J.C. Penney to Reverse ‘Huge Miss’ With Core Customer, CF

J.C. Penney Co. aims to reverse its “huge miss” with core customers last year by expanding private-label lines such as St. John’s Bay and reviving promotions, said Chief Financial Officer Ken Hannah.

“We’ve done a number of things inside the stores that have allowed us to attract a new customer, and in some cases, that’s been at the expense of our core, and we cannot allow that to happen,” Hannah said yesterday at a consumer and retail conference held by Bank of America Corp. in New York. It was a “huge miss” to remove private-label items such as St. John’s Bay khaki and basic denim without offering alternatives, and those will return in April, he said.