Dive Brief:

• J.C. Penney Wednesday announced that it has promoted John Tighe to EVP, chief merchant, effective Oct. 1.

• Tighe began at J.C. Penney as a buyer in 2002 and was most recently SVP and senior general merchandise manager for mens, children’s footwear, handbag, and intimate apparel departments. He began his 24-year merchandising retail career at May Department Stores, including Filene’s in Boston and Meier & Frank in Portland, OR, working in various roles for a decade.

• He succeeds Elizabeth Sweney, who first hired him, and who is retiring after 16 years and staying on for a time as an advisor.

Dive Insight:

Count J.C. Penney among the retailers sticking with the old-fashioned chief merchant rather than algorithm-centric executives. Tighe takes the chief merchant spot at what appears to be a great, if challenging, time for the retailer.

J.C. Penney has staged one of the great retailer comebacks, working its way back from sales slumps and premature death notices. The retailer now finds itself pretty much in the same place it began when it first attempted a turnaround under Ron Johnson, but with a healthier economy to help out and, presumably, some lessons learned.

It’s not like the retailer won’t be in need of data-driven methods, having begun a campaign last year to boost its lagging e-commerce and omni-channel operations. But it’s also making the kind of creative moves that show it’s paying attention to what its shoppers want, including launching a new fashion-forward line of plus-style apparel, in stores and not just online.

Look for more changes at J.C. Penney as new CEO Marvin Ellison continues to put his team together.

“Nothing replaces talking with the customer and being able to understand the customer and react to them,” Sweney told the Dallas Morning news Wednesday. “The store merchant does that. I recruited John to Penney 13 years ago. He’s done a great job, and he’s well-prepared.”