2025 Retailers To Watch: JCPenney
It’s been another banner year for private label as retailers ranging from the biggest mass merchants to grocery stores, convenience store chains, drug stores, and department stores expanded their respective own brand assortments.
The conversation in 2024 evolved from one that was focused on price to retailers now regularly talking about the value proposition of their store brand products and using their proprietary assortments to differentiate from the competition.
With 2025 expected to see more private brand development, Store Brands has highlighted 10 Retailers To Watch in the coming year. The following retailers in 2024 expanded their own brand product assortments, with more expected from each in the next 12 months.
JCPenney
Overview
There’s no need to rehash the struggles of department stores in recent years. While many are now just distant memories, JCPenney is among the few that have navigated various challenges to remain a part of the U.S. retail landscape.
Following years of restructuring and strategic shifts, JCPenney has found a renewed focus on modernizing its operations while staying true to its heritage as a family-oriented retailer. Under new leadership and with a refreshed vision, the company is prioritizing omnichannel innovation, private label expansion, and an enhanced in-store experience to win over shoppers in the competitive retail landscape.
What To Watch
From a big-picture perspective, what steps will the department store take in the year ahead to keep shoppers engaged? Proprietary new product collections have been at the forefront this year as JCPenney continued developing apparel and home lines that meshed value and fashion with a touch of celebrity. For example, JCPenney this past spring launched a new men’s apparel collection through a collaboration with country music singer-songwriter Walker Hayes and iHeartRadio.
No stranger to private label, JCPenney has upped its game more recently to use its own brands as more than a value play. From its kitchenware line with Chef Jenny Martinez to a focus on educators with an apparel line inspired by the television program Abbott Elementary, the department store chain continued identifying opportunities to offer shoppers unique products that can’t be found elsewhere.
Additionally, JCPenney continues investing in the digital side of the business. With more consumers embracing online shopping, the retailer has ramped up its e-commerce capabilities to offer a seamless shopping experience across platforms. Its integration of new technologies, like enhanced mobile apps, curbside pickup, and improved personalization through data analytics, is aimed at attracting a younger, tech-savvy audience.
JCPenney is breathing new life into its stores by modernizing the layout and enhancing customer service. The introduction of wellness zones, beauty sections with Sephora partnership expansions, and upgraded fitting rooms cater to the evolving preferences of today’s shoppers.
