Once-drab J.C. Penney taking on Manhattan

Retailer known more for Main Street opening near Macy’s flagship store

NEW YORK - Could the real miracle now be on 33rd Street? Department store chain J.C. Penney Co. thinks so, as it prepares for the July 31 opening of its first Manhattan store, just a block from Macy’s towering flagship in Herald Square. The new store is key to Penney’s campaign to boost sales by shedding its reputation for dowdiness, an effort that in recent years has included adding exclusive affordable collections from designer Nicole Miller, home furnishings from home maven Chris Madden and trendy in-store Sephora cosmetics shops. Penney, which expects the store to be its largest sales generator, believes even New York fashionistas are looking for affordable options as the recession maintains its grip. But Wall Street is taking note of the changing Manhattan retail landscape and will watch who shops at Penney and whether they are defecting from rivals like Macy’s, a fixture since 1902 in Herald Square, where the Christmas movie “Miracle on 34th Street” is set. “Penney’s has been around for a long time, but it hasn’t had the visibility of its competitors,” said Faith Hope Consolo, chairman of real estate firm Prudential Douglas Elliman’s retail leasing sales division. Consolo said higher-priced Macy’s and even the neighborhood’s Victoria’s Secret store, have “reason to be concerned” because Penney is likely to draw a full cross-section of the 250,000 shoppers who store officials say visit the area daily. link.......