JCPenney Nov. comps drop in line with guidance

PLANO, Texas JCPenney reported a comparable-store sales decrease of 11.9% for the four-week period ended Nov. 29, in line with the company’s guidance for a low-double digit decrease and compared with a 5.4% increase during the same period last year. Total company sales in November decreased 11.5%.

For the November period, women’s apparel and family shoes were the top performing merchandise divisions, while fine jewelry continued to experience softer sales performance. Geographically, the best performing area of the country was the Northwest region.

The company said Black Friday shopping at JCPenney was strong across all areas of the country with customers responding well to its gift assortment and strong value proposition.