J.C. Penney store in Santa Fe honored as top performer

The J.C. Penney at Santa Fe Place mall on Cerrillos Road was recognized April 5 as one of the retail chain’s best performing stores in 2017, the company announced in a news release.

Natalie S. Hendrickson and more than 90 other store leaders were recognized with a Founder’s Award at a company event in Plano, Texas, according to the company.

The Founder’s Award is presented to general and district managers for leading teams that deliver strong results in financial performance, customer and client service and business expertise, according to the company. The award recognizes the individual store’s overall performance in exceeding goals set by J.C. Penney, Hendrickson said. J.C. Penney has more than 870 stores in the U.S.

“You have to make your sales and you have to make your costs,” she said. “It’s definitely a team effort.”

Hendrickson attributed work done by Spinoso Real Estate Group, which manages Santa Fe Place, to renovate the mall and attract new tenants for bolstering business. J.C. Penney also expanded the merchandise lines in Santa Fe last year by adding appliances, mattresses and a new Sephora — a makeup and beauty products store — inside the retailer.

“I think our mall here and the management that runs it does an excellent job,” Hendrickson said Monday. “The occupancy is much better than it was and traffic has improved, which helps our business as well.”

Hendrickson has been general manager at the 77,000-squarefoot store in Santa Fe for four years, she said. Although competition with online retailers for consumer dollars has forced some brick-and-mortar retailers to fade away, she said J.C. Penney positioned itself in that space, too.

“Years ago, they called it the catalog business,” she said. “Now it’s jcp.com.”