Can Joe Fresh Save JCPenney? Early Online Sales Offer Clues

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The much anticipated Joe Fresh shop-in-shops are scheduled to roll out in 680+ JC Penney locations on Friday, and the struggling department store is really banking on a runaway hit. One indication that things are looking up? Joe Fresh's performance on jcpenney.com since the Canadian brand went live on February 24 has been exceptional.

JCP's CEO and controversial sale tinkerer, Ron Johnson compared the fresh digs to Liz Claiborne, JCP's consistently top-performing online brand. Hop over the jump for the stats.

Johnson told WWD, "We have seen seven times the visitors to Joe Fresh than to Liz Claiborne," and the amount of customers actually purchasing items is "10 percent higher than Liz Claiborne. Average retail is nearly 20 percent higher, and a full 61 percent of the buyers of Joe Fresh are first-time jcp.com customers."

The reason for such a jump could be that JCP advertised the launch during the Academy Awards. It could be because Johnson returned our precious coupons. It could be because sales have been so dismal that the online store really only had one way to go: Up.

But it could also be that Joe Fresh is drawing more customers to the online store and appealing to a wider audience. Whether or not the brick-and-mortar locations will show as impressive a jump will prove interesting in the next couple of months, but JCP could really use the bump.
· Eyes Turn to J.C. Penney's Joe Fresh Launch [WWD]
· JCPenney CEO Apologizes for Taking Away Your Precious Coupons [Racked]
· Joe Fresh at JC Penney is Finally Live [Racked]