J.C. Penney Co Inc is slated to open the first of its new home goods boutiques on April 5 as part of a bigger plan to turn its stores into mini-malls of sorts.
The struggling department-store chain is unveiling revamped home areas within its stores that feature 20 boutiques that highlight 50 new brands, according to the Associated Press.
The home areas, which Penney will begin to roll out Friday at 500 of its 1,100 stores, will test CEO Ron Johnson's plan to open separate shops-within-stores for popular designers. The format, which gives department stores more of a mini-mall feel, have been popular at higher-end rivals such as Macy's and Bloomingdale's for years.
The home category accounted for 12 percent of Penney's sales in 2012, compared to 21 percent six years earlier, and sales per square foot in home goods have fallen by more than half in that time. In 2008, Penney logged about $3.7 billion in home goods sales, just below Macy's. By 2012, they had fallen to roughly one-third of Macy's levels.