J.C. Penney CEO Jill Soltau, who was tapped to turn around the struggling department store, will leave the company Thursday.
The company’s new owners, Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management, said Wednesday that they’re looking for a new leader “who is focused on modern retail, the consumer experience, and the goal of creating a sustainable and enduring JCPenney.”
The Plano, Texas-based retailer filed for bankruptcy in May. It was bought by the two U.S. mall owners in the fall and emerged earlier this month. It joined a growing list of retailers’ pushed to the brink by the coronavirus pandemic. Yet the legacy retailer’s troubles began before the global health crisis. Its sales have fallen annually since 2016. At the time when it filed for bankruptcy, its roughly 860-store footprint was less than a quarter of its store base in 2001.
Source: CNBC