J.C. Penney Taps Joann Stores CEO as Next Leader -- Update

By Maria Armental 

Troubled retailer J.C. Penney & Co. has appointed Jill Soltau as its next chief executive, succeeding Marvin Ellison who left in May for Lowe's Co.

Ms. Soltau, a retail veteran, will join Penney on Oct. 15 from Joann Stores, where she has been the CEO and president since March 2015.

Her appointment comes a week after Penney announced its finance chief, Jeffrey Davis, was leaving on Oct. 1.

The Plano, Texas, company has closed stores and cut jobs, but sales have sputtered and its once-iconic stature has diminished as losses have piled up.

In the most recent year, ended Feb. 3, Penney swung to a $116 million loss and reported $12.51 billion in sales, down slightly from the year earlier. For the first half of this year, the company has reported a loss of $179 million

Joann Stores said Tuesday Ms. Soltau had resigned effective immediately to pursue another opportunity. The company said she would be temporarily succeeded by Chief Financial Officer Wade Miquelon

Ms. Soltau helped to revitalize branding, refreshed merchandising strategy and expanded digital capabilities, the fabric and craft specialty retailer said Tuesday.

In announcing her appointment Penney's director Paul J. Brown, chairman of the CEO search committee, noted Ms. Soltau's experience in revamping operations in previous companies.

"As we looked for the right person to lead this iconic company, we wanted someone with rich apparel and merchandising experience and found Jill to be an ideal fit," Mr. Brown said.

Shares, which lag the market having lost more than half of their value this year 51% decline, rose 10% to $1.72 in after-hours trading.

Suzanne Kapner contributed to this article.

Write to Maria Armental at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 02, 2018 17:28 ET (21:28 GMT)

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