J.C. Penney Company Inc. announced that James (Jim) DePaul has been named executive vice president of stores, effective August 5, reporting directly to Jill Soltau, chief executive officer.
He will be responsible for improving in-store and omnichannel operations as part of the company’s focus on transforming the customer experience to grow traffic, engagement and customer retention. Mike Robbins, executive vice president of stores and supply chain, will be leaving the organization effective August 3, 2019.
“I am delighted to welcome Jim to our team of highly talented retail experts at JCPenney. His track record of delivering a positive, end-to-end customer experience through seamless omni-channel integration makes him a perfect choice as we deliver on our commitment to providing an engaging and rewarding shopping experience for our customers,” said Soltau. “I would like to thank Mike for his service and leadership at JCPenney, and we wish him the best.”
As executive vice president of stores at JCPenney, DePaul will oversee the company’s stores, store operations, store environment and design, and asset protection teams to deliver a fulfilling and productive customer experience. He joins JCPenney from Shopko Stores where he served as chief operations officer, with responsibility for stores, pharmacy, optical, supply chain, e-commerce operations, non-merchandise procurement, store operations, store development, loss prevention and merchandise support. While there, he made key improvements to customer service scores, reduced operating expenses, and improved shrink and overall productivity.
His previous roles at Shopko include chief administrative officer and senior vice president of stores and operations. DePaul began his career in 1995 and spent three years in merchandising and operations positions at Target Corporation before joining Shopko in 1998 as a store manager.
