Rebound for Real at J.C. Penney

Same-store sales growth of 6 percent and e-commerce strength helped J.C. Penney dramatically reduce its second quarter operating loss and demonstrate growing momentum of its turnaround. Sales at the operator of 1,060 stores increased to $2.8 billion from $2.66 billion. The 6 percent comp increase was against a prior year comparison when comps declined 11.5 percent. Online sales through jcp.com were $249 million for the quarter, up 16.7 percent versus the same period last year. The company reported an operating loss of $70 million that, while sizable, was dramatically less than a prior year loss of $395 million.