From Crain’s Chicago Business | Hoffman Estates-based Sears Holdings Corp. is closing a St. Charles store and laying off workers, making the retailer one of six Illinois companies planning a total of 505 job cuts in coming months. Meanwhile, J.C. Penney Co. said it will close its store at Springhill Mall in West Dundee in June, leaving 139 employees without jobs.
J.C. Penney
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Penney beats Street amid questions of rising prices
J.C. Penney Co. raised investor concerns about how much more profitable it can be after the department story operator said many of its expenses would stay flat as a percentage of sales this year.
Analysts also questioned how well Penney’s price-conscious shoppers will contend with higher gasoline and clothing prices. Get the full story »
Discounting lifts Penney in 3Q, raises questions
Discounting boosted quarterly sales at J.C. Penney Co.’s department stores but ate into margins, raising concerns about the company’s approach to win market share from rivals.
The retailer is under pressure to show it can grow after activist investor William Ackman took a 16.5 percent stake last month and said he would discuss how to improve the company’s performance. Penney adopted an anti-takeover “poison pill” soon after. Get the full story »
Penney forms unit to handle new niche brands
J.C. Penney Co. has formed a new business unit that will focus on niche brands as it seeks new sources of revenue beyond its namesake department store chain.
The first two projects of the division, Growth Brands, will be launched in partnership with Hearst Magazines next summer. Get the full story »
Oct. 18, 2010 at 10:56 a.m.
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Filed under: Chicago executives, Investing, Retail, Stock activity J.C. Penney adopts rights plan to thwart Ackman
J.C. Penney’s board approved a “poison pill” designed to fend off potential takeover threats after hedge fund manager William Ackman acquired one-sixth of the retailer. The company’s shares fell 3 percent on the news. Get the full story »
Slowdown hits Penney harder than most retailers in 2Q
J.C. Penney Co. forecast a full-year profit below Wall Street expectations and stoked concerns that it may need further discounts to clear merchandise built up last quarter, sending its shares lower.
Penney said its shoppers, who tend to have a lower household income and are more likely to turn to discount chains and dollar stores when budgets are tight, were vulnerable to weak economic conditions. Get the full story »
J.C. Penney stepping up e-tailing push
J.C. Penney Co. (JCP) plans to grow its online sales by at least $1 billion in the next few years as the retailer restructures itself into a digital marketplace.
While the company isn’t giving up its roots as an operator of brick-and-mortar stores, J.C. Penney’s undertaking involves traditional online efforts, tie-ins with mobile devices, social-networking websites and structuring the more traditional stores as virtual shops. Get the full story »
