J. C. Penney Company Inc. announced that Victor Ejarque Lopez, formerly at Guess, has been named senior vice president, general merchandise manager for women’s apparel, reporting to Michelle Wlazlo, chief merchandising officer.
He will join the company June 10. In this role, he will be responsible for overseeing and developing all of the company’s women’s apparel merchandising strategies and programs to create a compelling shopping experience for our customers.
“I am delighted to welcome Victor to our team. His appointment fills a vital component of our merchandising leadership team, and we are eager to leverage his broad expertise in women’s apparel as we curate and develop sought-after brands and assortments to make JCPenney a preferred shopping destination for our customers,” said Wlazlo. “He will be an integral part of our senior leadership team as we create an inspirational experience for our customers at every touchpoint.”
Lopez joins JCPenney from Guess Inc., where he served as vice president and general merchandise manager of global operations, overseeing the company’s merchandising, buying, planning, allocation, supply chain and logistics. He worked globally to significantly reduce choice counts, implement markdown efficiencies, improve store replenishment, and meaningfully reduce sourcing production time.
Prior to Guess, Lopez was vice president and general merchandise manager of women’s apparel and accessories for Kmart, part of Sears Holdings. He managed a portfolio of 10 brands, improved gross margin significantly and increased speed to market while defining the product and merchandising strategy.
Lopez also spent 13 years with Stradivarius, an international women’s and men’s clothing fashion brand from Spain with over 1,000 shops in 60 countries. Stradivarius is owned by Inditex, the largest fashion group in the world, and also the parent company of Zara. While at Stradivarius he served in several top leadership roles including head of buying, head of commercial department and allocation, and head of sourcing and supply chain for Asia. Ejarque Lopez began his career at Polo and Co., where he spent 10 years as a business and production manager.
