In an attempt to capture the Millennial consumer, J.C. Penney said it is relaunching sportswear from its private label men’s brand JF J. Ferrar this fall. The modern lifestyle brand has carved a niche in the department store’s men’s assortment since 1998, offering suits retailing between $100 and $120.
John Tighe, senior vice president and general merchandise manager for men’s apparel, said, “The average age for the JF guy is 34 years old, and year-to-date, it’s running up double-digits with great suits at amazing value for young guys who are dressing up.” The retailer hopes to recreate some of that sales magic with T-shirts, wovens, jeans and jackets from the label, which will be made available in 500 stores this month.
According to Tighe, private labels account for 50 percent of J.C. Penney’s men’s business. JF J. Ferrar fills the gap between Stafford, its line of traditional tailored clothing, and Arizona, its denim-youth brand.
Tighe noted that direct sourcing allows the company to offer “unmatched quality, style and value” that it can control and with “great margins.” He added, “The end-to-end process that we call from start to finish allows us to have tremendous flexibility in the supply chain. If business is good, we can go get more, if we need to back off we can pull back or if we need to change the assortment we can, because we have full flexibility and visibility to the whole supply chain.”