Roosevelt Field J.C. Penney finishes makeover

J.C. Penney Co. Inc. Friday officially unveils the 18-month, $30-million makeover of its Roosevelt Field location, the largest in the company's history and one that emphasizes its exclusive designer brands with distinct shops within shops.

The aim is to create an intimate specialty store feel within its department store and compete with smaller single-brand chains and fast-fashion (affordable and trendy) youth-oriented retailers.

"There's a specific market for fast fashion, and we're going for it; there's a segment for action sports, and we're going for it," said Rebecca A. Winter, Penney's corporate affairs director. "And we're able to compete and be a one-stop shop."

In June, this Penney's location in East Garden City opened a Sephora boutique inside the store, drawing lines of customers, said James J. Skopkowski, store manager. Visible from the mall entrance and amid women's apparel and accessories, the Sephora here is one of some 300 such collaborations with the popular cosmetics retailer the company will have rolled out by the fall.

"These concept stores are three to four times more productive than other areas of the store," Winter said. "This is the center core, so people have to come through here, and it drives some of the traffic."

Near the Sephora boutique, a change from tiling to wood floors, heavy chandeliers and a faster beat sets apart the Penney's boutique for MNG by Mango -- an exclusive brand with the Spanish fast-fashion giant -- and the start of the store's more edgy runway fashion segment. The music shifts down a notch in the areas displaying Penney's other strong women's brands like its exclusive Liz Claiborne fashions.

Within its fine jewelry department a Modern Bride boutique -- a concept developed with Condé Nast -- offers sales associates with diamond training and a selection of wedding and engagement rings.

"J.C. Penney is going back to its roots as a department store and taking a page out of specialty retail," said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for The NPD Group, a Port Washington market research firm. "Instead of being a sea of sameness, they are creating a clear distinction within the store so each customer can feel like this is their place to shop." Before the recession, many department stores had a homogeneity to appeal to every consumer, and they evolved into "a massive shopping space that confused people and where people got lost," Cohen said.

In the renovation, the men's section was moved to the second floor off the mall food court, for a higher profile, while the home section gained some 6,000 square feet in its new spot on the lower level. Their children's section embraces popular trends with brands like Vans, novelty T-shirts and a girl's clothing line developed with Stardoll.com, a fashion community for tweens.

"The trick is they have to be advertising like crazy to get people in the store so they can see the new climate, atmosphere, merchandise and new look," said Barry Berman, a Hofstra business professor. "I think that newer image is slowly trickling in."