Culture shock.(Brief Article)

Home Textiles Today, May, 2001 by SLOAN, CAROLE

Now that the new JCPenney senior executive team is in place, it will be interesting to monitor the results emerging from the company's second annual vendor summit. Earlier this month, some 200 vendors across the entire store merchandise spectrum gathered for two half-day sessions with Penney senior management, and the divisional merchandise managers outlined where Penney is and where it's going and how it hopes to get there.

The approach was basic retailing 101, with a number of vintage Allen Questrom & Co. tactics added to the overall strategic formula. The new players at the top of JCPenney are hardly new to the marketplace, so their modus operandi for turning the giant Penney ship around held few surprises for the vendor community. To no...