J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE: JCP) today announced the launch of its 2010 spring marketing campaign, with the overriding goal of helping customers discover the new, higher level of fashion in its merchandise assortments. Over the last several years, JCPenney has made dramatic strides in “stepping up” its style and, as a result, now offers a better, more exciting shopping experience than ever before. To celebrate this, the banner for new campaign is: “New look. New day. Who knew.” The campaign will launch March 7th, during the Company’s exclusive retail sponsorship of the Academy Awards.

“We have made it our mission to bring a level of affordable style to our tiffanys that they cannot find anywhere else. For those who have not shopped with us recently, customers will see it as a new day for JCPenney,” said Myron E. (Mike) Ullman, III, chairman and chief executive officer. “Highlighting some of our most-coveted brands, our new, integrated marketing campaign is designed to show America what they will discover at JCPenney.”

Recent merchandise additions from the hottest design and style experts, like Allen Schwartz, Mary Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen and Cindy Crawford, join fast-fashion brands City Streets and Decree in Juniors, and a compelling line-up of powerful private brands like Worthington, a.n.a , Stafford, Linden Street and Ambrielle, establishes JCPenney as the destination for today’s must-have fashions for apparel and home. With the opening of more cheap tiffany inside JCPenney beauty boutiques, the upcoming launches of Liz Claiborne and MNG by Mango, customers will have more reasons to shop JCPenney than ever before.

Spring Integrated Marketing Campaign:

Created in collaboration with ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi, the campaign will kick-off with five 30-second broadcast commercials during the Academy Awards, one of Hollywood’s biggest nights of fashion. Showcasing JCPenney’s stepped-up style - and great prices - across multiple merchandise categories, the commercials will include three Women’s apparel spots (an anthem Women’s fashion spot, plus two additional spots titled “First Date” and “silver bracelets,” featuring key outfits and spring trends from brands such as ALLEN B., nicole by Nicole Miller, she said, a.n.a, Worthington and Bisou Bisou); one Men’s apparel spot (titled “Sneaking Out,” featuring key Men’s brands such as Levi’s, J. Ferrar, and JOE Joseph Abboud); and one Home merchandise spot (showcasing JCPenney’s new Cindy Crawford Style brand). Additionally, a 30-second spot showcasing JCPenney’s new Juniors brand, Olsenboye, will premiere during the pre-Oscar coverage on ABC and E!

JCPenney will further raise its style bar by highlighting head-to-toe looks of the season’s must-have trends and brands through various customer touch points including print, social and online components and through trend statements throughout the store. The campaign’s broadcast commercials will continue to air over the next few weeks on highly-rated primetime shows and cable programming and will be introduced to Hispanic customers when aired during JCPenney’s exclusive retail sponsorship of Univision’s Premio lo Nuestro show.

We scheduled this call to last about 45 minutes, which includes time for questions and answers.

Before we begin, let me remind everyone that the discussion this morning includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which reflect the Company’s current view of future events and financial performance. The words expect, plan, anticipate, believe and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Any such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and the Company’s future results of operations could differ materially from historical results or current expectations. For more details on these risks, please refer to the Company’s Form 10-K and other SEC filings.

Also, please note that no portion of this call may be tiffany silver notes in any form without the prior written consent of JCPenney. Replays of today’s webcast will be available for 90 days. For those listening after February 5, 2009, please note that this recording will not be updated, and it is possible that the information discussed will no longer be current.

On this morning’s call we have two speakers. Mike Ullman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, will start with some comments reflecting on our performance for 2008 and our initial outlook for 2009. Bob Cavanaugh, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will then make a few comments about our pension plan before we take your questions.

Now will turn it over to Mike Ullman.

MIKE ULLMAN, CHAIRMAN & CEO, JCPENNEY: Thank you, Phil. We want to spend most of our time on the call responding to your questions. We are eager to talk to you about ‘08 and ‘09. We thought it might be helpful to reflect on a tiffany silver pendants ago when we announced our Bridge Plan. You may remember our Bridge Plan was outlined to divide our initiatives between those things we were going to moderate like inventory and expense; things we are to maintain, which is our focus on the customer, our associates and our investors; and things we are going to accelerate like our installation of Sephora inside JCPenney, the launch of American Living and our other merchandising and other initiatives. We think it is very important given the storm that is going on around us in terms of a very difficult consumer climate and the lack of traffic in our stores and in malls today that we differentiate our underlying financial picture from many of our competitors.

