JCPenney Co.

JCPenney has lost its chief marketing officer at a time when the company has been trying to rebuild its brand image.

Denton, Texas -- Fashion-forward retailer H&M will open a new store at Golden Triangle Mall, in Denton, Texas. The 23,000-sq.-ft. location is slated to open fall 2015, bringing its Texas store count to 15.

Golden Triangle Mall has recently undergone a redevelopment, with new entrances and facades, center court, performance area and other enhancements. The 765,000-sq.-ft. enclosed mall is owned by GTM Development, a partnership between The McHerring Group and Cencor Realty Services, and is anchored by J.C. Penney, Dillards, Macy’s and Sears.

Walter J. Salmon, the distinguished Harvard Business School professor who influenced generations of retailers, has died at the age of 84.

Salmon, long one of the world’s leading experts on retailing, retail distribution, and marketing, who for more than 40 years influenced thousands of students, executives and other academics, was the school’s Stanley Roth Sr. Professor of Retailing Emeritus.

Boston – Kohl’s will be pleased to hear that women love shopping for clothes there. According to a new survey from Piper Jaffray, a leading 12% of female consumers selected Kohl’s as their preferred clothing brand/store/website for spring 2015. Macy’s took second place with 9%, followed by J.C. Penney and Wal-Mart (7%) and Amazon (5%).

Kohl’s has taken the top spot in Piper Jaffray’s biannual survey since fall 2013.

Los Angeles -- Ron Johnson is sweet on teen fave Nasty Gal. The online edgy- fashion retailer recently closed $16 million in funding to support its growth. The round was led by former Apple retail chief and Penney CEO Ron Johnson, who also joined the company’s board.

By Ryan Condren, CPEX Real Estate

New York – A state appeals court in New York has revived two claims Macy’s Inc. made against J.C. Penney Co. Inc. in a long-running dispute between the two department store chains about who has the right to sell Martha Stewart Living home products.   

 According to Reuters, in a unanimous decision, judges in the Manhattan Appellate Division ruled that Penney breached confidentiality provisions of Macy’s contract with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and Penney’s actions amounted to unfair competition.

Plano, Texas -- J.C. Penney swung to an unexpected loss in its fourth quarter amid heavy holiday discounter. But the retailer reported strong, better-than-expected sales, particularly on the online front.  

Penney posted a loss of $59 million for the quarter ended Jan. 31, compared to a profit of $35 million in the year-ago period. (Penney benefitted from a one-time tax benefit last year.)
 
Total sales rose 2.9% to $3.89 billion from $3.78 billion a year ago. Online sales rose 12.5% to $428 million from a year ago.

Pleasant Prairie, Wis. -- Mid-America Real Estate Corporation’s Investment Sales team recently brokered the sale of The Plaza at Prairie Ridge located in Pleasant Prairie (Kenosha County), Wisconsin. The 9,035-sq.-ft. three-tenant center was purchased by Mark Cosenza, VP of Oak Brook, Illinois-based Inland Real Estate Acquisitions, Inc. The seller was Milwaukee-based Evo Properties, LLC.
 

Better than expected fourth quarter same store sales growth and big increase in gross margins have JCPenney eyeing potentially faster topline growth in 2015.

The company said its same store sales for fourth quarter ended Jan. 31 increased 4.4%, above the forecast range of 2% to 4% provided at the end of the third quarter. Total sales increased 2.9% to nearly $3.9 billion and online sales grew 12.5% to $428 million.