Looking Forward

I'm always interested in what's going on in the retail business, and I'm always interested in what's going on with JCPenney. I don't buy a lot of clothing there, but they fill a need for certain things, and they have been making an effort to improve their offerings.

The GQ Eye blog posted an interview with Nick Wooster, a guru to style bloggers worldwide and veteran of high-end stores like Barneys and Neiman Marcus, who recently signed on with Penney as vice president of "brand, design, and trend." That bit of marketing-speak means he's now the guy in charge of men's design, and he offers a preview of some of the company's efforts that will be reaching stores starting this fall.

(Side note: since JCPenney decided to drop its Ralph Lauren-prodced American Living line, I'm wondering if another clothing retailer would be interested in picking it up, like how Martha Stewart went from Kmart to Macy's. I don't know if that's even possible under the terms of the agreement, but it's certainly an interesting thought.)