JC Penney launches youth-oriented brands |
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| Thursday, 26 June 2008 | |
 J.C.Penney launches youth-oriented brands In an attempt to become hipper and to boost lagging sales, the American chain will introduce five exclusive junior apparel lines in its Back-To-School program that kicks off on July 10th. It will introduce the private label Decree in its junior section,
as well as exclusive brands Fabulosity (designed by former runway model Kimora Lee Simmons) and Le Tigre. In the young men’s department the company will start selling American Living, developed by the Global Brand Concepts division at Polo Ralph Lauren and Whitetag, an “urban rock” inspired collection.
“Teens have always been a cornerstone of our business, and they are emerging as today’s key influencers of purchase decisions made by their family” said president and chief merchandising officer Ken Hicks. Juniors are a $1 billion-plus business at Penney’s. The company quotes statistics from NPD, a market research firm, indicating the retailer has the nation’s biggest market share in junior denim and the third biggest share of the junior market overall, behind Kohl’s and Macy’s. In an awkward coincidence for the company, J.C. Penney hit the headlines this week when a racy, fake advertisement with Penney’s slogan ‘Today is the day to…’ surfaced on YouTube. It shows two teenagers practicing how fast they can put their clothes on, with the implication that they are preparing to have sex in the girl’s basement while her mother is upstairs. The video ends with the words “Today is the day to get away with it” followed by Penney’s logo and the “Every day matters” slogan. The ‘ad’ won a prestigious international advertising award at Cannes last weekend. The advertisement was since wildly popular on the internet and has now been removed. J.C. Penney has distanced itself from the content, declaring the company does not endorse teen sex. The ad can still be seen on the website of Canneslions.com Image: JC Penny |
