Today in Retail: JCPenney Could Benefit From All the Attention on Kohl’s; Sytner Group Adds 3 MINI Dealers, Collision Center

Today in retail, PYMNTS research found seven out of eight store cardholders used those cards to make their most recent purchases. Plus, By Rotation fashion rental platform has raised $2.9 million in seed funding, and Macy’s new fulfillment center in North Carolina will handle 30% of its digital supply chain supply when it opens in 2024.

Making Sense of the BNPL/Store Card Divide

PYMNTS research shows that 87% of store cardholders who had shopped in the past 30 days have used those cards for their most recent eligible purchases. That means that just 13% of consumers who patronized stores where they had cards chose a different payment method.

Even when shoppers choose not to use their store cards for eligible purchases, they typically pay using either debit or credit cards — and hardly ever pay with buy now, pay later (BNPL) options.

Our research shows 7% of store cardholders used debit cards for their most recent store card-eligible purchases, while another 4% used credit cards. And a tiny fraction — just 0.2% — of store cardholders paid for their recent eligible purchases using PayPal.

As Bidders Stalk Kohl’s, JCPenney’s 650 Locations and Customers Deserve 2nd Look

If Kohl’s, with 1,100 stores and roughly $20 billion in revenue, is worth $9 billion, how much would storied department store chain JCPenney, with 650 locations doing $9 billion in sales, be worth?

There’s been no indication or public discussion that the Texas-based retailer is looking to do anything right now but grow in its second year since emerging from bankruptcy in late 2020, but it’s hard not to make comparisons to Kohl’s, which has been a popular acquisition target lately.

JCPenney’s sales are rising again, its store closures have stopped and the retailer has more than 5,000 job openings posted on its website in dozens of states. It is also actively posting new ads and product launches nearly every day on its Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube pages.

Macy’s to Open North Carolina Fulfillment Center to Streamline Operations

Macy’s is continuing its transition to becoming a multi-brand omnichannel leader rather than a department store with the announcement Thursday (March 31) of a scheduled opening of a new fulfillment center in China Grove, North Carolina, in 2024.

The 1.4 million-square-foot, $584 million fulfillment center, which will feature automated direct-to-consumer (D2C) fulfillment capacity, will house about 2,800 employees when it’s fully operational, according to the announcement.

Macy’s China Grove Fulfillment Center will account for nearly 30% of Macy’s digital supply chain capacity and serve customers nationwide when it’s fully up and running, the announcement stated. It will feature new automation technology that’s aimed at increasing digital sales, including a goods-to-person and pocket sorter system to move merchandise with greater speed and accuracy.

Penske UK Subsidiary Acquires 3 BMW MINI Dealers, Collision Center

Sytner Group, the U.K. subsidiary of international transportation services company Penske Automotive Group, has acquired three BMW MINI dealerships and a collision center in the U.K., according to a Friday (April 1) press release.

The dealerships, which are located in South East England, north of London, add to Sytner’s existing inventory of 32 BMW MINI franchises across the U.K.

Sytner’s acquisition is expected to generate $250 million in annualized revenues for Penske Automotive Group, according to the release. Penske Automotive Group has added about $550 million in annualized revenue through acquisitions and open points so far in 2022, per the press release.

Fashion Rental Platform By Rotation Raises $2.9M

U.K.-based fashion rental platform By Rotation has raised $2.9 million (2.7 million euros) in seed funding as it prepares to expand to the U.S., according to an EU Startups report Friday (April 1).

Redrice Ventures led By Rotation’s funding round with participation from Closed Loop Partners, True Global, Magnus Rausing, Bill Holroyd CBE, DL, June Angelides MBE, Dinika Mahtani of Cherry VC, and Riccardo Pozzoli.

Launched in 2019 by Eshita Kabra, By Rotation lets users rent and buy clothing at below the retail price on a platform that features more than 200,000 lenders and renters across the U.K., sharing more than 25,000 clothing items.