Holiday sales fall at J.C. Penney

J.C. Penney wasn’t able to stem the tide of declining same-store sales at department stores during the holiday season.

The retailer reported that its same-store sales for the nine weeks ending Jan. 4, 2020 fell 7.5%. Adjusted comparable store sales, which exclude the impact of Penney’s exit from major appliance and in-store furniture categories, decreased 5.3%.

Penney’s announcement came the same day that Kohl’s reported a 0.2% decline in holiday comparable sales and the day after Macy’s Inc. announced that its holiday same-store sales declined 0.6%, which was not as bad as analysts had forecast. 

Despite the drop, Penney maintained its guidance for the full year, including a same-store sales decline in the range of 7% to 8%. Adjusted comparable store sales are expected to fall 5% to 6%.

Penney will report its fourth quarter and fiscal 2019 results on Feb. 27, 2020.