Jill Soltau is making a long-shot bid at J.C. Penney to do what her predecessors couldn't: uncover what customers really want from the ailing department-store chain.

Soltau joined the Plano-based retailer last October with the stock in a free fall that has yet to reverse. During her second day on the job as the company's first female chief executive officer, she commissioned a survey that came back with some telling findings: Customers are tied to their digital devices, they care about fashion and want to forge an emotional connection with the places they shop.

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