Corporate Information | JCPenney Newsroom (2024)

FAQs

Who owns JCPenney now? ›

In late 2020, Simon Property Group (SPG) and Brookfield Asset Management (BAM)—two of the nation's largest property owners—purchased the company for $800 million. At the time of the bankruptcy, JCPenney held $4 billion in debt.

Guided by the Golden Rule, JCPenney employs more than 50,000 associates worldwide and has served customers for over 120 years, playing a vital role in the communities it serves. JCPenney was founded in Kemmerer, Wyoming, in 1902 by James Cash Penney.

It didn't take long for people to note that Johnson's no-coupons, no-sales experiment was failing to attract shoppers. Sales collapsed through early 2012, and by the summer, even Johnson acknowledged the stores had made a big mistake.

According to a financial filing with the SEC, JCPenney reported a significant decline in net sales and total revenue during the third quarter of fiscal 2023. Net sales dropped by 10.7% to $1.5 billion, while total revenue fell by 11.1% to $1.6 billion compared to the same period in 2022.

Today, reports confirm that Shaq is the second-largest individual to own shares in Authentic Brand Group, which owns JCPenney, Forever 21, and, ironically, Reebok. While he may sell a hefty million shoes per month, O'Neal is no stranger to using the fortune he's amassed to help others.

Marc Rosen became CEO in 2021. In April 2022, JCPenney's owners—Simon and Brookfield—offered $8.6 billion to purchase Kohl's. Sephora had already announced plans to contract exclusively with Kohl's by 2023, and had piloted Sephora Inside Kohls at select store locations.

JCPenney has around 670 stores today and has little debt for the first time in years. The company is owned by mall landlords Simon Property Group (SPG) and Brookfield Asset Management (BAM). The two firms rescued JCPenney out of bankruptcy for $1.75 billion in the fall of 2020. It was their interest to do so.

James Cash Penney's original store was called Golden Rule, because he believed people should be treated as he would like to be treated himself. Later, when he opened more stores and incorporated, the name was changed to JCPenney.

In 1919, Penney married Mary Hortense Kimball. Sadly, Mary died in 1923, leaving him with another son, Kimball.

Another critical weakness was the failure to adapt to changing consumer preferences and technology. While other successful retailers were investing in e-commerce platforms and enhancing their digital presence, JCPenney lagged behind.

Who is the bad CEO of JCPenney? ›

JCPenney CEO Ron Johnson is out of the company, according to CNBC, after just 17 months on the job. His Q4 2012 was probably the worst quarterly performance ever in the history of major retail: same-store sales were down 32 percent, to $3.8 billion.

Ron Johnson and the Destruction of J.C. Penney. The Johnson era at J.C. Penney will go down in history as one of the most destructive reigns by any CEO at any company—ever.

J.C. Penney unveils fierce comeback plan

Three years later, it revealed an ambitious $1 billion comeback plan, promising store remodels, upgraded technology, and improved operations by 2025. And in April, J.C. Penney shared one such part of the plan, which focuses on the customer-facing portion of the business.

Holiday and full-year sales fell, and net income plunged.

His journey into the business world began in 2015, a path that would lead him to become the second-largest individual shareholder of Authentic Brands Group (ABG). It's a company that owns major brands and retailers like Forever 21, Barneys New York, JCPenney, and Reebok.

JCPenney, which operates 650 stores across the U.S., now sells an assortment of tops, bottoms, and dresses across the Forever 21 catalogue in JCPenney 100 stores and on its website. (Both JCPenney and Forever 21 are owned by Authentic Brands Group via its venture group SPARC.)

“As a privately-held company we cannot disclose detailed financial information, but we can say that JCPenney is in the best financial position we've been in years,” the retailer said.

All four closing JCPenney locations are staples in the malls in which they are housed. Three will close sometime before September 22, 2024, with a fourth shutting its doors on an undetermined date in 2025, according to what a spokesperson for JCPenney told Retail Dive.