J.C. Penney

A slew of national retailers are making a point of the fact that they're not going along with the trend to open — and open earlier and earlier — on Thanksgiving Day. In one of the most noticeable trends thus far in the holiday shopping season, several mall mainstays are engaged in an aggressive game of Thanksgiving store hour one-upmanship. The skirmishes began with Macy's announcement it would open for "Black Friday" sales starting at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving night, two hours earlier than last year.

J.C. Penney will open its stores at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving in search of an edge over Macy's and Kohl's. J.C. Penney said on Monday it would open its stores for Black Friday shopping at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, an hour earlier than its closest competitors Macy's, Kohl's and Sears, and three hours earlier than it did last year, in the latest upping of the ante in the holiday sales wars. It's easy to see why Penney would want to gain an edge on its rivals in what promises to be a bruising, super-promotional holiday season.

It's hard to believe we're less than a month away from Thanksgiving. Over the last few years, retailers have opened their stores earlier and earlier on Black Friday in order to cash in on the holiday shopping frenzy. So much so that Black Friday doorbuster sales have crept — uninvited — into our Thanksgiving dinners. Big-box retailers such as Wal-Mart and Toys"R"Us have gone on record as to how opening on Thanksgiving has increased their sales drastically. But honestly, how in the world did 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving turn into the new midnight for Black Friday sales?

J.C. Penney says it's back in the business of giving its solidly middle-income customers what they want. The 112-year-old department store chain has switched itself off from survival mode and put the spotlight back on growth. The fixes for a failed transformation, including a mended balance sheet, were put in place over the last 18 months under CEO Mike Ullman. Now new president and CEO-designee Marvin Ellison will start work at the retailer's Plano, Texas headquarters Nov. 1, and a transition plan is ready to implement. 

J.C. Penney ended a year long search for a chief executive, naming retail industry veteran Marvin Ellison to replace interim CEO Myron Ullman in August 2015.The department store operator's shares rose 3.2 percent to $7.35 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange on

CNBC's Courtney Reagan reports from J.C. Penney's analyst day where executives discussed the retailer's long-term financial strategy and CEO succession plan.

Thanksgiving could turn into a full shopping day this year, industry consultants say, as retailers debate moving up their openings and doorbuster events. While retailers aren't expected to announce any special Thanksgiving hours until the second half of October or into November, "it's inevitable to see them open all day or even earlier than last year," said Joel Bines, managing director and co-leader of consulting firm AlixPartners’ retail practice, in an interview.

They compete tooth and nail to draw customers to their Midtown flagship stores, but Macy's and J.C. Penney are teaming up to block the thievery of organized crooks. The rivals have joined more than 100 companies and the NYPD to form an alliance that will be known as the Metropolitan Organized Retail Crime Alliance. Its objective is to improve retail stores’ security efforts by sharing intelligence on crews of bandits, scams and ripoffs. Target, Home Depot and Rite Aid have also signed up for the crime-busting venture. Computer giant Apple is poised to jump onboard soon, sources said.

The Information published a report yesterday with details about a new startup that former Apple Retail Senior Vice President and J.C. Penney CEO Ron Johnson is building. The report shares that Johnson is launching a new delivery service focused on tech products following his brief run as CEO of J.C. Penney. 

Haggar Clothing Co. is beefing up its digital operation with an emphasis on mobile. The Dallas-based men's apparel maker created a new position, chief digital officer, and hired Eve Richey last week to fill the post. She's coming to Haggar from shoe company Toms, where she was vice president for global digital marketing. As a supplier to major U.S. chains including Kohl's, J.C. Penney, Macy's, Target, Sears, Belk and Amazon.com, Haggar is seeing more of its sales move online at those stores and on its own direct-to-consumer business.