Shares of the company, which hit a record low last week when its
chief financial officer quit, rose about 10 percent in
after-market trading.
Soltau has served in senior level positions at Sears <SHLD.O>
and Kohl's <KSS.N> in a career spanning over 30 years, the
company said in a statement.
The appointment comes five months after its former CEO Marvin
Ellison left the company to join home improvement chain Lowe's
Cos Inc <LOW.N> and Soltau is tasked to resurrect J. C. Penney's
declining sales as shoppers increasingly move toward online
shopping.
"The new CEO has an uphill battle to resurrect the brand ...
hopefully, she will focus on merchandising to the core customer
and addressing the sole problem at the company, which has been
apparel," Gordon Haskett analyst Chuck Grom said.
J.C Penney, which has seen its annual sales decline in the last
three years, reported a bigger-than-expected second-quarter loss
and cut its full-year profit forecast in August.
"If she can fix apparel, she will help stabilize the company's
profit margins, which have been under substantial pressure for
the past few years," Grom said.
Paul Brown, chairman of J. C. Penney's search committee said
Soltau's turnaround work at prior companies as well as her
experience in apparel and e-commerce made her an "ideal fit" for
the company.
(Reporting by Soundarya J in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak
Dasgupta)
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