Coming just in time for the critical back-to-school season, this follows on JC Penney’s move back into the appliance space in January 2016, going head-to-head with chains like Home Depot, Lowe’s, Sears and Best Buy. It was expanded to 500 stores in May 2016 after a successful pilot.
The toy shops will be located adjacent to the chain’s Disney collections and feature an assortment of dolls, action figures, racing cars, arts and crafts, board games, plush toys and learning sets from brands like Hasbro, Mattel, Playmobil and Fisher Price. It has also doubled its online assortment of toys over the last year, with plans to expand it further in time for the holiday season.
JC Penney brought back two toy brands last holiday season and saw enough response to justify the new expansion. The company sold toys in its Christmas catalog between 1963 and 2004. It is hoping to differentiate itself through a wider product assortment.
