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The retailer, which earlier this year said it
would stop selling major appliances like fridges and washing
machines, said leaving those categories cut comparable sales by
20 basis points.
One of the oldest names in American retail, J.C. Penney has
struggled to excite customers with its mid-priced clothing and
has steadily lost out to fast-fashion brands and online
shopping.
Penney has tried to strengthen its apparel business to compete
with online retailers like Amazon.com Inc and off-price
retailers like TJX Cos Inc.
The Plano, Texas-based company has shut hundreds of stores over
the years and revamped its locations to boost sales and revive
profits.
Sales at stores open for at least 12 months fell 5.5% in the
first quarter, its sixth straight quarterly drop. Analysts, on
average, had expected a 4.21% fall, according to IBES data from
Refinitiv.
The company's net loss nearly doubled to $154 million, or 48
cents per share, in the three months ended May 4.
Excluding one-time items, the company lost 46 cents a share,
more than the 38-cent loss analysts had expected.
Total revenue decreased 4.3% to $2.56 billion, in line with the
average analyst estimate.
The company said it hired Shawn Gensch as its chief customer
officer. Gensch, hailing from Sprouts Farmers Market Inc, will
oversee marketing strategies relating to areas including
digital, advertising and customer research.
(Reporting by Siddharth Cavale in Bengaluru and Melissa Fares in
New York; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Bernadette Baum)
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