Despite the deteriorating economic climate, cheap bangles have executed our Bridge Plan very well. For example, a year ago we said our goal for the year would be to have a positive cash flow for 2008. I’m pleased to say we have over $20 million free cash flow generated in 2008, despite the precipitous downturn in traffic and sales in the second half of the year.

We also ended the year with in excess of $2.3 billion in cash on hand and did not access the bank borrowing facilities during our peak inventory period.

We think it is important, as some have pointed out, that we are the most efficient in terms of cash utilization in our peer group. Being financially strong and having the financial flexibility is a testament to the sound planning of our financial team over the last five to six years.

During the year we stayed focused on our three key constituencies — our customers, our associates and our investors. We instituted the customer first program last February, and we’ve delivered on the desired results. Our overall satisfaction is the highest in our history and actually achieved our highest score in the month of December, which is the toughest and busiest month to execute.

Sales at the 1,209-door perfumery chain reached 649.3 million euros, or $856.3 million at an average exchange rate for the period.

The company’s 449 Douglas doors in Germany grew sales 3.1 percent, or 1.4 percent on a same-store basis.

Sales for the remaining 760 doors rose 5.7 percent, due tiffany silver bangles numerous store openings as well as last year’s acquisitions in Bulgaria and Croatia, Douglas said. A total of 44 new stores were opened in the first quarter, 40 of them outside of Germany.

The German group did not detail earnings for its separate divisions, which also include book, jewelry, apparel and confectionary shops.

Group sales were up 4.3 percent, but down 0.4 percent on a same-store basis, to 1.12 billion euros, or $1.48 tiffany silver earrings. However, earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation slipped 2.4 percent in the quarter to 172.2 million euros, or $227.1 million.

Douglas said earnings were impacted by relatively weak turnover outside Germany, coupled with high start-up costs for newly opened doors.

The group stated it does not plan to enter any tiffanys geographic markets in fiscal 2008-2009, but rather strengthen its existing ones. Douglas Perfumeries will take the lion’s share of the group’s planned investment volume of 140 million euros, or $182.6 million at current exchange, and aim to increase market share “through new openings and acquisitions,” the company said.

NEW YORK - Less than a week after seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, home furnishings and jewelry retailer Fortunoff’s asked a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge last week to swiftly approve an auction and sale of virtually all of its assets.

The retailer asked the court to require potential buyers to Bead bracelet bids by Feb. 16 and conduct an auction on Feb. 19.

Following the auction, the retailer is asking the court to conduct a hearing to approve the sale on Feb. 23.

Fortunoff’s said the sale needs to Black oynx Toggle necklace place quickly because the company “is facing a severe liquidity crisis.”

In court filings, the company described sales during the 2008 holiday Graduated bead drop pendant as “dismal,” and said many vendors had tightened their credit terms in the weeks before the bankruptcy filing.

For the nine months ended Nov. 30, the company had sales of $260.1 million and an operating loss of $42.2 million.

With America returning to its “Main Street” values and businesses seeking innovative solutions for growth, 7Mainstreet represents a convergence of several social media trends as well as a cost-effective new opportunity for companies of all sizes. 7Mainstreet offers both businesses and consumers a valuable experience not found in the static listings of standard online business directories.

Highlights / Key Facts:

– 7Mainstreet today formally unveiled its “dynamic commerce Tiffany Nature Dragonfly pendant” in beta form. This new tool transforms the static online directory model by combining social networking, business networking and e-commerce

– Across the country, businesses in every sector - retail, manufacturing, service industries and more - are registering and activating their 7Mainstreet profiles as they seek to extend their marketing and sales capabilities in a tough economy

– 7Mainstreet’s community is a mix of national and Two Hearts pendant brands along with local small and midsize businesses that might not otherwise have a Web presence

– Consumers have the ability to find local businesses, post reviews of businesses and products, and make secure, direct purchases online

– Companies can create their own content-rich profiles or have them designed by 7Mainstreet’s full-service interactive design arm, 7Mainmedia, for just $600

Summary:

Companies that join the 7Mainstreet community create a dynamic Venetian Link necklace superior to those on other popular social networking sites. Or they can have 7Mainstreet design a sophisticated profile inexpensively. Once live on the site, businesses can connect with one another the same way they would on a traditional business directory or business networking site.

