Finding Hottest Fashions Easier Than Ever with Season’s ‘Must Haves’ Selected by People StyleWatch Editors Showcased In-store and Online
Magazine Subscriptions to be Available at all JCPenney Stores Marking the Largest Partnership of its Kind
PLANO, Texas (April 19, 2010) – J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) and People StyleWatch have teamed up to make it easier than ever to find the latest celebrity-inspired fashion looks and trends. Beginning September 2010, People StyleWatch editors will select “Must Have” items from JCPenney’s fashion assortment that will be showcased in JCPenney stores, online at jcp.com and through print and digital media. This will be a first-of-its-kind collaboration for People StyleWatch and an apparel retailer.
“We’re focused on being the leading destination for affordable, high-quality fashion,” said Liz Sweney, EVP and senior general merchandise manager of Women's apparel, accessories, handbags, shoes and fine jewelry for JCPenney. “Aligning with one of today’s leading fashion magazines lends great credibility to our style authority and encourages customers to discover the new, higher level of fashion in our merchandise assortments. Furthermore, by highlighting People StyleWatch’s selected items for our customers, we are making it easier than ever to locate the season’s must-have items and we know that People StyleWatch’s endorsement will ensure that our customers are confident that their look is trend-right.”
Throughout the year, People StyleWatch editors will work with JCPenney’s trend and merchandising team to select items from JCPenney’s fashion assortment, focusing on Women’s and Juniors apparel, accessories and footwear. Featuring the hottest trends of the season, these items will be branded “People StyleWatch Must Haves” and will be clearly highlighted for JCPenney customers. “People StyleWatch Must-Haves” branded in-store merchandise displays will be rolled out to all JCPenney stores and be refreshed up to 10 times a year to showcase People StyleWatch’s latest fashion picks. The selected items will also be highlighted on jcp.com with a special “People StyleWatch Must Haves” call-out and will also be communicated to customers through JCPenney’s print, social and mobile marketing efforts.
Additionally, beginning February 2011, JCPenney customers will be able to purchase special in-store subscription offers to popular Time Inc publications – including People, People StyleWatch and InStyle – in all of JCPenney’s 1,110 stores, making it the largest subscription program of its kind that Time Inc has launched with an apparel retailer. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the subscriptions will go to JCPenney’s signature cause, afterschool, which provides local children in need with access to life-enriching afterschool programs that inspire them to be smart, strong and socially responsible.
“People StyleWatch is dedicated to making fashion and beauty trends accessible, affordable and fun. By teaming up with JCPenney, we are able to bring our famed ‘Must Haves’ feature to life and show our readers how they can easily wear today’s celebrity-inspired looks with the exciting, affordable fashions found at JCPenney,” said Paul Caine, president and group publisher of Time Inc. Style & Entertainment Group. “This collaboration allows us to bring our leading women’s fashion, beauty, lifestyle and entertainment publications directly to the JCPenney customer.”
JCPenney’s collaboration with People StyleWatch builds on the retailer’s dramatic style authority transformation. Elevating the fashion in its assortment to a whole new level, JCPenney has launched powerful national and private brands; partnered with the hottest design and style experts like Allen Schwartz, Charlotte Ronson, Cindy Crawford, and Mary Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen; opened the best that beauty has to offer with Sephora inside JCPenney boutiques, and will launch exclusively Liz Claiborne – one of Amercia’s best known women’s brands – and fast-fashion brand MNG by Mango this fall, providing customers more reasons to shop JCPenney than ever before.
For further information contact:
JCPenney Corporate:
Kate Coultas; 972-431-3400; jcpcorpcomm@jcpenney.com
People Style Watch
Amy Galleazzi; amy_galleazzi@peoplemag.com
About JCPenney
JCPenney is one of America's leading retailers, operating 1,110 department stores throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, as well as one of the largest apparel and home furnishing sites on the Internet, jcp.com, and the nation's largest general merchandise catalog business. Through these integrated channels, JCPenney offers a wide array of national, private and exclusive brands which reflect the Company's commitment to providing customers with style and quality at a smart price. Traded as "JCP" on the New York Stock Exchange, the Company posted revenue of $17.6 billion in 2009 and is executing its strategic plan to be the growth leader in the retail industry. Key to this strategy is JCPenney's "Every Day Matters" brand positioning, intended to generate deeper, more emotionally driven relationships with customers by fully engaging the Company's approximately 150,000 Associates to offer encouragement, provide ideas and inspire customers every time they shop with JCPenney. For more information visit www.jcpenney.net
About People StyleWatch
People StyleWatch is dedicated to making fashion and beauty trends accessible, affordable and fun. First launched as a special newsstand extension of PEOPLE in 2002, People StyleWatch is published ten times a year, with a guaranteed circulation of 725,000 and reaches 5.1 million readers each month. PeopleStyleWatch.com is the #1 style magazine website reaching 3.7 million unique visitors per month and averaging 204 million pageviews per month with content that is refreshed throughout the day. Every day you'll see the latest looks from last night, the red carpet, new style photo galleries, and the latest scoop on trends, as well as tips on fashion, beauty and shopping.
About Time Inc
Time Inc., a Time Warner company, is a world class branded content company, investing in the future and engaging more than 123 million consumers monthly; whenever, however, and wherever they are. With 22 magazines and 26 Web sites in the U.S., it is the country's largest consumer publisher. Each month, one out of every two American adults reads a Time Inc. magazine, and one out of every five, who are online, visits a company Web site (nearly 52 million monthly unique visitors). Time Inc.'s popular brands and successful franchises extend to online, television, cable VOD, satellite radio, mobile devices, events and branded products.
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