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Executives identify `power brands' as magnets for Generations X, Y
NEW YORK - With Wall Streeters alternately calling for the ouster of ceo James Oesterreicher and the spin-off of the Eckerd Drug division, JCPenney executives have been turning up at analyst meetings and industry events in recent weeks to outline research and plans the company hopes to build upon to turn around sagging department store operations.
Speaking on April 13 at the Fashion Institute of Technology's 10th Annual Herbert Blueweiss Key Issues Seminar, Marilee Cumming, president of merchandising, JCPenney Stores and Catalogs, said research has helped the company divide shoppers into five categories: "starting out" singles and newly marrieds, "modern spenders" with young families, "savvy" shoppers, "transitioning" consumers and "golden years."
Two of the five, those designated as starting out and modern spenders, have been identified as key opportunities thus far indifferently pursued. Penney has been accused of letting its customer base grow old by observers, and...