Colorado Real Estate Journal -
You probably have heard about J.C. Penney Co.’s plans to reinvent its stores and the shopping experience of its customers. Ron Johnson, the CEO of J.C. Penney, hopes to work the same magic with the struggling retailer as he did when he headed Apple stores, before joining the department-store chain. Apple stores are the highest-grossing retail tenants in the U.S., while J.C. Penney has had an identity crisis, facing well-publicized and stiff competition from Sears Holding Co., Walmart Stores Inc., Kohl’s and others. But what many do not know is the construction effort to change the look for 37 of the 1,280 J.C. Penney stores is being handled by Maxwell Builders, a small construction firm based in the Denver area. Maxwell Builders, licensed in 17 states, is a preferred general contractor for J.C. Penney for a region that includes Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, California, Washington, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, South Dakota, Montana, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Illinois, Wisconsin and Louisiana. The company was founded in 1985 by Lonia and Dave Maxwell and is based in Englewood In January, Johnson and J.C. Penney’s then-president, Michael Francis (who left the company last month after only eight months on the job) outlined plans to reinvent the J.C. Penney shopping experience, using branding terms such as Main Street and Town Square to describe the changes. They said in the future the entire chain would be merchandised as a Main Street – a series of 80 to 100 brand shops – “rather than the confusing and seemingly endless racks common in department stores today.” According to Johnson, the revamped stores also will feature a Town Square, “an exciting new place that replaces the traditional retail center core of a department store with a series of services, which customers will enjoy before they buy, while they shop and afterward. “And, throughout, the new (J.C. Penney) store experience will merge the physical and digital worlds, assuring the physical retail stores' vital role as the centerpiece of retailing's future.” Brands that will be featured in the new brand shops will include IZOD, Liz Claiborne and The Original Arizona Jean Co. Chris Strom, director of business development for Maxwell, focused on expansion of the partnership between J.C. Penney and Maxwell when he joined the family owned company nine years ago. Building upon a relationship that started 16 years ago with the remodel of the J.C. Penney store in Westminster Mall, Maxwell has continued to grow its business with the Plano, Texas-based company. “An open store renovation is harder and much more complex than ground-up new development,” Strom said, adding that Maxwell has successfully completed hundreds of renovations for J.C. Penney during the past 16 years across the country. On July 27, J.C. Penney will roll out the first wave of the new concept nationwide, Strom said. Maxwell’s 37 stores will include 21 located in Colorado, 10 in New Mexico, four in Texas, one in South Dakota and one in Nebraska. Colorado J.C. Penney stores that are currently under construction include Westminster Mall, Aurora Mall, Southwest Plaza, Park Meadows, Southlands in Aurora, Prairie Center in Brighton, Northfield in Stapleton, Fort Collins, Longmont, Orchard Town Center in Westminster, Pueblo Mall, Citadel Mall in Colorado Springs and the First & Main Town Center in Colorado Springs.