J. C. Penney Company, Inc. said comparable store sales increased 5.1% for the five-week period ended Oct. 2, 2010, ahead of the company’s expectations. Total company sales in September increased 2.9%.
Overall, men’s apparel was the top performing division for the month, followed by shoes and fine jewelry which benefited from its successful Billion Dollar jewelry promotion. During the first two weeks of the month, the company experienced better-than-expected sales in back-to-school categories, as customers continued to shop closer to need. The company also noted that sales of Liz Claiborne merchandise performed very well, as new and existing customers discovered its iconic style and quality at great prices, available exclusively at JCPenney.
Geographically, the best performing regions were the southeast and central regions.
Third Quarter Outlook
Due to the continuation of a highly competitive promotional environment and ongoing volatility with regard to consumer discretionary spending, the company continues to expect third quarter earnings to be in the range of 16 cents to 20 cents per share.
