One of the largest apparel and home furnishing retailers of the United States, JCPenney, has announced its entry into the Silicon Valley of India, joining the league of other global retailers like Target, Walmart and Tesco.
With a stress on delivering business insights and accelerating innovation through analytics, this first ever global in-house centre (GIC) which opens today in Bangalore, is an extension of its home office, based out of Plano, Texas, USA. The other major focus would be on enhancing the company’s digital and IT functions.
Emphasizing on the importance of data and technology, Therace Risch, EVP and chief information officer of JCPenney commented that they form the backbone of any successful business operating today and is especially critical to JCPenney. “We bolster our reporting capabilities and focus on building a fully integrated digital experience for our customers and associates”, she said.
Further adding to the importance of this technology centre, she said that the company aims to leverage a highly qualified talent pool and drive innovation in one of the fastest growing technology hubs in the world.
By utilizing the key business data and centralizing digital activities under one roof, the company intends to improve upon operational costs, enhance company’s functions and retain all the knowledge in-house. The company also steps up its strategic priority of becoming a world-class omnichannel retailer, with a particular emphasis on mobile.
Talking about the importance of mobile commerce, Mike Amend, EVP of omnichannel at JCPenney said that it continues to be the next frontier in online shopping with more than half of all jcp.com traffic originating on mobile devices. “By leveraging the expertise of our associates in the Bangalore office, we will continue adapting our business to deliver an exceptional shopping experience for today’s digitally savvy shopper”, he added.
The office, spread out at 150,000 sq. ft is located at the Embassy Manyata Business Park in Bangalore and flaunts a bright and open modern interior with a blend of personal & shared workspaces. Dating back the association of India and JCPenney to 1989, the company’s South Asian regional office is located in Delhi, and is responsible for various activities, including sourcing, design and quality control.
With a focus on developing digital, e-commerce and analytics solutions, we await to see the growth story of this newly set up technology centre in India.
