Washington – J.C. Penney is the bearer of more bad news for department-store investors.
On Friday, the company followed Macy’s, Kohl’s and Dillard’s in reporting declining sales in the second quarter. J.C. Penney posted a deeper loss than analysts expected — hurt by clearance sales.
The results renewed fears that there’s no end in sight for the department-store industry’s drought. J.C. Penney Chief Executive Officer Marvin Ellison is trying to win back customers by expanding the company’s partnership with cosmetic retailer Sephora and bolstering the assortment of high-price items, such as appliances. The company is also pushing services such as salons that require shoppers to come into stores. But progress has been slow.
The company is closing about 140 underperforming stores. And the liquidation of inventory in 127 of those locations hurt profit in the period, Ellison said. “These events were isolated to the second quarter,” he said, adding that the company expects to “deliver improved results in the back half of the year.”
Same-store sales at J.C. Penney fell 1.3 percent in the period, which ended July 29. That compared with the 1.2 percent decline projected by analysts, according to Consensus Metrix. The loss was 9 cents a share in the second quarter, excluding some items. Analysts estimated a 4-cent deficit on average.
