JCPenney announced Jan. 24 that it will close six underperforming stores in
2011.
The company is closing stores in Morrow, Ga.; West Dundee, Ill.; Des Moines,
Iowa; High Point, N.C.; and Culpeper, Va.; as well as one JCPenney Home Store
in Duluth, Ga.
JCPenney also plans to the scale down its catalog and outlet operations, and
streamline its call center operations and custom decorating business.
The company expects these actions will result in positive earnings of $25 million to
$30 million in 2012.
The company also named two new directors: William A. Ackman, founder and CEO of
Pershing Square Capital Management; and Steven Roth, chairman of the board of
Vornado Realty Trust.
Ackman is a so-called “activist investor,” whose company recently purchased more than 16.5 percent of Penney’s stock. He made the acquisition in conjunction with
Vornado, which bought 9.9 percent of the retailer’s shares.
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