Dive Brief:
- J.C. Penney has introduced a business-to-business website that allows nonprofits, government agencies and businesses to place bulk orders, the company announced Monday.
- The website is operated by J.C. Penney’s Commercial Solutions team, and customers work directly with team members to find products that match their needs.
- Items available include home products, footwear, school uniforms and apparel for men and women. Businesses can order J.C. Penney’s private label brands in bulk, including Liz Claiborne, St John’s Bay and Worthington, as well as national brands. Customers can customize orders according to size and color.
Dive Insight:
J.C. Penney said its new bulk order website stems from businesses seeking larger orders from retailers.
The company plans to introduce support for online voucher purchasing programs sometime during the second quarter, per the announcement.
“Customers are our top priority at J.C. Penney, and we aim to create purchasing opportunities that meet their needs,” Wendy Santana, vice president of business development at J.C. Penney, said in a statement. “Our business customers are no exception, and this new tool helps create an opportunity for us to be more accessible and efficient in our delivery of bulk order purchases.”
The launch of J.C.Penney’s online business-to-business service follows changes to its brick-and-mortar fleet. After Simon Property Group CEO David Simon said that J.C. Penney could benefit from opening more stores last May, the retailer said it was in the midst of updating 200 locations by the end of last year. A month later, the retailer announced four store closures in Texas, Maine, Maryland and Alabama.
In its Q3 earnings, J.C. Penney reported an 8% drop in net sales year over year to $1.4 billion, while net loss narrowed over 43% to $17 million. Last month, the retailer partnered with Sparc Group to launch Catalyst Brands, a joint venture with Simon Property Group, Brookfield Corporation, Authentic Brands Group and Shein as shareholders.
