J.C. Penney Co Inc on Friday reported a sharper-than-expected decline in quarterly sales at stores open at least a year, with results getting progressively worse under CEO Ron Johnson's attempt to radically transform the department store chain.
Still, Johnson told investors on Friday that he was "100 percent committed" to his plan for the century-old retailer, which includes eliminating most coupons and sales events and converting about 700 of its 1,100 stores into collections of boutiques, such as Levi's Denim Bar. But the new strategy appears to keep driving customers away, with traffic down 12 percent in the third quarter.
J.C. Penney shares tumbled 9.7 percent to $19.58 in premarket trading. Same-store sales fell 26.1 percent in the latest quarter, ended October 27, while analysts had expected a decrease of 17.9 percent. Same-store sales declines have gotten worse each quarter under the new strategy, falling 18.9 percent in the first quarter and 21.7 percent in the second quarter. Walter Loeb, president of retail management consultant Loeb Associates, expressed concern about Penney's performance during the upcoming holiday shopping season.
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