J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) recently reported that is has made some progress with the turnaround. It has recently provided some updates on the operating performance and the major initiatives that it has made on the way to profitable growth.
Speaking on the occasion, Myron E. (Mike) Ullman, III, Chief Executive Officer at JCP said that reconnecting with their customers was their highest priority. The constant reminders to customers through enhanced messaging is to remind their shoppers that JCP has an offering of many trusted brands and names which set them apart from the others in the markets. The CEO further added that they have made some significant progress over the past half year and there are encouraging signs coming in from many areas of business. Despite the fact that the company and its customers have faced a hostile environment in general, he said that they are pleased with being able to predict performance to a certain extent. Though in its early stages, he said that the transformation was very well underway and the company was gaining past momentum.
The company has displayed improving sales figures in September and the expectation is that these sales will carry forward the company to the rest of the year. A 580 basis point improvement was made by the company since August despite the fact that the sales for the fiscal month were down by as much as 4%. Sales on their online portal, JCP.com have also increased double digits ahead of figures from last year. The sales are up 18.6% in the third quarter.
Men and women’s apparel, jewelry and accessories are also performing better as compared to previous numbers. The company’s largest business, Women’s apparel did well for September as it reported a positive sales margin in September. Gross margins are currently facing overhang and lower clearance margins from the previous two quarters of this year but this is also expected to change as the company went back to a promotional pricing strategy in the second quarter this year.
