JCPenney Co.

PLANO, Texas — Investors who were holding out for some of Michael Francis' Target marketing magic to rub off on JCPenney will be left wondering what could have been, as the company announced Francis' departure effective Monday.

CEO Ron Johnson will assume direct responsibility and oversight of the company's marketing and merchandising functions.

Johnson said, "We thank Michael for his hard work at JCPenney and wish him the best in his future endeavors."

New York -- Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia said Monday it has named Michael Robinson to the newly created position of VP e-commerce.

Robinson was most recently Anthropologie’s head of e-commerce for Europe and United Kingdom, and was responsible for launching the Anthropologie catalog and website in 1998, as well as introducing the retailer’s loyalty card program.

He has also held managerial and planning positions with Banana Republic and Smith & Hawken.

PLANO, Texas — JCPenney has announced several promotions and additions to its merchandising, operations and investor relations areas.

“We’re rethinking every element of the retail business and there's no better way to re-imagine the possibilities than to tap the proven abilities of our own extraordinary talent along with the fresh perspectives offered by industry experts new to our organization,” said CEO Ron Johnson.

Plano, Texas -- J.C. Penney Co. on Thursday announced several promotions and additions to its merchandising, operations and investor relations areas.

“We’re rethinking every element of the retail business and there's no better way to re-imagine the possibilities than to tap the proven abilities of our own extraordinary talent along with the fresh perspectives offered by industry experts new to our organization,” said CEO Ron Johnson.

New York -- J.C. Penney has angered a conservative group with a Father's Day ad that features a gay couple and their two young children. The print ad shows the two men playing with their 3-year-olds and reads, "First Pals - What makes Dad so cool? He's the swim coach, tent maker, best friend, bike fixer and hug giver - all rolled into one. Or two.” It is part of a spread in Penney’s June catalog, mailed out this week.

NEW YORK — JCPenney has asked a New York Federal court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the visual merchandising firm Hudson + Broad over the Plexiglass LED square frame used in the chain’s new “Fair and Square” branding campaign, Women’s Wear Daily reported.

PLANO, Texas -- Ron Johnson, CEO of J.C. Penney, will answer questions from investors at the Piper Jaffray 32nd Annual Consumer Conference in New York City on June 5, 2012.
   
The question and answer session will begin at 8:30 a.m. ET and will be available via live webcast on jcpenney's Investor Relations page at http://ir.jcpenney.com.  Replays of the webcast will be available for up to 90 days after the event.
 

New York -- When Macy’s reported a 4.2% May same-store sales gain on Wednesday, ahead of the rest of the pack, analysts wondered whether that would set the tone for the rest of the department store players. It did — and it didn’t.