If you’ve been waiting for Labor Day sales to purchase a new range, refrigerator, washer or dryer, you have a new option: J.C. Penney at the Lehigh Valley Mall in Whitehall Township.
The department store debuted its major appliance showroom Aug. 26. on the upper level near the optical, portrait and salon services. The space previously housed mattresses, which have been moved to an adjacent area.
Select models from LG, GE Appliances and Samsung are offered at up to 30 percent off through Monday. There are also raffles for a $100 J.C. Penney gift card and 10-piece stainless steel cookware set.
“J.C. Penney has always been known for great home goods at a great value, so this is just a natural extension of that,” General Manager Debbie Scudder said. “Most of our competitors will give you either free delivery, special financing or price matching; we offer all three.”
Pandora, YouTube or any other website. You also can download pictures from your phone and create a slide show — no more need to print them and have a million magnets. It also tells you when food expires.”
According to Scudder, J.C. Penney originally launched major appliances in 1963 and stopped selling them in the mid-1980s.
In January, backed by customer research that showed a demand for the merchandise, the company announced it was reintroducing major appliances in 22 pilot stores in the San Antonio, San Diego and Tampa areas.
“J.C. Penney found that appliances were the No. 1-searched item that it didn’t have on jcp.com, so this was a great opportunity,” Scudder said.
“Our research shows that the female consumer is the key decision maker in the appliance purchase process,” J.C. Penney CEO Marvin Ellison said in January. “Recognizing that over 70 percent of our shoppers are women, we’re going to improve the way customers shop for appliances by building an emotional connection with the female shopper who already trusts J.C. Penney to furnish her home and wardrobe.”
The three-market pilot was a success, and in May J.C. Penney announced it would introduce major appliances in new stores every week from July through the fall, until half of its more than 1,000 stores across the country and Puerto Rico offer “a leading selection of kitchen and laundry appliances from Samsung, LG, GE Appliances and Hotpoint.”
J.C. Penney, which closed a store at the Phillipsburg Mall in 2014, also has stores at Stroud Mall in Monroe County; and Montgomery and Willow Grove Park malls in Montgomery County.
The Whitehall J.C. Penney is open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Info: 610-264-5671 or jcp.com.
Also at Lehigh Valley Mall, Journeys Kidz is gearing up for a Sept. 15 opening in a lower level space between Pandora and Locker Room by Lids, according to Sherry Smith, the mall’s marketing administrator.
Launched in 2001 as an extension of the highly successful Journeys footwear retail concept, Journeys Kidz labels itself “a unique branded kids’ footwear retailer, targeting customers 5 to 12 years old with trendy footwear styles and accessories.”
There are more than 150 Journeys Kidz stores nationwide, with the Whitehall store set to be the company’s first in the Lehigh Valley.
Journeys, a leader in the teen specialty retail scene with more than 800 stores in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Canada, also has a store at Lehigh Valley Mall, along with the Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley, Crossings Premium Outlets in Tannersville, Stroud Mall and Montgomery Mall. Info: journeys.com.
For those with a sweet tooth, a few tasty businesses are also debuting at Lehigh Valley Mall.
First, Lolli and Pops should open its first area store on Friday on the lower level, near Boscov’s, Smith said. The San Francisco-based company, with over two dozen retail stores throughout the country, offers “unique sweets from all over the world, including chocolate from Madagascar, sour belts from Spain, and sodas from Japan, sourced from famed producers and local artisans, changing daily with batch size and availability.” Info: lolliandpops.com.
Second, Natural Sweet Gallery is expected to open its second Valley bakery and cafe on Friday on the lower level, next to Verizon Wireless, according to Marko Golubovic, who operates Natural Sweet Gallery with his brother, Milan, and mother, Sladjana.
The company, which opened its first location in March at the Weis Plaza on Glenlivet Drive West in Fogelsville, serves a mix of European sweet-and-salty delights, including baklava, burek, koogla, Hungarian rolls, macaroons, tiramisu, pastries, cakes, crepes and paninis, among other items.
The menu at the mall location will be slightly smaller, Golubovic said.
Natural Sweet Gallery, whose products are made from natural and organic ingredients with no GMOs, also offers catering. Info: 610-841-2215, mysweetgallery.com.