JCPenney saw its net loss expand amid lower sales in the third fiscal quarter, but management said the department store chain had made several improvements during the period.
For the quarter ended November 1, net sales slid 3.8 per cent year over year to $1.36 billion. Net loss increased from $17 million in the year-ago period to $100 million.
Net sales for the first nine months also fell 3.8 per cent to $4 billion, while net loss narrowed from $113 million to $60 million.
During the quarter, the company kicked off a new round of its popular “Really Big Deals” campaign that featured Shaquille O’Neal. It also launched a high-profile plus-size collection with supermodel Ashley Graham, as well as an exclusive collection by designer Rebecca Minkoff.
The company said celebrity partnerships and collaborations continued to resonate with customers, helping boost trip frequency by another 1 per cent. The retailer also saw a 20 per cent increase in loyalty customers, noting traffic trends in its stores outpaced sector competitors by an estimated 180 bps during the period.
JCPenney continued to focus on achieving synergies related to its merger with Sparc Group. The firm has identified approximately $150 million in operational synergy opportunities and expects to realize them by 2027.
In a statement provided to Retail Dive, JCPenney brand CEO Michelle Wlazlo said the company had made progress in several important measures.
“We are confident we are on the right track to building a stronger JCPenney,” Wlazlo said.
The quarterly financial results were included in the Form 8-K filed by Copper Property CTL Pass Through Trust. The entity was established in late 2020 as part of JCPenney’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization to hold, manage, and eventually sell off the retailer’s real estate assets, which include 160 retail properties and six warehouse distribution centers, to pay back its creditors.
Last July, the trust agreed to sell 119 properties to Onyx Partners for approximately $947 million. However, the deal fell through in December.
