JC Penney To Revive Catalogs: WSJ

(RTTNews) - J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (JCP) is reportedly bringing back its print catalog five years after the department store operator dumped it to focus more on online sales.

According to Wall Street Journal, JC Penney is bringing back its hefty print catalog featuring its housewares after finding out that many of its online shoppers were spurred by the catalog.

JC Penney will start sending a new 120-page catalog book, which will feature items from its department store, to select customers in March, the report said.

Interestingly, the decision to bring back the catalog was made by Chief Executive Myron Ullman, who actually in the first place decided to discontinue the publication of catalogs in 2010.

According to industry experts, although, majority of the shopping is done online, the catalogs still provide the much-needed motivation for shoppers. Most retailers had stopped sending catalogs considering it to be redundant in the age of internet, however lately, many have discovered a link between online sales and catalogs.

JC Penney had launched its catalog business in 1963. When Sears closed its catalog business in 1993, JC Penney became the largest catalog retailer in the US. However, the company stopped the publishing of "Big Books" in 2009 and discontinued the distribution of 70 smaller catalogs in 2010.

The struggling retailer has been restructuring itself under Mike Ullman. The department store chain has rebuilt and reestablished the right merchandise assortment, including private and national brands, and has been ramping up its online presence.

JCP is currently trading at $7.32, down $0.12 or 1.61%, on the NYSE.