Fine jewelry part of JCP’s turnaround strategy

New York--The fine jewelry section of its stores is one area J.C. Penney, which just gave its Modern Bride line a makeover, expects to contribute to growth over the next couple years. 

In an analyst meeting held Wednesday in New York, J.C. Penney Co. Inc. CEO Myron E. Ullman III outlined how J.C. Penney plans to achieve EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, a measure used to show a company’s current operating profitability) of $1.2 billion by 2017. 

The Plano, Texas-based retailer’s EBITDA (non-GAAP) stood at $90 million at end of the second quarter (Aug. 2), a vast improvement from negative EBITDA of $252 million reported in the prior-year period. The company also has experienced three consecutive quarters of positive sales. 

Ullman said he is positioning the retailer to be the “preferred shopping choice for Middle America.” 

At the center of the company’s plan to find itself well into the black by 2017 are three areas of the business J.C. Penney executives said they expect to generate incremental sales growth between then and now. This includes revitalizing the highest traffic area of its stores, the center core, which includes the jewelry and fashion accessories as well as beauty departments. 

The retailer also said it wants to focus on attracting new and younger customers by adding more Sephora shop-in-shops, opening Disney-branded shops and, possibly, adding Hallmark shop-in-shops that would carry greeting cards and the like. J.C. Penney is testing those in 15 stores this fall. 

“J.C. Penney is in a far stronger position today than it was when we began our turnaround effort 18 months ago. While we recognize that there’s more work to be done in a highly competitive retail environment, I couldn’t be more encouraged by the significant progress our teams have made in such a short amount of time,” Ullman said in a company statement. 

Also at the analyst meeting Wednesday, J.C. Penney executives discussed the factors that have contributed to the company’s progress. Among them was its addition of brands, considered one of the keys to success in retail today. 

During its 18-month turnaround, the Plano, Texas-based retailer added private, national and exclusive brands to its products. As noted, J.C. Penney also upped its offerings for its Modern Bride-branded line of engagement rings and wedding bands, pushing its top price point to $10,000 in an effort to attract more affluent brides-to-be.