Free Republic

May 12, 2012 JC Penney Features Same-Sex Couple in May Catalogue Fifteen years ago, when advertisers got wind that Ellen DeGeneres was going to “come out” on her popular sitcom show “Ellen,” some advertisers fled. One of them was JC Penney. Flash forward to one of their newest clothing ads in the May catalog. It features a real-life same-sex couple. The photograph is of two models identified as Wendi and Maggie holding their two daughters. Both women appear be wearing wedding bands. Quietly, gradually and largely without protest, advertising is starting to reflect new attitudes and new realities about who...

The struggling retailer JC Penny has decided to start hocking hope and change. How much is hope you ask? Well, it's $49.99-$124.40 depending on how much change you have, and how fany you want your hope.

(FR) JC Penny has been running identical advertisements for its upcoming sale this weekend on both English and Spanish TV stations. Identical except for one thing, on Univision (the Spanish network available on American cable systems) the JC Penny graphics are calling it the "Navidad"(Christmas in Spanish) sale while on English channels the graphics read "holiday" sale. When asked by a member of Freerepublic.com why Christmas was appropriate for one ad but not the other, a female JC Penny representative at 1-800-322-1189 replied "its possible the person producing the Spanish version of the ad did not know the Spanish word...

One of the best things about living in America is if you have a sufficient amount of money, you can buy just about anything on the planet legally. You might have to make some phone calls and wait for a while, but eventually you can purchase anything you want. But as anyone who has ever picked the name of the person who wants ''nothing special,'' in the office gift exchange, or has the child who does NOT want the ''Super Plus Dragon Head Crushing Mega-Poke-Zord-o-Saur'' can tell you, some of the hardest things to find are the simplest Such was...

<p>J.C. Penney Co. announced today that it is closing three of its four Hawaii stores effective Jan. 10. The Plano, Texas, department store retailer will close its department stores at Ala Moana Center, Pearlridge Center and Hilo’s Prince Kuhio Plaza.</p>

Was at a mall today, bored and waiting for my wife to stop spending my money. So I tried to go onto Free Republic to pass the time. I didn’t know I was on JC Penny’s WiFi (I was not in the store). Can’t quite figure out what word has been banned... Free? Republic? No wonder they’re going out of business.

<p>J.C. Penney Co. pulled a Russell Simmons menswear line after the media mogul was accused by two women of sexual misconduct.</p> <p>The department-store chain introduced the Simmons-created Argyleculture line in September 2016. The collection of sweaters, polos and blazers was part of the chain’s push to attract more young men to its stores. The products were being sold on J.C. Penney’s website and at about 80 of the chain’s 875 stores, according to a company spokeswoman.</p>

J.C. Penney is opening an IT office in Bangalore, India, as it restructures that critical department which was hurt during the retailer's failed reinvention in 2012 and 2013. The new IT office will have an emphasis on analytics, innovation and reporting capabilities, said Penney spokesman Joey Thomas. With some IT job functions moving to India, some jobs now performed by contract employees in Penney's Plano headquarters will be cut, but Thomas didn't say how many. Penney is hiring full-time IT engineers and analytics professionals for the new office in India and in Plano, he said.

Major retailers in the United States are shutting down hundreds of stores, and shoppers are reporting alarmingly bare shelves in many retail locations that are still open all over the country. It appears that the retail apocalypse that made so many headlines in 2015 has gone to an entirely new level as we enter 2016. As economic activity slows down and Internet retailers capture more of the market, brick and mortar retailers are cutting their losses. This is especially true in areas that are on the lower portion of the income scale. In impoverished urban centers all over the nation,...

The retailer sees a big opportunity in the appliance business, and in Sears' problems. For the first time in 33 years, the department store will be selling home appliances like refrigerators and washing machines by General Electric, Hotpoint, LG and Samsung, at 22 of its roughly 1,000 stores. If all goes well with the pilot, which begins Feb. 1 in stores in the San Antonio, San Diego and Tampa metro areas, Penney could roll out the home appliance offerings to hundreds more stores by October. The return to home appliances is the first major new initiative by former Home Depot...

