Tables of neatly folded dress shirts crowd the second-floor men’s department walkway of J.C. Penney’s 34-year-old Battlefield Mall store. Opaque plastic tarps hang from ceiling to floor, and behind them construction is under way where the merchandise used to be displayed.
Tarps and tables are situated throughout the Springfield store, one of about 20 J.C. Penney stores nationwide being updated.
“It’s all about making a pleasant shopping experience,” said Gerry Tester, Penney’s Battlefield Mall store manager for 11 years.
The temporary disruption for shoppers is unavoidable during the construction that began the end of February and is scheduled for completion in late July.
A building permit filed with the city of Springfield Feb. 14 estimated the project’s cost at $1 million, but company officials aren’t sharing the exact price tag.
“I will say it is in excess of that amount,” said Daphne Avila, spokeswoman for J.C. Penney Corp. Inc., from company headquarters in Plano, Texas.
She would not disclose the name of the general contractor.
“Our whole concept for these remodeling processes for some of these stores we have planned this year is to create a consistent format of easier navigation through the store with wider aisles,” Avila said. “We are adding additional lighting to brighten up the store, and we think it will add a lot more visual interest to our displays. And we’ll probably see a little bit better layout of each department, making it easier to distinguish between each department.”
Last updated in 1995, the store will get new jewelry and shoe departments. The project also includes updating the store’s décor, fixtures, and in-store marketing, such as banners, signage and tags.
Tester said the remodeling is being done in phases.
Starting in 2003, 85 Penney stores will have been renovated by the end of this year, according to Penney’s 2004 annual report. The company has termed those stores “high-potential stores” because they bring in 20 percent of all sales, the report said.
Both Avila and Tester were unable to disclose sales figures for J.C. Penney’s Battlefield Mall store, but the company on March 3 announced its February comparable store sales reached $1.08 billion, up 6.1 percent from the same period last year.
The Battlefield Mall store, one of 1,020 nationwide, employs about 225. Avila said that the corporation plans to open a minimum of 20 new J.C. Penney stores in the United States this year.
J.C. Penney stock (NYSE: JCP) closed March 23 at $46.10 per share.
Battlefield Mall
Renovations at J.C. Penney are just part of the changes seen by Manager Rob Rector at Battlefield Mall, part of Simon Property Group.
“I’d say over 50 percent of the stores remodeled in the last two years,” he said. “That’s what keeps the shopping center new, vibrant and fresh for our customers.”
Rector is pleased with last year’s changes at the mall, which included the addition of an outdoor lifestyle center with Jos. A. Bank, Ann Taylor Loft and Coldwater Creek. “It gives us a much better look on the east side of the mall. I think the addition of the moderate to upscale retail on the exterior of the shopping center was a big win,” he said.
Under construction this year, he said, is a new CJ Banks, a division of Christopher Banks, and remodeling for Champs and New York and Co.
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