J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) has announced that it would be replacing its current Chief Merchant, Elizabeth Sweney, with John Tighe. Sweney, however, will continue to work with JCP as a consultant, before retiring at the end of FY2015. Tighe will assume his new role on October 1, 2015. Additionally, the company has also been making efforts to recover losses in sale, worth $6 billion. The company has been facing immense competition from smaller competitors, many of whom have taken a significant portion of the company’s market share.

Tighe’s new post is the second most important role at JCP. The company CEO, Marvin Ellison, thanked Sweney for her services and lauded the bench strength JCP has in its merchant pool. He also hinted that the promotion was made to develop leaders for succession planning. Ellison took over as CEO of JCP just 2-months ago and it is anticipated that Tighe would be the person to succeed him.

Tighe is also anticipated to shift focus towards improving the company’s online execution, after assuming his role. However, the immediate task at hand for the new CM is the upcoming holiday season. Even though merchandise for the season has already been delivered to warehouses, the company would expect itself to improve its performance. Furthermore, Tighe has also been assigned the task to address the challenges facing JCP’s online and home business. These segments of the JCP business are currently suffering from a series of initiatives taken by ex-CEO, Ron Johnson.

The company has already started efforts to recover its lost business, by mailing 120-page catalogs to potential customers of rebuilding home segments. The catalog represents the wide variety of products the company has to offer to homeowners, looking to refurbish their homes. This was the second time a catalog was mailed by JCP to its potential customers and a lot more catalogs are expected, from business segments that demand a boost.

J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) recorded a decline of 0.43%, during the September 24 session, to reach a close at $9.33, after experiencing a trade volume of 7.55 million shares.