Dan Levine to JC Penney

Dan Levine has joined JC Penney as Senior Vice President/General Merchandising Manager, according to his Linked In profile and to industry sources.

Dan most recently worked as Chief Merchandising Officer at Skullcandy, which he left in mid-2012 after four years. Dan was with Skullcandy during its major growth years including the transition to becoming a publicly traded company.

Dan during his Skullcandy days. Shop-eat-surf file photo.

JC Penney is in the midst of an ambitious effort to transform the low priced department store into a new kind of retailer. Leading the charge is CEO Ron Johnson, who created Apple’s retail strategy and helped Target turn into a cheap chic retailer. (Read about Johnson’s fresh approach with JC Penney’s vendors).

JC Penney recently added DC Shoes to its merchandise mix, and Vans, which has sold there for years, is having much success at the store. Word is that JC Penney has been looking for more action sports brands to add to the assortment.

Prior to Skullcandy, Dan was President of RVCA for a year, and before that, worked several years at Hurley, including as VP of Merchandising and Design.

During his career, Dan also worked at REI and The Gap.

Neither Dan nor JC Penney responded to requests for comment on his new position.