J.C. Penney Increases Outsourcing To India

J.C. Penney Increases Outsourcing To India
J.C. Penney Co. Inc., one of United States’largest catalogue merchants and department stores, is heading to India with a $120 million to $130 million shopping list. The company recently announced that it will increase its apparel sourcing from India to $350 million a year in the next three to five years.The company currently sources apparel (T-shirts, men’s suits, blouses, denim bottoms and sports jackets), shoes, home furnishings and diamonds worth around $100 million a year from India. Key product categories identified by J.C. Penney to be sourced from India in the future are woven bottoms, knit tops, home furnishings and towels. Apparel and home textiles account for about 80 percent of the company’s non-pharmaceutical retail sales of $16 billion.

J.C. Penney plans to sourcetowels from India in the future.According to those familiar with the situation, the company has held talks with major Indian textile manufacturers, such as Arvind Mills,Vardhaman and Madura.The company said the decision to develop sourcing partners in India is in line with its strategy to broaden its exposure to priceefficient and politically less-risky markets.
Summer 2004