New Penneys, no mall
29.02.2008 04:01
Shopping
- Source: JS Online
Menomonee Falls - J.C. Penney Co. will open a new store Saturday, a free-standing design set in a building that once housed a Wal-Mart. The gleaming 110,000-square-foot store on County Line Road bears no similarities to the past tenant. Nor does it look much like the Penneys stores at local malls. "The whole store is a brand-new concept," said manager Julie Deming. The changes include a Sephora store-within-a-store that is a first for a Penneys store in Wisconsin, and an American Living shop, which showcases Penneys' new exclusive brand from Polo Ralph Lauren. The new Penneys store is among 10 around the United States that will have grand opening celebrations March 7. It is the second of the new free-standing, off-mall concept to open in Wisconsin. The first was built in the Green Bay suburb of Ashwaubenon in 2005. Penneys started building its current generation of off-mall stores early in the decade, as part of the company's turnaround strategy. The earlier versions of the stores have been described as clones of Kohl's department stores, with white tile on the main aisle and checkout counters near the doors. The newest version is less of a Kohl's look-alike because of the 1,500-square-foot Sephora and 4,800-square-foot American Living shops. The new Penneys store also has a single-queue checkout design at the front of the store, similar to Barnes & Noble. Cash registers are against the front wall of the store, rather than in checkout lanes. Penneys' off-mall stores, while smaller than their conventional stores, include beauty salons, photo studios, drapery and lamp departments, and catalog centers where orders can be placed and picked up. Unlike Kohl's, much of the shoe department is full-service. The Penneys store in Menomonee Falls is one of eight in the U.S. with the new design, which the company says will be the prototype for all new stores. The American Living shops bring together clothing for men, women and children as well as items for the home. The brand - the highest-priced line at Penneys - includes bed and bath products, window treatments and luggage. The company plans to add more American Living products in coming seasons including clothing for young men, infants and toddlers, intimate apparel, women's swimwear, jewelry, tabletop and furniture. Penneys, like many other retailers, plans to slow its pace of expansion this year, with 36 new stores planned. All but five of them will be at off-mall locations, according to spokesman Tim Lyons. Last year, Penneys opened 50 stores and renovated 65 others. Penneys operated 1,067 stores at the end of 2007 and had annual sales of $19.9 billion for the fiscal year. That compares with a total of 929 stores and $16.5 billion in sales for Kohl's Corp.
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