Stores Are Part of J.C. Penney’s Online Strategy

Put J.C. Penney executives in the same room with Wall Street analysts and the question of store closings always comes up. Why isn’t Penney closing more stores? J.C. Penney CEO Mike Ullman and CEO-designee Marvin Ellison were on the same podium Wednesday at the Piper Jaffray Annual Consumer Conference in New York. Analyst Neely Tamminga noted that having “the past and future on the same stage is a rarity.” Ellison assured the group that the Plano, Texas-based retailer will continue to close unprofitable stores, but said he also wanted to address the “misconception” that Penney has a lot of unprofitable stores.