J.C. Penney extending appliances initiative

J.C. Penney is extending its appliance showroom footprint and also delving deeper into the category.



The retailer will expand its in-store appliance showroom concept from its current 500 stores to an additional 100 locations in early 2017, and also add new appliance brands to the merchandise mix, company chairman and CEO Marvin Ellison said on Penney’s quarterly earnings call.



“Appliances sales both in store and online continue to drive significant comp growth and improve productivity in our home store,” Ellison said.



In addition, Penney is looking to grab share in the home services market and will test a series of home installation initiatives.



“One of the test programs include an HVAC install program through our partnership with Trane as well as several other programs,” he said.



Ellison noted that over 70% of Penney’s customers are female and 70% of its customers are also homeowners.



“And with the increasingly share of wallet going toward beautifying their home, we feel this (home services) is a terrific opportunity for us to grow revenue and further improve our sales productivity in our home store,” he said.