A 2007 Jupiter Research survey found that 64 percent of all businesses with fewer than 100 employees had no Web presence! 7Mainstreet provides companies with easy-to-use tools to maintain and add content free of charge, keeping customer communications fresh. Large national businesses, such as financial and professional services firms, can localize their businesses by creating profiles for neighborhood offices or local experts.

Sales for non-prescription reading glasses were flat during the fourth quarter of 2008 compared to the fourth quarter of 2007, primarily due to the discontinuation of the Company’s opening price point program at Wal*Mart, offset by organic growth at existing customers. The increase in non- prescription reading glasses sales during fiscal 2008 from the corresponding period a year ago was due to a combination of organic growth and rollouts to new Venetian Link necklace, partially offset by the discontinuation of the Company’s opening price point program at Wal*Mart in September 2008. Also, in 2007, the Company benefited from a rollout to a major national retailer that was not anniversaried in 2008.

The increase in sales in the sunglasses and prescription frames segment for the fourth quarter of 2008 was largely due to a new sunglasses program shipped to a major customer and organic growth at existing customers. The Company also benefited from approximately $2 million of sales by Dioptics Medical Products, Inc., which was acquired November 26, 2008. These factors, as well as higher sales related to a promotional program at another major customer, contributed to the fiscal 2008 growth.

Declines in the costume jewelry segment for the fourth Atlas ring and fiscal 2008 were principally due to a loss of sales at a major customer and generally disappointing sell-through of the Company’s products at retail. The Company is continuing its strategic review of this segment.

Sales in the Company’s international segment were down 18% for the fourth quarter and 6% for the year when compared to the corresponding year ago periods. On a constant currency basis, international sales increased 4% for the fourth quarter and declined 3% for fiscal 2008 when compared to the corresponding year ago periods. The decline for fiscal 2008 was principally due to a non-anniversaried reading glass roll-out in the UK in the first Atlas tag pendant of 2007.

A reconciliation of EBITDA and Free Cash Flow, which are non-GAAP measures, are included in the Consolidated Statements of Income and Other Selected Data, and related notes thereto, attached to this release. The Company believes that non-GAAP measures are useful for an understanding of its ongoing business.

Additional Results:

The following additional results were experienced in the fourth quarter and fiscal 2008:

– In the fourth quarter of 2008 and 2007, gross margin as a percentage of net sales was 56.8%. For fiscal 2008, gross margin as a percentage of net sales was 54.8% compared to 54.2% in the prior year. The gross margin increase for the year was principally due to a favorable sales mix compared to the corresponding period a year ago.

– In the fourth quarter of 2008, operating income increased to $13.0 million from $9.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2007. For fiscal 2008, operating income increased to $34.3 million from $29.9 million in the comparable period for the prior year. The increase in operating income for the fourth quarter of 2008 was driven by increased sales and a non-anniversaried $2.5 million abandoned lease charge incurred during the fourth quarter of 2007. Fourth quarter 2008 operating results were partially offset by higher operating costs, principally fixture depreciation expense, freight costs and public company costs. The increase in operating income for fiscal 2008 was driven by higher sales, higher gross margins and a non-anniversaried $4.4 million abandoned lease charge incurred in fiscal 2007. This increase in operating income was partially offset by the same factors that adversely impacted the fourth quarter.

– In the fourth quarter of 2008, interest expense decreased to $1.7 million from $7.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2007. For fiscal 2008, interest expense decreased to $6.4 million from $24.7 million in the comparable period for the prior year. These decreases in interest expense were driven by initial public offering proceeds which were used to reduce indebtedness in the fourth quarter of 2007, a non-anniversaried $2.8 million write off of deferred financing costs and a new debt facility entered into in December 2007 which carries lower interest rates.

– Capital expenditures were $4.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared to $4.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2007 and $14.6 million in fiscal 2008 compared to $15.5 million in fiscal 2007. The decrease in fiscal 2008 was the result of a non-anniversaried capital investment made in the prior year period to support the rollout of a new non-prescription reading glasses and sunglasses program at a major customer.

The cost of four-year college is crippling Atlas tag pendant and families. A former presidential contender is here to offer a startling solution.

