J.C. Penney Loss Wider Than Estimated as Turnaround Falters

[Purveyor]

J.C. Penney Co. (JCP) reported a third- quarter loss that was larger than analysts estimated as Chief Executive Officer Ron Johnson struggles to overhaul the fourth- largest U.S. department-store company. The shares fell.

The net loss of $123 million, or 56 cents a share, in the three months ended Oct. 27 compares with a loss of $143 million, or 67 cents, a year earlier, the Plano, Texas-based company said today in a statement. Excluding restructuring and management- transition costs, the loss was 93 cents a share. The average of analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg was for a 7-cent loss.

Johnson, the former Apple Inc. (AAPL) retail chief who joined as CEO last year, has lost customers as he transforms most J.C. Penney stores into collections of branded shops and implements an everyday low pricing strategy. Johnson said today that the old-style J.C. Penney, which still encompasses most stores, struggled in the third quarter and faces “significant challenges,” calling it “a tale of two companies.”

“The results that J.C. Penney reported today are undeniably weak,” Brian Nagel, an analyst at Oppenheimer & Co., said today in a note. “JCP will require a lot of patience on the part of investors. This chain continues to head towards turnaround.”

MORE...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-09/j-c-penney-loss-is-wider-than-estimated-as-turnaround-falters.html

0P COMMENT: OK, so JCP (which they now refer to themselves) put the Sunday inserts back in the paper but my God...they are horrible. Plain and boring. "JCP" most likely won't be around much longer.

[Greybnk48]

1. Their clothing line is all hideously colored.

I don't know how to shop there anymore either. I LOVE the idea of flat low pricing, but the catalogues I've gotten in the mail are pretty, but confusing in their layout.

[Horse with no Name]

2. I was in a JCP yesterday

and it felt like a Walmart without all of the selection.

Little kids jeans were $18...Arizona brand. I can go to the outlet mall and buy brand names for $10.

They have a little bit of each size--but not enough to pick up an armload of back to school clothes...if you can find 2 outfits, you are lucky.

The one thing, they had VERY affordable kids coats--you can pick up a nice puffer jacket for about $15.

I can honestly say, it isn't going to be somewhere that will be my first choice to shop.

[sammytko]

3. People loved those $10 and $15 dollar off coupons

Its a mind game, I know, but it works - lol.

[WI_DEM]

4. They also think it will be cooler to call them JCP

[onethatcares]

5. JCPenney bought out Eckerd Drugs

about 7 years ago. They ran the U.S. section into the ground, sold the Canadian Section to Brooks Pharma and my wife lost her job of 17 years there.

They are also a Mormon owned business and they take care of their own no matter how inept their own may prove to be.

I haven't set foot in one of their stores since then.

Just thought I'd let you know.

[TBF]

6. There are better choices - Kohls, even Sears

bought Lands End and has the excellent household products.

I just don't see a place for JCP in the market anymore. They have always been for the sort of status quo shopper - and those folks (the FAUX news watchers) are shopping at Walmart instead.

[SoCalDem]

7. There are TOO MANY "stores" for most of them to make profits like they would prefer

Most people have enough clothing already, and probably most people have had to curtail their shopping "hobby".

Expansion cannot continue forever..eventually the bubble always bursts.

Drive through any town (of modest or larger size) and look at all the places that sell the same stuff..

[qanda]

8. Whoever decided to end the sales

Is probably the dumbest person to ever run a business. Sure, you say that we are just being fair across the board but consumers like to be duped or talked into believing that we're getting the best deal. I used to always shop at JCPenneys and it was great to have a coupon to get an extra 10, 15 or 25% off of my purchase. I rarely go there any longer because the last time I went to buy shoes for my son, I spent way more than in the past and there are too many other options available.

[HipChick]

9. For the most part, I order almost everything over the internet

even when I am out shopping, I can see,touch and feel and look up on my smart where I can order it cheaper..
the JCP's and Sear retail model are losing grip here..

[MineralMan]

10. JCP is a dinosaur, in a time when dinosaurs are going extinct.

Their marketing model and location model is outdated, and they haven't a prayer of recovery. Like Sears and Montgomery Ward, the society moved on, while they stood still.

JCP is finished. All that we can expect is a liquidation sale, which will also fail. Watch for unsold JCP merchandise in a dollar store near you.