Joseph W. Zimmermann, who took over as manager of J.C. Penney Co.’s Lewiston store last month, said some changes will be made at the store during the year, although no expansion in employees or products is planned.
“We are planning on remodeling the home department by July,’’ Zimmermann, 47, said in an interview. “We are also going to get a new computer system which will change our cash registers. It should allow us to provide better customer service.’’
Some new national brands may also be added to the store’s product line, he said, including Guess jeans, Hagar men’s clothing and British Knights athletic shoes.
At 51,000 square feet the store is about the size of most stores in communities the size of Lewiston. The larger of J.C. Penney’s 1,400 stores are between 150,000 and 200,000 square feet, he said.
“Penney’s is an important part of Lewiston. It’s one of the major anchors in the mall,’’ Zimmermann said. “The Penney’s thrust is to become the national department store. To achieve that we are going to try and put in the most fashionable merchandise.’’
Zimmermann has worked with J.C. Penney for 24 years and was employed at stores in Louisiana and Missouri before moving to Lewiston.
His wife Judy, and two of his six children, Andy, 15, and Josie, 9, came to Lewiston with him.
“It’s beautiful. I just think it’s a gorgeous area,’’ he said.
Zimmermann said he looks forward to river use, and may buy a boat, “unless we find a real good neighbor.’’
This story was published in the Feb. 18, 1990, edition of the Lewiston Tribune.
