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.
PLANO, United States — J.C. Penney said Wednesday that Saks Chairman and CEO Stephen Sadove is joining its board of directors.
The department store operator also said that board member Geraldine B. Laybourne is leaving her post so that she can focus more on her role as chairman of technology company Kandu.
Sadove will be leaving that luxury retailer Saks Inc. once its acquisition by Hudson's Bay Co. closes. He will join J.C. Penney's board at that time. Sadove has served as CEO of Saks since 2006 and became its chairman a year later.
Saks announced in July that it would be acquired by Hudson's, the Canadian parent of retailer Lord & Taylor, for about $2.24 billion. The transaction is expected to close this year.
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J.C. Penney Co.'s announcements Wednesday come one day after the retailer said that a key revenue figure wasn't as bad in September as it was in August. The Plano, Texas, company also said that it expects to have ample cash on hand at year's end.
It said that revenue at stores opened at least a year fell 4 percent in September from a year ago. The same measure fell 9.8 percent in August. Revenue at stores open at least a year is a key gauge of a retailer's health because it excludes the potentially distorting effect of results from stores recently opened or closed.
The retail chain anticipates more than $2 billion in year-end liquidity — a measure of its ready access to cash — after closing on a public stock offering of 84 million shares. The company said that the offering resulted in about $785 million in net proceeds. It said at the time that it will be using the proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes.
J.C. Penney is trying to recover from a failed turnaround attempt spearheaded by former CEO Ron Johnson. Its board ousted Johnson in April after 17 months on the job and rehired the previous CEO, Mike Ullman.
Under Ullman, J.C. Penney is bringing back frequent sales events that had been ditched. It is also restoring basic merchandise, particularly store brands like St. John's Bay that were either phased out or eliminated by Johnson in a bid to attract more affluent, younger shoppers. Under Johnson, the company brought in trendy names like Betsey Johnson and focused on every day prices, eliminating hundreds of sales.
J.C. Penney's stock added 23 cents, or 3 percent, to $8 in premarket trading about 30 minutes ahead of the market opening.
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From analysis of the global fashion and beauty industries to career and personal advice, BoF’s founder and CEO, Imran Amed, will be answering your questions on Sunday, February 18, 2024 during London Fashion Week.
The State of Fashion 2024 breaks down the 10 themes that will define the industry in the year ahead.
Imran Amed reviews the most important fashion stories of the year and shares his predictions on what this means for the industry in 2024.
After three days of inspiring talks, guests closed out BoF’s gathering for big thinkers with a black tie gala followed by an intimate performance from Rita Ora — guest starring Billy Porter.