J.C. Penney is piloting a private label brand of women’s wear, Belle + Sky, on its e-Commerce site and in 50 of its select 1,000 stores. The brand touts a variety of dresses, jackets, blouses, vests and jeans among other fashion items, and prices range from $14.99 to $59.99.
The Belle + Sky launch marks the first time J.C. Penney has created its own private label fast fashion brand. The retailer previously partnered with fashion brand Mango in 2010 to launch fast fashion line MNG by Mango exclusively in J.C. Penney stores.
With Belle + Sky, J.C. Penney is aiming to improve supply chain efficiency and accelerate product development. Efficiency is especially important for fashion and apparel items, which optimally are brought from the runway to the store in as little time as possible. J.C. Penney currently earns 56% of revenue from apparel sales, according to Marvin Ellison, CEO of J.C. Penney.
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“What we have learned is that we have to eliminate bureaucracy, we have to position fabrics, we have to position components, and we have to streamline the design process and the approval process because we are way too bureaucratic,” said Ellison during a presentation at the Goldman Sachs 22ndnAnnual Global Retailing Conference. “We are often times our worst enemy, creating a very long supply chain.”
