Center to support and enhance the Company's digital functions
PLANO, Texas, U.S.A. - (Aug. 18, 2016) - JCPenney, one of the United States' largest apparel and home furnishings retailers, announced today it will open its first-ever global in-house center (GIC) in Bangalore, India, on Aug. 22. An extension of its Home Office in Plano, Texas, U.S.A., the center will be responsible for enhancing a variety of key business functions, including IT and digital. These teams will support new technologies, deliver business insights through analytics and assist with accelerating innovation.
"Data and technology are the backbone of any successful business operating today, and they're even more critical to JCPenney as we bolster our reporting capabilities and focus on building a fully integrated digital experience for our customers and associates," said Therace Risch, EVP and chief information officer of JCPenney. "By opening a GIC in Bangalore, we aim to leverage a highly qualified talent pool and drive innovation in one of the fastest growing technology hubs in the world."
The new GIC allows JCPenney to improve operational costs and enhance the Company's functions, with the added benefit of retaining all knowledge in-house. By centralizing numerous digital activities under one roof, JCPenney is better able to drive innovation and utilize key business data. The center will also advance the Company's strategic priority of becoming a world-class omnichannel retailer, with a particular emphasis on mobile.
Mike Amend, EVP of omnichannel at JCPenney, added, "Mobile commerce continues to be the next frontier in online shopping, with more than half of all jcp.com traffic originating on mobile devices. By leveraging the expertise of our associates in the Bangalore office, we will continue adapting our business to deliver an exceptional shopping experience for today's digitally savvy shopper."
The all-new, 150,000 sq. ft. office is located at the Embassy Manyata Business Park in Bangalore. The modern interior boasts bright and open spaces with a blend of personal and shared workspaces, encouraging collaboration between associates. The office also features amenities such as an on-site cafeteria and activity and recreation spaces.
JCPenney has a long history of operating in India, having opened its first international buying office in the country in 1989. Now located in New Delhi, the office currently serves as the Company's South Asian regional office, and is responsible for various activities, including sourcing, design and quality control. The New Delhi office will continue to serve in its current capacity, unaffected by the Bangalore GIC opening.
For interior renderings of the Bangalore office, please visit jcpnewsroom.com/GIC. To view and apply for available positions at the center, interested candidates can visit JCPcareers.com and click on "Bangalore."
Media Relations:
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Investor Relations:
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About JCPenney:
J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP), one of the nation's largest apparel and home furnishings retailers, is on a mission to ensure every shopping experience is worth the customer's time, money and effort. Whether shopping jcp.com or visiting one of over 1,000 store locations across the United States and Puerto Rico, customers will discover a broad assortment of products from a leading portfolio of private, exclusive and national brands. Supporting this value proposition is the warrior spirit of over 100,000 JCPenney associates worldwide, who are focused on the Company's three strategic priorities of strengthening private brands, becoming a world-class omnichannel retailer and increasing revenue per customer. For additional information, please visit jcp.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "expect" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which include, but are not limited to, statements regarding expenses. Forward-looking statements are based only on the Company's current assumptions and views of future events and financial performance. They are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside of the Company's control that may cause the Company's actual results to be materially different from planned or expected results. Those risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, general economic conditions, including inflation, recession, unemployment levels, consumer confidence and spending patterns, credit availability and debt levels, changes in store traffic trends, the cost of goods, more stringent or costly payment terms and/or the decision by a significant number of vendors not to sell us merchandise on a timely basis or at all, trade restrictions, the ability to monetize non-core assets on acceptable terms, the ability to implement our strategic plan including our omnichannel initiatives, customer acceptance of our strategies, our ability to attract, motivate and retain key executives and other associates, the impact of cost reduction initiatives, our ability to generate or maintain liquidity, implementation of new systems and platforms including EMV chip technology, changes in tariff, freight and shipping rates, changes in the cost of fuel and other energy and transportation costs, disruptions and congestion at ports through which we import goods, increases in wage and benefit costs, competition and retail industry consolidations, interest rate fluctuations, dollar and other currency valuations, the impact of weather conditions, risks associated with war, an act of terrorism or pandemic, the ability of the federal government to fund and conduct its operations, a systems failure and/or security breach that results in the theft, transfer or unauthorized disclosure of customer, employee or Company information, legal and regulatory proceedings and the Company's ability to access the debt or equity markets on favorable terms or at all. There can be no assurances that the Company will achieve expected results, and actual results may be materially less than expectations. Please refer to the Company's most recent Form 10-K for a further discussion of risks and uncertainties. Investors should take such risks into account and should not rely on forward-looking statements when making investment decisions. Any forward-looking statement made by us in this press release is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We do not undertake to update these forward-looking statements as of any future date.
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