J.C. Penney names new chief merchant

Veteran J.C. Penney merchant John Tighe has been elevated to fill the role of executive VP and chief merchant held by Liz Sweney who is retiring.



The change, announced Sept. 23, was effective immediately. Tighe and Sweeney joined the company in 2002 and 2000, respectively, and Sweney served as chief merchant since March 2012. She will remain with the company in an advisory role through year end.



"John is an extraordinary merchant who, in his career, has curated some of the most high-performing brand portfolios in retail, including leading the growth of jcp.com,” said J.C. Penney CEO Marvin Ellison. “This broad experience gives him a keen understanding of the retail business, which will be essential to our success as we seize greater opportunities in omnichannel and increased private brand penetration, while positioning J.C. Penney as the best shopping destination for national brands and in-store attractions.”



Tighe most recently served as senior VP and senior general merchandise manager for the men's, children's, footwear, handbag and intimate apparel divisions. Tighe spent more than a decade at the former May Department Stores banners Filene’s and Meier & Frank before joining J.C. Penney as a buyer in 2002. He was later promoted to divisional VP, overseeing various apparel categories such as junior's sportswear, missy casual and special sizes before leading jcp.com in 2009 as senior VP. In 2010, he was appointed senior VP and general merchandise manager of the company's home division before transitioning to men's in 2012.



Sweney’s retirement and Tighe’s promotion triggered other moves in J.C. Penney’s merchandising organization. Now reporting to Tighe are Siiri Dougherty, senior VP and senior general merchandise manager, who gained added responsibility for Sephora in addition to women's apparel and jcp salon. In addition, James Starke was promoted to senior VP, general merchandise manager of men's and Angela Swanner was promoted to senior VP and general merchandise manager for Sephora, reporting to Dougherty.



"Since joining J.C. Penney, I have been impressed by the level of bench strength that exists among our merchant talent pool,” Ellison said. “John's positions over the last several years demonstrate the importance of developing high potential leaders for the benefit of succession planning."



As for Sweney, Ellison credited her for playing a key role in improving sales the past several years.



"The progress that our company has made would not have been possible without the leadership, dedication and expertise of Liz Sweney. We are thankful for her many contributions and are grateful that she will play a critical role guiding this transition through the balance of the year."



Sweney and Tighe are both are survivors of the turmoil the company experienced when former Apple executive Ron Johnson served as CEO. He sought to take the company in a new direction with merchandising, marketing and store experience that yielded disastrous results, prompted speculation that the company was headed toward bankruptcy and precipitated the return of Mike Ullman as CEO.



Ullman left J.C. Penney in late 2011 when the company hired Johnson. Sweney had been named head merchant the following year. Johnson’s tenure proved short-lived and he was ousted in April 2013. As a collective “oops” went up from the retailer’s board, Ullman returned as CEO and in the fall of 2014 he brought in Ellison, a veteran of Target and former president of stores at Home Depot, to serve as the department store retailer’s president and his successor.



Ellison became CEO in August 2015.