Ivanka Trump on money, marriage and jewelry, of course. Strike a pose; it’s time to talk YOUR MONEY.

Hello, and welcome to YOUR MONEY, I’m Christine Romans. Buying a home is the biggest investment you’ll likely ever make. Existing home sales jumped 9.4 percent last month, the direct results of first time home buyers. So is this the right time for you?

My co-host Ali Velshi is joining me from Los Angeles this week. Ali, last week you put me on the spot you asked me to describe in 60 seconds or less the implications of a weak dollar, I did it in 50 seconds. This week, how about you giving us a snapshot of the housing market in less than a minute starting right now.

ALI VELSHI, CNN HOST: All right. Bead bracelet of the economy are on the mend but there are still major problems. We continue to lose jobs, which means distressed home sales and foreclosures are likely to continue, but with the $8,000 new home buyers credit until the end of November, and a 30-year fixed rate mortgage at about 5 percent, people are buying houses and prices are starting to stabilize.

A new report predicts that prices will continue to drop across most of Black oynx Toggle necklace country on average another 11 percent between now and the middle of 2010. So why rush to buy a home now?

Five percent mortgage rates is why. It’s unclear whether housing prices will drop or rise next year. But with a weak dollar and inflation on the horizon, it is abundantly clear that mortgage rates are increase. You may think price matters most when buying real estate, but with a 20 percent down payment on a 15 or 30-year loan, interest matters more than price.

Wait too long for prices to drop and you’ll end up paying much more over the life of the mortgage. All real estate is local. Be careful if you’re in an area that is likely to continue to see major price declines. If you’ve got cash for a down payment now may be the ideal time to buy. Oh, man!

ROMANS: I wish I could be pushing that button. VELSHI: Close.

ROMANS: All right. So we are going to break it down for you. Because you make a very good point. Let’s say you found the perfect house that fits your budget at about $177,000. This is the national median home price, right? The final price, factoring in a 30-year mortgage at about 5 percent interest would bring your home to $378,000.

So pull the price off here, blah, blah, blah, turn it like this, just like Ali Velshi. What if you wait? Interest rates are at a half century lows. You could possibly get this house later in the year for $158,000. Imagine that. That would be cheaper, right than this $177,000. Sounds like a $19,000 savings. Not necessarily.

When you consider that interest rates could be on the rise. Let’s say just for argument sake this is not a forecast, but just for argument’s sake that next summer interest rates go up to 6.5 percent. Well, look here. The price of your house over 30 years paying in the interest, that home is actually $391,000, so, as Ali pointed out, right, Ali? The lower-priced home, if you wait for prices to drop if interest rates go up, in the end you could actually pay more.

VELSHI: There are lots of variables to this. They include whether or not you’ll be able to pay your mortgage off early, or whether you think interest rates will go down later and maybe you refinance and whether or not you’re living in an area where prices are likely to drop so much in the next year that you might be able to take advantage of a substantially lower home cost. It’s not a solution for everyone; it is just something to really think about.

Lots of people say I’m really interested in buying a house, got some cash, got some credit but I think prices are going down. What I say is don’t worry about too much about what’s happening in the next year if you want to be in a house for ten, 15 years or longer.

The trademark application (serial number 79039147) was Elsa Peretti Butterfly pendant on March 20, 2007 and was registered on Oct. 20.

The description of the mark registered is “Color is not claimed as a feature of the mark”.

The goods for which registration was sought are “Jewelry, namely, jewelry comprised of imitation metal and stones, precious stones, precious metals and their alloys; pieces of jewelry manufactured from or coated with Black oynx Toggle necklace metals and their alloys, namely, watch clasps; jewelry; cufflinks; tie pins; pieces of jewelry, namely, jewelry boxes of precious metal, jewelry findings, jewelry and precious stones; lockets; watch straps; bracelets; Elsa Peretti Open Wave earrings chains; rings; earring; charms; brooches; pins of jewelry; necklaces; bangles; nose rings”. For more information about US Fed News trademarks please contact: Sarabjit Jagirdar, US Fed News.

With the launch of Ylang 23 Mobile, users of any mobile device will now automatically be re-directed from the Ylang 23 site to its mobile sibling, and will be able to view the jewelry via a zoom feature. For an IPhone user, the item will not only fill up the screen, but via IPhone’s “spread” feature, clients will actually be able to count tiny diamonds in settings.

