JC Penney (JCP) has announced the appointment of James DePaul to executive vice president of stores. The position is effective Aug. 5 and will report to Jill Soltau, CEO of the company.

DePaul comes to JC Penney from the now-defunct Shopko, where he served as chief operations officer. He joined Shopko in 1998 as a store manager and also held the role of chief administrative officer and senior vice president of stores and operations with the company.

In his new position, DePaul will be responsible for improving in-store and omnichannel operations as JC Penney looks to transform the customer experience. The retailer has been struggling over the recent months as it looks to grow traffic in its stores and online.

DePaul will also oversee JC Penney’s stores, store operations, store environment and design, and asset protection teams.

He will replace Mike Robbins, who served as executive vice president of stores and supply chain. Robbins time with the company will come to an end on Aug. 3.

“I am delighted to welcome Jim to our team of highly talented retail experts at JCPenney,” Soltau said. His track record of delivering a positive, end-to-end customer experience through seamless omni-channel integration makes him a perfect choice as we deliver on our commitment to providing an engaging and rewarding shopping experience for our customers.

“I would like to thank Mike for his service and leadership at JCPenney, and we wish him the best,” Soltau added.

DePaul has also spent time working at Target in merchandising and operations, where he began his retail career in 1995.

Shares of JC Penney stock were up 5.45 percent as of 9:26 a.m. ET on Wednesday.

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Signage is displayed at the entrance of a JC Penney department store inside the Manhattan Mall on May 15, 2017, in New York City. Drew Angerer/Getty Images
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