J.C. Penney Sees 2.3% Uptick in August Comps

J. C. Penney said comparable store sales for the four-week period ended Aug. 28, 2010, increased 2.3% over the same period last year, in line with the company’s expectations. Total company sales in August increased 0.8%.

Overall, men’s and children’s apparel were the top performing merchandise divisions during the month. The company’s new brands in kids, Uproar and Supergirl by Nastia, performed very well during the period. Sales were also robust in back-to-school categories such as tops, back packs and denim in Junior’s and Young Men’s. The company also noted that sales of the initial deliveries of its Liz Claiborne merchandise, available exclusively at JCPenney, are off to a very strong start weeks ahead of the company’s official launch and marketing campaign. Fast fashion brand MNG by Mango is also off to a solid start in 77 stores located in key JCPenney markets.

Geographically, the southeast and southwest regions were the best performing regions in August.