J.C. Penney branches out into HVAC

PLANO, Texas — J.C. Penney, which recently took up the home appliance business again, is now piloting a partnership with HVAC systems manufacturer Trane. The Dallas Morning News reports that the retailer has installed a Trane display next to the appliances department at its Collin Creek Mall store in Plano, where its head office is based. J.C. Penney, which rolled out major kitchen and laundry appliances in 500 stores this past fall, wouldn’t comment on the number of stores in the pilot, which follows on efforts by Best Buy to increase its share of the appliance business.