‘J-14’ To Reappear In Print In August (mediapost.com)

JCPenney’s new ownership group, consisting of Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management, along with strategic partner Authentic Brands Group, have launched a search for a Chief Executive Officer to replace Jill Soltau, who will be exiting the company effective December 31, 2020. The search will seek to identify a leader that is focused on modern retail, the consumer experience, and the goal of creating a sustainable and enduring JCPenney. With a successful track record of turning around retailers and brands and restoring them to profitability, JCPenney’s new ownership group will establish a temporary office of the CEO to include key members of JCPenney’s current leadership team. Stanley Shashoua, Simon Property Group’s Chief Investment Officer, will be appointed interim CEO effective January 1, 2021.

Sustainability remains a top priority for consumers, with 78% of respondents reporting that sustainability concerns are very or somewhat important to them when choosing to buy a product or shop at a retailer, according to results of the third annual Blue Yonder Consumer Sustainability Survey. Seven-in-10 respondents indicated that they have shopped at a retailer promoting their products as sustainable at least once or more in the past six months, which is slightly down from the 74% who reported doing so in the 2023 and 2022 editions of the survey. Close to half (47%) of respondents reported that their interest in shopping sustainably has greatly or slightly increased in the last year, while 40% of respondents said they would pay up to an additional 5% and 25% said they would pay an additional 10% or more.

Sixteen of the 50 titles on the longlist for the 2022 National Book Award are published by Penguin Random House US imprints: Five of the ten books longlisted in the Nonfiction category, and four in the Fiction category. So the publishing group has excellent chances at the NBA awards presentation on November 16. The NBA has been presented since 1950 and is regarded as one of the most important book prizes in the U.S. A total of 16 authors on the Penguin Random House US roster have hopes of winning a National Book Award (NBA) this year. One of the foremost book prizes in the U.S. - and hence in the entire English-speaking world - the prestigious award has been presented since 1950, currently in five categories, each with ten nominations for the longlist. The NBAs are administered by the non-profit National Book Foundation. Penguin Random House has especially good chances this time in the important “Nonfiction” category. Here, Bertelsmann’s publishing houses account for fully half of the nominated titles: five out of ten. In the top category, “Fiction,” the U.S. publishing group scored four of the ten slots on the longlist. This is the first time in several years that the publishing group has been represented in all five categories.