JCPenney to Rollout Hallmark Mini-Stores
Following months of discussions and a 15-store pilot program, JCPenney and Hallmark have decided to forge forward with their relationship. Hallmark mini-stores will join Sephora and Disney mini-stores inside hundreds of JCPenney locations across the country.
If you've been in a JCPenney store lately, you've seen the Sephora mini-store and recognize how this works. Mini-stores have their own staff and are stocked with a smaller selection of the same merchandise as a full-size store. At the same time, they use the same payment system as the rest of the store, so you don't need to buy your corduroys and your cards at separate registers.
"Hallmark was so perfect for the Penney customer. Hallmark has a great legacy, similar to JCPenney," JCPenney's senior vice president for the home section told the Dallas Morning News.
A Hallmark executive pointed out that greeting cards in department stores are nothing new: Hallmark once sold large amounts of cards at JCPenney, and now has large shelves inside other retailers in addition to its own card and gift stores. The greeting card business really only has one competitor: not sending a card at all…or sending e-mails instead.
If you've been in a JCPenney store lately, you've seen the Sephora mini-store and recognize how this works. Mini-stores have their own staff and are stocked with a smaller selection of the same merchandise as a full-size store. At the same time, they use the same payment system as the rest of the store, so you don't need to buy your corduroys and your cards at separate registers.
"Hallmark was so perfect for the Penney customer. Hallmark has a great legacy, similar to JCPenney," JCPenney's senior vice president for the home section told the Dallas Morning News.
A Hallmark executive pointed out that greeting cards in department stores are nothing new: Hallmark once sold large amounts of cards at JCPenney, and now has large shelves inside other retailers in addition to its own card and gift stores. The greeting card business really only has one competitor: not sending a card at all…or sending e-mails instead.