The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
NEW YORK, United States — J.C. Penney Co. plans to close as many as 140 stores and trim about 6,000 jobs through early retirement, becoming the latest department store chain making a bold move to adjust to a world of lower mall traffic and fierce online competition.
The closings represent as much as 14 percent of company’s store base and less than 5 percent of total sales, Plano, Texas-based J.C. Penney said Friday. The moves, which also include shutting two distribution centres, will save about $200 million a year.
J.C. Penney’s plan echoes rival Macy’s Inc.’s announcement last year that it would shut about 100 of its stores to adjust to a world where consumers increasingly prefer shopping online to visiting malls. Sales at J.C. Penney, which is still working to recover from a disastrous attempted reinvention, are less than half of their 2002 peak.
The shares rose 1.5 percent to $6.96 at 7:18 a.m. in early trading in New York. J.C. Penney had been down 17 percent this year through yesterday’s close.
By Lindsey Rupp; editors; Nick Turner, Kevin Orland.
When the American sportswear retailer announced the return of its controversial founder as CEO Wednesday, investors were perplexed. BoF unpacks why Plank may be back — and the challenges that lie ahead in his bid to transform its fortunes.
The category’s biggest brands by market capitalisation report results this week, and will need to show they have a plan to fend off fast-growing competition.
By investing in an elevated product and shopping experience, Spanish retailers Inditex and Mango are seeing tremendous growth despite fierce competition from the likes of Temu and a cash-strapped consumer.
The ByteDance-owned app’s e-commerce play has been met with mixed response from users. Still, sales seem to keep ticking up.