JC Penney Will Roll Out Houseware Shops Before Fashion

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Pearl by Georgina Chapman and Joe Fresh both debuted on JC Penney's site yesterday, and the launches of the corresponding shop-in-shops are right on schedule for this week and mid-March, respectively. As for the rest of 40 some odd home and apparel shops that the department store intends to erect by the holiday 2013 season, JCP CEO Ron Johnson has delayed moving forward with apparel brands' boutiques until after the home goods are up and running.

If we were to turn that into a math equation it would look like this: Jonathan Alder furniture > Nicole Miller contemporary line. Or as Bud Konheim, the president of Nicole Miller, which designs the Nicole by Nicole Miller line, said, "Our tongues are hanging out to get our boutiques. We are behind schedule. But we are in line. We endorse what [JC Penny's CEO] Ron Johnson is doing."

They'll have to wait until 15,000-square-foot furniture departments are installed in over 200 stores this May, and "it may be the end of this year or 2014" before JCP gets moving on the apparel shops, according to Konheim. "Every plan is subject to change, we are just hoping to get the project going faster. Home is more on schedule. [Johnson] could be lucky because the home market is coming back. Housing is rebounding." Regardless, the ability to order $6 casual basics online will placate the fashionable masses until at least mid-June.
· J.C. Penney Banks on Home in Turnaround [WWD]
· Joe Fresh at JC Penney is Finally Live [Racked]
· Pearl by Georgina Chapman Debuted Early on JC Penney's Site [Racked]