Ylang 23, located in Dallas, Texas, was one of the few specialty retailers tiffany jewellery to launch a website in 2000 with just 6 items for sale. In 2002 it re-launched as a full selling site, designed to receive orders in real-time and ship them within 24 hours.

“We have long believed in the power of the web, the mobility of our well-traveled and well-heeled clients and our ability to accurately represent our designers online. We love the simplicity of mobile Ylang23.com, which moves the shopper quickly to the merchandise, and lets them search by designer or type in a search term. Payment by credit card or PayPal is easy, and order fulfillment is as expedited as our main e-commerce site,” said Joanne Teichman, Owner & Managing Director.

An early adapter to the fast changing media environment, Ylang 23 is active in blogging (Joanne’s Eye), as well as Twitter and Facebook (including a Facebook App where Facebook users can send virtual gifts of jewelry from its lineup of designers). Ylang 23 was the first designer jewelry storefront on Amazon.com, and is also fully represented on Shopstyle.com. A separate Facebook group ‘Designer Jewelry’ is also valentines day pendants by the store.

About Ylang 23

Ylang 23 (formerly known as Ylang-Ylang) was opened in 1985 by Joanne and Charles Teichman in Dallas, Texas, and quickly became a mecca for a clientele who could afford anything, but prefer designers who shape the trends in the U.S. and valentines day earrings. In a luxe and relaxed atmosphere, the jewelry ranges from an $80 pair of sterling silver Me & Ro earrings, to one-of-a-kind creations in platinum, 22 karat gold and diamonds from Cathy Waterman’s studio which can soar into the hundreds of thousands. Regardless of price point, what the collections share are originality and exceptional design, as recognized by fashion editors and the high profile celebrities who wear them.

The store is located at Galleria Dallas at Center Court in the midst of the most upscale shopping center in the Southwest. It has distinguished itself by its deep, varied selection of top and mostly American jewelry designers which are featured monthly on the covers of top fashion magazines and worn by celebrities including Julia Roberts, Jennifer Anniston, Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meister, singer Cheryl Crow and scores of others too numerous to mention. Ylang 23 has nurtured many emerging designers, and is aggressive in its buying in order to offer its clientele a broad selection of those originals, many of which will be in coveted estate collections in decades to come. Most of their top designers have made frequent personal appearances in conjunction with trunk shows, and have developed a loyal following of clients and collectors. Celebrities who have shopped the Dallas location include Steven Tyler from Aerosmith, Janet Jackson, Sharon Osborne and Miley Cyrus.

Owners Joanne & Charles Teichman have stayed true to a vision of providing the most exciting breakthrough collections, and a level of service which Ylang 23 clients find unmatched. Why Ylang 23? The Teichmans met on the 23rd, were engaged on the 23rd and were married on the 23rd.

“Airport and hotel lobbies are frequently very public spaces that create a false sense of security,” says David Sexton, vice president, loss prevention, Jewelers Mutual Insurance Co. ” We’ve had reports of thefts that occur as travelers are checking in and momentarily can be caught off guard. They merely set their luggage on the floor and when they look down it’s gone.”

In fact, when jewelry is reported missing, the top reasons tiffany jewellery include “I lost it at a hotel” and “I lost it while traveling.” Jewelry insurance can cover pieces from wedding and engagement rings to heirloom necklaces that are lost, damaged or stolen, and it can cost less than you might expect. You can apply for the insurance online or through a jeweler, and certain homeowners insurance plans may cover jewelry, though they often cover only a small valentines money clips unless you purchase a separate rider to cover your favorite pieces and gifts.

That’s why many people instead opt to work with specialty insurance providers such as Jewelers Mutual, the nation’s only insurer to specialize in jewelry. You can visit the company’s Web site at www.insureyourjewelry.com to get a free quote and access an online calculator to determine how much coverage you might need.

Keywords: Jewelers Mutual Insurance Co., Women, Other Consumer, Luxury, Travel, Destinations, Vacation, Lodging, Transportation, Other Travel, Retai, Homeowners, Real Estate

This article was prepared by valentines cufflinks & Travel Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2009, Leisure & Travel Week via VerticalNews.com.