JCPenney 2014 Annual Report Download - page 2

LETTERS TO STOCKHOLDERS | From Mike Ulman
Mike Ulman, CEO
TO OUR STOCKHOLDERS
Since my return to JCPenney in April 2013, the teams and I have been on a journey to
bring the Company back to its rightful place as one of the nation’s leading retailers. I am
happy to report that JCPenney is in a far stronger position today than when we began
our turnaround eorts two years ago. What I believed then was that the Company was
down, but not anywhere near out. Thanks to the hard work, determination and drive of our
114,000 associates, we didn’t stay down for long.
JCPenney is back – we’re back in the eyes of our customers, and we’re back to running
the business eectively. Despite what continues to be a challenging retail environment,
we are gaining back market share, growing sales and gross margin and tightly managing
expenses. Having developed a strong foundation for growth, we remain focused on
restoring profitability and expect to continually grow our business.
With these objectives in mind, the Company’s senior leadership and I identified three
major growth opportunities for the future. These areas are:
• Omnichannel: Implementing the necessary tools, processes and technologies that
enable us to serve the customer no matter how they’re shopping with us. By creating
a seamless shopping experience in stores and online, customers are likely to shop and
spend more at JCPenney.
• Center Core: Strengthening and revitalizing the highest trac area in the store to
become a leading destination for women’s shoes, handbags, fashion jewelry, intimate
apparel and accessories, which are anchored by two very strong businesses: Sephora
inside JCPenney and the Fine Jewelry store.
• Home: Restoring our Home store to its previous sales productivity with a compelling
assortment of value-driven products backed by a promotional strategy that builds
customer loyalty and increases trac.
We also intend to capitalize on the momentum we started in 2014 by continually growing
market share in our women’s, men’s and kids’ apparel businesses. This will be fueled by
growth in powerful private brands like Worthington, St. John’s Bay, Liz Claiborne and
Arizona, as well as ensuring that we continue to have the private and national brands that
customers expect to find.
This year will bring more changes and enhancements to our business, including new
leadership in Marvin Ellison, our President and CEO-Designee who will assume the CEO
role starting August 1.
A highly talented and accomplished executive with 30 years of experience in the retail
industry, Marvin’s experience and leadership are exactly what we need to accelerate the
progress we have made over the last two years. Marvin is a longtime supporter of JCPenney
and has great respect for our heritage and our place in the American retail landscape.
When I returned to JCPenney, it was my intention to stay as long as it took to stabilize
the Company and get us moving in the right direction. Now that we are on track to
accomplishing those goals, Marvin and I are working closely together to ensure a seamless
leadership transition.
I am confident the initiatives we are putting in place will fuel new growth and earn greater
customer loyalty as we pursue our vision to become the preferred shopping choice for
Middle America.
Myron E. (Mike) Ullman, III
Chief Executive Ocer
J. C. Penney Company, Inc.
April 2015
JCPenney
is back—
we’re back
in the eyes
of our
customers,
and we’re
back to
running the
business
eectively.