JCPenney (Plano, Texas) has announced its plan to boost sales with its new home product range, according to CNBC. The home goods sector has been the department chain’s worst performing category – it only attributed for 12 percent of its sales over the last fiscal year, while in 2006, it was 21 percent.
Over 500 of JCPenney’s 1100 department stores now have home “shops,” while an additional 145 locations are selling home merchandise, CNBC reports. Going back to its roots, the retailer celebrated the launch with a sale until June 16, where select items have been reduced by 40 percent. The decision as to whether Martha Stewart’s products can be sold at JCPenney – branded or unbranded – still hangs in the balance as Judge Oing, the judge presiding over the case, has yet to select a date for the trial’s closing arguments.
Mike Ullman, ceo of JCPenney, told CNBC, “It's quite clear that we owe the customer time to regain her trust, and we have to speak to her at the same time. We can't be silent, but we can't just talk about things we can't deliver on … So it's a process of getting back in the business of speaking to her, in tone that she appreciates. We are not preaching, we are not teaching – we are more or less sharing.”