First Look: JCPenney opens its first new store in eight years
Willowbrook Mall has a new anchor.
JCPenney has unveiled an updated look at its new store at Willowbrook Mall in Wayne, N.J. The department store retailer’s first new opening in eight years, the store is located in a two-level, 120,000-sq.-ft. anchor space that formerly housed Lord & Taylor, which went dark about three years ago.
The new JCPenney, which features some 65,000 square feet of selling space, and offers a more modern, less cluttered environment. It boasts an open floor plan that allows for improved sightlines, central checkouts and dedicated space for pickups and returns.
Additional features include increased use of mannequins, moveable fixtures that allow easy changes based on selling trends, improved category adjacencies and bright LED lighting, according to a report by WWD. Also, a rotating shop for home and holiday items on the first floor serves as a preview for the chain’s full home assortment on the second floor. The new store also puts a spotlight on Penney’s private label brands, which have been upgraded, with enhanced presentations, the report said.
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(Photo courtesy of JCPenney.) -
(Photo courtesy of JCPenney.) -
(Photo courtesy of JCPenney.) -
(Photo courtesy of JCPenney.) -
(Photo courtesy of JCPenney.)
The new store is part of Penney’s ambitious plan revive its iconic but ailing 121-year-old department store business. In August 2023, the retailer announced that it planned to spend more than $1 billion by the end of 2025 to remodel its stores, upgrade its online experience and improve its supply chain capabilities to deliver online orders faster.
To make the in-store experience more inviting and productive, JCPenney said its stores were undergoing varying updates, including enhanced store look and feel, improved technology and associate tools and physical upgrades. As of August 2023, more than 100 stores had already been refreshed, the retailer said.
Penney, which emerged from bankruptcy in late 2020 under new owners Brookfield Asset Management and Simon Property Group, currently operates 650-plus stores across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.