Aug. 25, 2017 12:59 p.m. ET

Reallocating a greater portion of the approximately $400 million J.C. Penney Co. JCP 2.12% spends on capital expenditures to technology efforts would help trim costs and boost sales, according to Jeffrey Davis, the retailers new finance chief.

Our vision [is] to evolve this organization, either through human resources mining the data or other tools, to be much more nimble than in the past, said Mr. Davis in an interview with CFO Journal this week.

Mr. Davis joined J.C. Penney last month following the departure of Edward Record, who took the CFO job at Hudsons Bay Co. HBC 14.16% Mr. Davis was previously finance chief at Darden Restaurants DRI 1.58% and finance chief of the U.S. division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. WMT 0.37%

Mr. Davis said he and Chief Executive Marvin Ellison came to the 114-year-old business from companies with more data-rich environments. Mr. Ellison joined the retailer from Home Depot Inc. HD 0.94% in November 2014 and had spent five years at Target Corp. TGT 1.48%

Having seen what you can do if you have more timely information being provided, new technology can improve business decision-making at the retailer, he said.

Mr. Davis plans to continue J.C. Penneys debt-reduction efforts, with the aim of reducing the companys ratio of debt to adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization to around three times. That figure stood at nearly 4 for 2016, with net debt at $3.95 billion and adjusted EBITDA at $1 billion, according to data from FactSet.

I would not look to change our financial policies or capital structure, he said.

J.C. Penney hasnt paid a dividend since 2013. The retailer has for years struggled to revive falling sales and quarterly losses.

Youre not going to see us issuing a dividend anytime soon, Mr. Davis.

J.C. Penney reported a second-quarter loss of $62 million, compared with a loss of $56 million in the same period of 2016. Same-store sales fell 1.3% in the second quarter, a slower decline than the 3.5% drop in the first quarter.

Mr. Davis also wants to lower selling, general and administrative expenses which are, as a share of sales, at the higher end when compared with competitors. Part of that effort would include refining how employee resources are used across the companys merchandise and operating systems, he said.

The aim is to allow our existing resources and processes to be more efficient and provide a higher level of service to customers, Mr. Davis said.

One specific initiative involves using information mined from shoppersin stores and onlineto improve the J.C. Penney experience and ultimately be much more exact around pricing, particularly at different times of the year, he said.

Right now we do that more through brute force, he said.

New technology investments could help J.C. Penney turn the corner, said Oliver Chen, senior equity analyst covering retail at Cowen & Co.

Technology is critical to helping retailers get the right items at the right place at the right time, and can reduce markdowns, he said.

It should be the top priority in retail at large because technology can manifest in better inventory management, and increased supply-chain speed, Mr. Chen said. If you dont invest in technology, youre hurting your future chances of success.

And while J.C. Penney isnt on the cutting edge, that could help the retailer avoid the pitfalls suffered by some of its competitors, Mr. Chen said.

Since theyre a second-mover in technology in some ways, they can understand the mistakes of others and try to turn it to their advantage, he said.

Investing in ways to blend the in-store and online customer experience is of particular interest to Mr. Davis, who admits to having more apparel options online.

Im 65 and 195 pounds, so sometimes its a little hard for me to find what Im looking for in the store.

Write to Tatyana Shumsky at tatyana.shumsky@wsj.com

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JC Penney Sees Solutions in Greater Tech Investment - Wall Street Journal (subscription)