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| Economy |
| JC Penney to shut 40 stores and cut 2,250 jobs this year |
| 2015-01-10 |
| [ARABNEWS] J.C. Penney Co. said that it will close about 40 stores this year and cut approximately 2,250 jobs, as it tries to improve its profitability. Most of the stores, located in malls around the country, will close by April 4. The Plano, Texas, company currently runs about 1,060 stores. The announcement Thursday comes two days after J.C. Penney reported a rise in sales during the critical holiday shopping season, an encouraging sign as the company tries to recover from a botched plan to reinvent itself under former CEO Ron Johnson. It has tapped a new CEO, former Home Depot executive Marvin Ellison, who will replace current CEO Mike Ullman in August. Ullman was rehired as CEO in April 2013 after retiring from the top job in 2011. J.C. Penney said all employees at stores being closed will be offered career training classes, including help writing resumes and filling out applications. The company said that some employees are eligible to receive separation benefits. Last January, the company announced plans to close about 33 stores and cut approximately 2,000 jobs. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #10 I bought my first shoe (left) at JCP, fond memories, tho pricey at $32 for basically a quarter loafer. Some months later I found a near match (right) at Thom MuHands for $4.29. Couldn't stand the change tho. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2015-01-10 18:15 |
| #9 Marketing Genius? The way I hear it Ron Johnson tried to run JCP like Apple. Entirely different market and customer base. The JCP market loves those 'Tag' sales and the clearance sales and the like. Mrs Fool heard lots and lots of customer complains and saw longtime customers go elsewhere when they stopped them. Having the alledged 'low price' on the sticker didn't matter. JCP is also a reseller of other companies products over their own (unlike Apple stores which do not sell Windows PCs). Anyway its good to see that JCP is going to survive its Executive Blunder. I remember buying my first 'suit' at JC Penny in Bellingham for under $100. Not bad. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2015-01-10 17:51 |
| #8 That's where I get my shoes. I guess I'd better go get another pair too. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2015-01-10 16:29 |
| #7 Better get over to Penney's next weekend and pick up some extra slacks for work. What? I like them and they come in a range of colors. Have been wearing the last ones I purchased for years. |
| Posted by: Barbara 2015-01-10 14:41 |
| #6 They can all go to Community College and stay off the unemployment. Smooth out some bumps for the 2016 elections. |
| Posted by: BrerRabbit 2015-01-10 14:36 |
| #5 Old Spook nails it. Amazing how many companies hire Marketing "geniuses" instead of customer-centric professionals to lead the organization. Our son shared a text from his boss over Christmas. Buzzwords trump depth nowadays (imho). |
| Posted by: Hupineger Glomomp7489 2015-01-10 14:24 |
| #4 Macy’s recently announced they’re downsizing their retail outlets as well. The headline indicated a strategic restructuring plan. Deeper in the explanation indicated higher health care costs as a key factor. Obamacare’s pending employer mandate is starting to bubble. One wonders how long the compliant media will keep a lid on things. |
| Posted by: DepotGuy 2015-01-10 13:14 |
| #3 Now, if W.T. Grant were alive, not to be confused with Ulysses S. Grant, he would know what to do. |
| Posted by: Skunky Whatch6970 2015-01-10 09:39 |
| #2 I've seen a few Penny's in what are essentially "dead" older shopping malls. Those are the stores they needed to close a long time ago anyway - a competent executive group would have done this trimming a long time ago a few stores at a time, as well as reducing corporate HQ and management count. CEO Ron Johnson was apparently everything you would expect of a Harvard University and Harvard Business School graduate. Never ran a business, just "sold sizzle" as a marketing guy for The Cult Of Steve Jobs (Apple). An idiot as a CEO and a businessman: his severance package was less than you'd expect for a major corporate CEO: $150K. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2015-01-10 09:15 |
| #1 ...as the company tries to recover from a botched plan to reinvent itself under former CEO Ron Johnson Betcha his golden parachute was far more generous than anything these laid off employees will ever see even in total compensation. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2015-01-10 07:56 |