JCPenney’s CEO left in Could. Now its second in command is out too.
Penney stated Thursday that Jeffrey Davis, the corporate’s chief monetary officer, was resigning 14 months after taking the job. Jerry Murray, a prime government, will take over because the interim finance chief.
Davis’ departure marked one other signal of bother at JCPenney (JCP). The corporate’s inventory has slipped 45% this yr, pushed down by Marvin Ellison’s exit to take the highest job at Lowe’s. Penney has not changed Ellison but.
On Friday, shares fell 9% to round $1.60, a report low.
“They’re in a leaky boat that eventually will sink,” Mark Cohen, the director of retail research on the Columbia Enterprise Faculty, advised CNNMoney final month. “The prognosis for the future is not happiness.”
Penney is greater than $4 billion in debt. The corporate has posted a revenue in solely two quarters over the previous 4 years. In its most up-to-date quarter, Penney misplaced $101 million and was pressured to low cost to clear a glut of clothes piling up in stock.
Penney lacks a transparent imaginative and prescient to convey again buyers, analysts say. Though it closed 141 shops final yr and is closing eight extra this yr, it nonetheless has greater than 860 left.
Penney had switched its focus from older buyers to youthful, trendier ones. Now it’s shifting again towards middle-aged ladies, with manufacturers like Liz Claiborne. Earlier this month, Penney launched Artesia, a brand new ladies’s stylish model for lower than $30.
Months earlier than he left, Davis stated Penney’s core clients have been ladies over 45. The corporate will give an replace on its efforts to win these buyers in early November when it studies quarterly earnings.
CNNMoney (New York) First revealed September 28, 2018: 10:50 AM ET