Each year, 24/7 Wall St. identifies 10 important brands sold in America that we predict will disappear before 2014. This year’s list reflects the brutally competitive nature of certain industries and the importance of not falling behind in efficiency, innovation or financing. The list also reflects how industry trends can accelerate the demise of certain brands. This year, we included two magazines — Martha Stewart Living and Road & Track. With print advertising in a multiyear decline, some magazines have weathered the decline better than others. These two, however, have suffered sharp drops in advertising revenue over the past five...

There are widespread reports today of JCPenney stores to be closing. There has been no announcement of the exact list. There is one report of 40 stores closing soon after 30 some closed in 2014. Oddly, the company just reported sales growth in the holiday period vs. the previous year, generating a number of positive news stories.

Hundreds of stores across the nation are closing as some of America’s most famous retailers struggle to stay in business. The country is facing what CNBC has labeled a tsunami of store closings and blogger Michael Snyder has called a retail apocalypse. JC Penney, which lost $586 million in three months in 2013, is planning to close 33 stores in 19 states and lay off 2,000 people. JC Penney’s stock has lost 84 percent of its value since February 2012. Sears has decided to shut down its flagship store in Downtown Chicago, and it has closed 300 stores in the...

Get ready for the next era in retail—one that will be characterized by far fewer shops and smaller stores. On Tuesday, Sears said that it will shutter its flagship store in downtown Chicago in April. It's the latest of about 300 store closures in the U.S. that Sears has made since 2010. The news follows announcements earlier this month of multiple store closings from major department stores J.C. Penney and Macy's. Further signs of cuts in the industry came Wednesday, when Target said that it will eliminate 475 jobs worldwide, including some at its Minnesota headquarters, and not fill 700...

Yesterday afternoon, JCPenney announced it would be laying off around 2,500 employees and shuttering 33 underperforming stores around the country. Want to know if your local JCP made the cut?

The feedback continues, with a bunch of military veterans and family members asking me how I could defend the callous COLA cuts to military pensions by way of explaining why Congress is trying to undo them. Another reader email: I strenuously object to being asked to sacrifice any more! I risked my life in two deployments to war zones, sacrificed my health (I'm also a disabled veteran), and jeopardized my relationship with my family for my country. I find Congress' latest demand a kick in the gut. We veterans and retirees have sacrificed enough without having to endure the...

The bad news continues at J.C. Penney. The ailing retailer announced Wednesday that it was cutting 2,000 jobs and closing 33 "underperforming" stores in an effort to rein in expenses. The store closings -- listed here -- are likely to be complete by early May. J.C. Penney said it expected the moves to generate $65 million in annual cost savings.

JCPenney is cutting 2,000 jobs and closing 33 stores as the battered department store seeks to revive revenue growth, the company announced Wednesday. The move will save about $65 million annually beginning in 2014, the company said. JCPenney, which has about 1,100 stores, has struggled to turn a profit since former CEO Ron Johnson was fired in April.

Sales growth during the fourth quarter is shaping up to be the weakest since 2008, according to predictions from Morgan Stanley. Same-store sales, a key metric that measures sales at store locations open at least a year, are expected to grow a mere 1.6% from a year ago during the fourth quarter, Morgan Stanley estimates. Last year's holiday sales were up 3.5% from the fourth quarter of 2011. The 1.6% figure excludes sales at troubled J.C. Penney (JCP, Fortune 500). That's because J.C. Penney is expected to offer deep discounts to try and get back on track after a disastrous...

J.C. Penney’s stock hit a 13-year low Wednesday as investors grow increasingly concerned about the future of the 112 year old iconic American retailer. Shares plunged more than 15% at one point and briefly dipped below $10 a share — a level they have not touched since November 2000. Several analysts are predicting that J.C. Penney did not have a good back to school shopping season, and that sales continued to plummet in late August and early September. Investors had already been spooked by reports that J.C. Penney might be seeking to raise more cash through the sale of new...