Penney Pusher

By Coco Masters

Has J.C. Penney gone trendy? New CEO Myron (Mike) Ullman wants you to think so. He has introduced new lines from Nicole Miller and Chris Madden to the mid-tier department-store, Internet and mail-order business while streamlining sales and launching a new "emotive advertising" campaign. "Mike's a marketing wizard," says analyst Bob Buchanan of A.G. Edwards & Sons. "He tells the customer that just because she doesn't make 100 grand a year doesn't mean she can't look good." Penney's earnings quadrupled in the first quarter over last year, to $172 million. Ullman's clearly doing something right. --C.M.