
has no plans to sell Ellen products.
Messrs. Johnson and Francis have accomplished a staggering
amount considering they only officially joined the retailer in
November and October, respectively. Mr. Johnson said he expects the
transformation to be complete by 2015. The final piece of the
puzzle is the prototype to launch in 2014. Next year, he said, the
concept of the "Town Square" will be introduced. The common area
won't involve selling and will usurp the area traditionally
reserved for jewelry and cosmetics.
"We're fine with growing old. We're not fine with growing
stale," Mr. Johnson said, citing the company's new mission
statement. "We're rethinking and reimagining, and if we find that
we've picked up any bad habits over the decades, we're going to
leave them far behind."