Know a Workout Warrior? With New CMO, JC Penney Aims to Be Gifting Destination
JC Penney wants to be the go-to gift destination for shoppers this holiday season. Under the marketing leadership of Mary Beth West, who started as CMO earlier this year, the department store is unveiling a series of gift-tag personas as part of its “Where Giving Begins” campaign, which kicks off Nov. 12. Roughly two dozen in number, the personas have names like “Workout Warrior” or “Bling-Loving Bestie;” JC Penney will offer present suggestions for each.
“We’re trying to facilitate her shopping mission from beginning to end,” said Ms. West, who was formerly with Mondelez International. “We have a wonderful assortment at great value, but people don’t know all that,” she said. She noted that the company began research on the initiative in July by testing its current, former and one-time shoppers with 50 different products to pinpoint the most popular items.
In addition, the company will open even earlier this year for shoppers on the crucial Black Friday weekend — doors will open at 3 p.m. on Thursday, and workers, who will be asked to volunteer, will be paid double for their hours on that day. Last year, doors opened at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving and store associates were paid time-and-a-half.
