JCPenney.com jumps into the CD, video market

JCPenney.com is jumping into the CD and video market. It announced today that it is adding 65,000 CDs, videos and DVDs to the site.

To launch the new products, the site--JCPenney.com/music&movies--is offering free shipping through July 19. Shoppers can search for music by artist, album or song title; search for movies by movie title, actor or director; choose from 15 music genres including pop, R&B, dance, jazz and country; and choose from 13 movie genres including family, action-adventure, drama and comedy. Shoppers also can listen to music clips and pre-order CDs up to four weeks in advance of the release date. JCPenney.com also plans to offer digital downloads of thousands of music titles.

JCPenney.com already offers more than 200,000 core items for the home and family and features merchandise such as fresh flowers, better jewelry, popular fragrances and toys for young children.

"Music and movies are a natural extension to our offering, and we are excited to enter this new category,” said Paul Pappajohn, president, JCPenney.com. “In the next three years, consumers will be spending $5 billion to buy CDs, videos and DVDs online, and we look forward to fulfilling their needs in this proven category."

Handleman Co. will provide shop support, maintenance and order fulfillment, as well as customer support services for the music and video products. Handleman is the largest supplier and merchandiser of recorded music to North America`s leading retail chains.

JCPenney.com was launched in 1994. Sales last year totaled $300 million.