J.C. Penney Ups its Technology Budget to Spur Online Sales

J.C. Penney Co., betting that better control of inventory and stronger online sales will underpin its growth, is spending heavily to speed up its supply chain and overhaul its website. The Plano, Texas, department store chain is boosting its tech spending for a second straight year, even as it has cut its broader capital spending in half over the same period as it scaled back store openings. The company's online growth has slowed in recent years and it's counting on Internet sales, now just 9 percent of its $17.5 billion in annual revenue, to deliver $1 billion in sales growth over the next five years.